May 19, 2006May 19, 2006LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CELEBRATE EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
Sir,
As an educationalist I wish to express my concern and that of many of my peers regarding the lack of adequate facilities within our schools to enable us to effectively educate the students under our charge.
This expression of frustration is exemplified by the fact that the Ministry of Education has only now been able to provide the school text books needed, five months into the academic year. A batch of books has only now arrived; a few more are due at the end of May and we are being told the final batch will not arrive until July 2006. As we are all aware, the school year will be more than halfway through by the time all the textbooks arrive.
The Government has given no explanation to the public as to this state of affairs in our schools. Yet we have been inundated with ministerial speeches as to how our school system is so up to date. Is the late arrival of textbooks going to be one of the “achievements” we should celebrate?
A textbook is the most essential tool of learning. Without textbooks, the children in our charge are unable to develop their full learning potential. Effective Educational planning requires that all the materials are available well before the year starts.
Let us all hope that next year we will not see a repeat of the disastrous planning that has taken place this year.
A CONCERNED TEACHER & PARENT
SACL SHARES DEBACLE
The government announced with some fanfare that every Seychellois would be offered an opportunity to buy a share in SACL. Those who did not take up the offer in the first round would be excluded from future rounds. We are now being told that those who did not take up the initial offer are now given the opportunity to buy in the third round, to the same extent as those who bought in the second round. It was made clear to us all that we had to buy in the first round to be eligible for future offers.
At present there remain 22,000 shares from the second round as well as 23,000 shares from those not taken up by former SACOS workers. This together represents some 30% of available shares in SACL. If the government was indeed true to its word, instead of two faced, it would not have reversed the first decision with a view to deliberately, discriminate against those who acted well in the first instance.
And more importantly, it would have offered more than twelve shares to Seychellois if it really wanted individuals to be “shareholders” as it claims instead of taking a decision to sell all the shares remaining from the third round to the “strategic investor”.
This bears out what was initially claimed, that the exercise was largely a farce and the intention was all along to sell the bulk of the shares to the strategic investor. I have little doubt that if the shares remaining after the third round were offered to individual Seychellois who initially showed interest, all the available shares would be taken up. I dare government to prove this wrong.
SACL Shareholder
SPDF - ABOVE THE LAW
Sir,
As a resident of the South of Mahe, I wish to voice my concern through your publication of a situation which is distressing and disturbing to the communites around Les Cannelles, Anse Royale and Anse La Mouche.
This week it appears that the Army (SPDF) has been conducting some kind of military exercise in the region. This is acceptable, except that they are using Heavy Weapons (Artillery) and it seems they have no regard for the residents of these districts, their pets or the Constitutional provisions which allow a citizen “peaceful enjoyment” within his community or the noise abatement laws which limit the times in which one can make noise over certain decibels.
The SPDF have been regularly firing their artillery between 10 pm at night and before 6 am in the morning. This is unacceptable in a community neighbourhood.
I think the government which supposedly manages SPDF should take it to task. We are entitled to sleep peacefully at night.
ANON
SPPF -TRUTH HURTS
Sir,
A certain Minister and his girlfriend decided to spend an evening at Katiolo Discotheque last weekend. After staying a short while there, the girlfriend was heard to openly ask her Minister boyfriend to leave the premises.
She remarked rather loudly “we are going to lose the last election, everybody in here (Katiolo) is SNP”. “Let’s go home”.
It seems by implication, that in the past Katiolo may have been the regular haunt of SPPF supporters, but things have changed and many are now openly supporting the opposition.
An observer
SPPF DESPERATION ABOUNDS
Sir,
Allow me a little space to comment on the most recent copy of “The People” rag bag.
It is increasingly very evident that the SPPF have little to offer the Community in the way of a ray of hope, that we might move away from the economic mire in which they have placed us all.
The People” has so little to offer that it is now almost totally taken up with writing nonsensical articles trying to maliciously denigrate the opposition members and supporters. This is in itself a clear reflection that they have indeed lost their way.
Politics in a multi-party system is about winning the largest number of votes for your party or candidate. The rubbish that is printed in the People every week serves only to galvanise the non-SPPF votes to remain faithful to the parties in the opposition and open the eyes of the diehard SPPF supporters to the fact that change is evident and soon to be upon us. The overwhelming feeling emanating from the community at all levels is that a change is desirable. All the SPPF ranting and raving is not going to prevent this voter Tsunami from putting them out of office.
An Observer
WE NEED AN ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Sir,
I have been following the recent declaration concerning the next election. I find it difficult to believe that all the engineering work towards the next election is the responsibility of only one Electoral Commissioner. I was reading about the problem in
M.J.
ZOT VREMAN ANNAN EN LEKER?
Sir,
Nou en group zabitan Anse Boileau nou pe ekri pou ekspoz devan sa pep kosmar ki nou pe eksperyanse zis akoz lantetmen e mank planifikasyon bann dirizan SPPF.
Anse Boileau I en landrwa ki vreman ris kot delo I konsernnen. Antou I annan apepre nef (9) larivyer dan nou distrik electoral. Me sa ki vreman fermal se ki depi sa dernyen de mwan, nou pe bezwen bwar en delo ki non-selman sale, me ki pi.
Sa ki fer nou leker fermal ankor, se ki malgre lapli I tombe e larivyer pe deborde, pou al dan lanmer, bann dirizan SPPF I prefere les sa delo devid dan lanmar Anse Louis e apre pompe pou donn nou pou bwar. Ki pese ki dimoun Anse Boileau in fer? Ziska ki tan ki SPPF pou zwe ek lavi dimoun Anse Boileau? Eski bann “FAT CATS” ki swa-dizan reprezant nou distrik in sitan gra e ris ozordi ki zot in vin aveg pou konpran ki mazorite nou zabitan pa pe ganny de ou trwa saler e ki avek kout lavi ki vreman ser, zot pa kapab aste delo mineral tou lezour? Ki kalite leker ki zot annan, parler nou demande si zot vreman annan enn?
R.L.