The mystery hotel on Farquhar is now hot news in political circles in Mauritius. Even the Vice-President of Mauritius, Abdul Rauf Bundhun, is known to have expressed concern over the matter this week. It is now firmly believed that at least one Minister in the present government of Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam has visited the island enjoying the trappings on offer for free at the expense of Seychellois taxpayers.
Farquhar Island is situated 600 km from the main island of Mahe and it is under the full jurisdiction of the Chief Executive Officer of the Islands Development Company (IDC), a government owned company (parastatal). An ongoing scandal is now ensuing over an unauthorised tourist operation on Farquhar, where wealthy and powerful Mauritians go there on fishing trips. These visitors arrive by boat or plane from Mauritius, sometimes on charter flights. They spend the mornings line fishing and the afternoons deep-sea fishing. These tourists from Mauritius are housed in a plantation estate, built some years ago for former President France Albert René who went there frequently during that period. The estate is equipped with electricity generators and a satellite dish for communication.
The Seychelles Tourist Board (STB) has confirmed that no hotels have a licence to operate on Farquhar; a telephone call to the island is all that was needed to prove that tourist stays are being offered via a woman working at the IDC. Visitors are asked to pay 80,000 Mauritius rupees (€1900) for a fishing holiday. Apparently payment is to be made in the name of the Mauritian businessman Pierre-Guy Noël. By a strange coincidence, this is the name of the CEO of the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), who regained this post in 2005 after being suspended during an investigation into his management.
All of the above at this stage is purely an assumption of the situation on Faquhar. This is why it is paramount for Glenny Savy the long serving CEO of IDC to come clean with a detailed explanation of what is really going-on on Farquhar???? The Seychellois public is now intrigued with this matter. They want to know what is happening on their island – it is their right to know. This issue cannot be camouflage; President Michel must act to protect the interest of the country not one or two particular individuals. We are waiting with bated breath to hear in detail - what kind of operation they have on Farquhar Island?