If there was ever any doubt that the ruling party is clutching at straws in its attempt at winning the presidential election, the May 2006 issue of the ‘Isola Bella’ confirms this belief beyond doubt. Last month Francis Chang Leng the Governor of the not so independent Central Bank made an appearance on our TV screen and argued against himself on several issues, but concentrated his argument on devaluation. He made numerous absurd statements and suggested that the rupee if devalued by 100% will bring about social unrest. Chang Leng was clearly on a mission on behalf of his pay masters and his mission was to scare and misguide the electorate on the issue of “convertibility of the rupee”, which has got little to do with devaluation.

This month we see “Isola Bella” as if by a coincidence in a front page article entitled “Fight over Value of the Rupee”, echoing Chang Leng’s rhetoric on that particular subject. The “Isola Bella” article like Chang Leng degenerated into a farcical argument stating that, ‘The public has the right to correct information before deciding if they want to buy a dollar at R5.60, R8, R12, or R30’. This is really taking the sausage, who in his right mind would want to buy a dollar at R30. However, people are paying R10 for a dollar on the parallel market and as long as this government keeps failing in providing consumers with their requirement of foreign exchange the value of the rupee will remain precarious.

The nominal exchange rate set by the Central Bank does not guarantee economic prosperity something the people managing the economy have been hoping for. It has not happened and it will never happen. Productivity and productivity growth is the only way out of the present crisis and this Government seems unable to kick start economic activities to generate productivity further. The ruling party got us into this mess and for the last fifteen years has been struggling without success to get us out of the economic stagnation they created through their policies of government control over economic activities.

The article in question discussed buying power vis-à-vis a weaker rupee ignoring the fact that the SPPF government, Mr. Rene, Mr. Michel, Mukesh and Chang Leng are the people responsible for the deterioration in the buying power of workers’ wages, pensions and savings. By introducing GST at 12% inflation doubled overnight, this is the reality. If we were to adjust the value of the rupee accordingly and abolish GST, will it not mean the same thing or better, Mr. Chang Leng? What about the benefit this move will bring, Mr. Chang Leng? Can I borrow your television station for a few minutes to put my point of view forward? And the people will have an opportunity to judge for themselves who is talking ‘GAS’.

The SPPF and their agents in the form of the Central Bank, ‘Isola Bella’, ‘The People’, ‘Seychelles Nation’, SBC and others are now in a state of disillusionment having realised that the incumbent does not stand a chance. They have embarked on a campaign of attributing deliberate false statements to the opposition.