SACL WHERE ARE OUR DIVIDENDS?

SACL WHERE ARE OUR DIVIDENDS?

There was a lot of fanfare when the SPPF unexpectedly announced their pseudo capitalist experiment by offering shares in the newly formed company SACL to Seychellois for purchase. The government media and mouthpiece was put in full gear to sell this novel concept to the Seychellois public. SACOS, which was one of the few parastatals making a profit at the time, had just been privatized and sold off to Swan of Mauritius for what many believed was not its true market value. Shares were limited and the price was fixed by the government and kept low to allow as many Seychellois as possible to purchase the shares.This was a new capitalist concept hitherto unprecedented a la SPPF style. No prospectus was published as is required by law and the whole process went smoothly from start to finish. President Michel obviously engulfed by the euphoria of the moment and the success of the initial stage of the process, boasted that Noubanq, Seychelles Savings Bank and L’emuria will follow suit.

As was the case with the new highway, of course nothing has materialised since as it is no secret that our leaders have the unhealthy habit of making promises they cannot keep. Read my lips…The sois disant nouvo riche who were encouraged by the President to go to Mauritius to proclaim their new found wealth and show the Mauritians that we have all become shareholders overnight and not only tourists, waited patiently for SACL to pay the dividends which they were promised will happen within one year. This has not happened and many are now groveling under their breaths that the SPPF have once again pulled wool over our eyes and that we may never see our money again.

All the major companies have paid their annual dividends except for SACL which has chosen, for reasons best known to them, kept a suspicious silence. The question many are now asking is when is SACL going to pay its shareholders their dividends. Perhaps, the great SBC can pursue this matter with the Managing Director of SACL or his Mauritian counter parts, as the 8 o’clock news have been rather on the thin side and boring lately. This issue, if pursued by Afif, will definitely lighten things up and give Afif and SBC some much needed credibility as nothing can excite more than the subject of money. Alternatively, SACL can spare Afif and his gang the trouble by dishing out some much needed dough as whatever was given by the SPPF over the election period has quickly run out and the realization of what have we done has slowly begin to sink in.