Seychelles Weekly interviews Mancham

LNSW:  You were unusually scathing in your criticisms of the Government under Mr Michel while talking to the press in Mauritius recently.

JRM: I guess I was worked up about the behaviour of this government in respect of its constitutional commitments. As everyone knows my family has outstanding matters of compensation for land that was confiscated by the one-party state regime run by Albert Rene. As you know the Constitution of the Third Republic – which Mr Michel, Mr Rene and I attested our signatures to – obliges the Government to negotiate fairly and wholeheartedly to either return the property or pay adequate compensation. For sometime now I have been trying to engage Mr Michel, his Minister of Land and other government officials on the issue of the SMB supermarket property which belongs to the heirs of Richard Mancham, my father. It appears that there is a deliberate policy to frustrate negotiations and not to resolve this matter in good faith, by Mr Michel and therefore, by extension, the Minister of Land and other officials. Despite my constant attempt I could not get meetings with either the President of the Republic or his Minister for Lands while an appointment with a senior official of the Ministry of Finance was cancelled at the last minute with no explanation.

LNSW: What brought you to Mauritius?

JRM:  I went to Mauritius in my capacity as Chairperson of the Presiding Council of the Universal Peace Federation which had organised a major event there. In contrast to the Seychelles where, as regards protocol, I follow that of the President of the Republic as a former (and I might add) First President of our nation, in Mauritius I was afforded VIP treatment as well as a private audience with Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam.

LNSW: Why did you choose to make your first comment about the proposed electoral alliance between the DP and the SNP in Mauritius?

JRM: It was not, in actual fact, a deliberate choice. It was the first occasion that was presented to me when the Mauritian press raised the question. It also shows the difference between the two countries. In Mauritius there is a vibrant free press and the official media operate as independent entities under proper journalistic rules. Here in Seychelles where I am not only the First President but also the founder of the Democratic Party and its only leader until now, the official media ignored that significance and did not see it fit to interview me after the party had elected a new leader. One would have assumed that everyone would like to know my opinion especially after the SPPF’s own organ, the People, had published a fictitious story about my opinion. Proper journalist ethics require that one gets a comment directly from the person concerned.

LNSW: What is the most important message you have for the politicians in regards to the forthcoming election?

JRM: If I had met with Mr Michel I would have told him that it is very obvious that the victor in the next presidential contest may not have a tremendously large majority, consequently it would be very important for the future of our nation, in its quest for prosperity for all, that there should be a firm commitment for national reconciliation by everyone. I am very reassured when Paul Chow, the new leader of the DP, publicly made a commitment to continue with my stated policy of Seychelles First and National Reconciliation. As regards to Mr Michel, I wanted to impress upon him that he should give serious consideration to a grand alliance of all parties should he be elected.  Which ever way you look at the equation, solving the nation’s intractable economic problems require unity not division. There should be a grand alliance of all parties, at least for a few years, until we can afford the luxury of partisan politics. But Michel has no time to consider the wise advice of intelligent Seychellois, preferring to spend his time being photographed handing cups and certificates whilst surrounded by groups of one-party-minded-yes-men.

LNSW: Are you saying that you anticipate a victory for Michel?

JRM: No, on the contrary. I recently made it a point to visit Victoria market to talk to stall holders and the usual Saturday morning crowd to gauge feelings. I believe Mr Michel too made a tour after I had mine. What I found (and I think Michel no doubt found the same thing) was that, unlike previous years, the opposition supporters were very upbeat and outspokenly confident while the usual hard-core SPPF were very subdued and silent. I am also reliably informed that SPPF canvassers find on the doorsteps, that unlike previous years, their traditional supporters would not make any outright commitment to vote for Michel.

LNSW: Many say that a majority of the people have had enough, is that your impression too?

JRM: Absolutely.  29 years is a long time, even if the SPPF had created a prosperous society. Take Britain, where the economy is very buoyant under Tony Blair, there are signs of political fatigue. Here in Seychelles we have the most serious economic problem that can befall a country and that is the collapse of its currency. Despite the promise of a new era, the presidency of James Michel, so far, indicate that Mr Rene continues to call the shots from the confines of Maison du Peuple. Most people, in my view, have come to realise that if Michel cannot deliver real change in the last two years as President of the country, he will not be able to do so in the next five.

LNSW: What is your comment on the so-called 30th Anniversary celebration?

JRM: Seriously, what can we celebrate after nearly thirty years of misery under more or less a dictatorial rule? Shall we be celebrating the un-constitutional coup d’état of 1977 organised by one man against the government of which he was the Prime Minister? Are we going to celebrate the memory of Davidson Chang Him and all those who were murdered after the coup d’état and during the dictatorship? Are we going to revive the memory of Gerard Hoarau, an opposition politician assassinated in North London? Are we going to celebrate the ten thousand or so Seychellois who fled the dictatorship? Are we going to celebrate the army mutiny? Are we to celebrate NAPA?

LNSW: Some say that while they support the Alliance they wonder if Ramkalawan is the best candidate.

JRM: One has to be cautious as to the real motive of anyone who makes this comment. After all, the announcement of the proposed alliance seems to have changed the mood of the country and SPPF, according to many, are running scared. Nevertheless, it is a genuine comment if it comes from a genuine DP supporter. First, one must appreciate that Ramkalawan has the overwhelming support of the leadership as well as grassroots of the SNP. Therefore, if he becomes the sole alliance candidate he deserves the full support of all opposition forces who wish to see an end to SPPF rule.

LNSW: It now appears that SBC is even more the mouthpiece of the SPPF?

JRM: Well that is something I wanted to take up with Mr Michel. I would have availed of the opportunity to caution him that he runs the risk of over-exposure, which generally results in a backlash from the general public. Of course he is trying to picture himself as a good man who has just arrived from Timbuktu with a suitcase of clean linen. Whereas, as we all know, he was a close collaborator of Mr Rene and has personally contributed significantly to the economic and social mess he has now inherited.

It is a shame that SBC is not living up the responsibility it is obligated to by the Constitution. It is scandalous to think that there has never been an in depth interview with the Leader of the Opposition and nor for that matter with Paul Chow the newly elected Leader of the DP. As the man who was the constitutional head of state and as well as the leader of the then majority party that took our country to independence, you would have thought it would not only be appropriate but significantly important to be the subject of an interview on face-a-face, if we are to be honest about the so-called 30th anniversary? It does not speak well of our country that the only television and radio station, and financed by public funds, operates overriding as the voice of State House and Maison du Peuple.

LNSW: You have always been vociferous in regard to official financial support for political parties, especially at election time, in a small country like Seychelles?

JRM: Everybody knows that if a party is in a position to give to voters DVDs, fridges, construction materials, mobile phones, etc. it must have behind it a lot of resources. Of course in Seychelles, these generally are paid for by public funds and dished out by a Ministry, a blatant abuse of public funds. A lot of evidence that the government is up to its old tricks are coming to light. Nevertheless, the most worrying aspect with the resource question is that Seychelles is so small that we can fall under the control of mafia elements.

For example, take the scenario of one fugitive from justice who is reputed to have absconded from home with about a billion dollars and has found protective recluse status in Seychelles. If such a person donates 20 million dollars to a political party for its election fund, that would mean a sum of 200 million rupees at black market exchange value. Now, 200 million rupees to spend with a voting population of only 60,000 would earn us a special place in the Guinness Book of Records as the Nation where most money has been spent for influence voting than anywhere else. The extent of mafia’s influence in our democratic process is certainly a matter deserving investigation by an organisation like the Commonwealth.