Barclays Bank doing well so is the Seychelles Economy – Bainbridge
According to Mr. Andrew Bainbridge, the Managing Director of Barclays Bank for Africa and the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles economy is performing very well, and as a result so is the (Barclays) Bank in Seychelles. Mr Bainbridge is quoted as saying “If you look around, you’ll find that the performance of banks is very closely related to the performance of the economies of the country’s they operate in.”
Mr. Bainbridge lives in South Africa and only comes to Seychelles occasionally. This time he was invited specially to address the members of the National Economic Planning Council, an entity created by President Michel to ostensibly advise him how to resolve the long standing economic problems of the country.
Mr. Bainbridge’s logic, that since Barclays Bank is doing well therefore it necessarily follows that the Seychelles economy must be doing well too is illogical to say the least. Many, however, especially among the bank’s clients feel not only insulted by his reported remarks, but consider them to be condescending.
Mr. Bainbridge knows that since 1990, nearly 80% of his bank’s profits in the Seychelles has been realized from interest paid by the government on the bonds that commercial banks were and are still required to buy with their depositor’s money. President Michel admitted as much in public when he made his statement about MERP in 2003. At that time, Barclays Bank had over SR 100 million in un-repatriated profits. It, however, was able subsequently to repatriate all of it from a sovereign loan taken by the government from a consortium of international banks which included Barclays Bank Plc. A sovereign debt is one paid by the whole country and the Seychelles is still paying.
Mr. Bainbridge not only insulted his many customers, whose businesses cannot operate as a result of the shortage of foreign exchange due to the disastrous policies of the SPPF government, but also his loyal employees, critics are saying. Customers of the bank have very little choice of banks when it comes to foreign exchange, despite the hassle, frustrations and despair. In their frustrations customers invariable take it off on the staff.
Yet, the staff and the local management of Barclays Bank were not worthy of any credit from Mr. Bainbridge. The questions many are asking are: Why is Barclays Bank still giving only $400 to travelers if it and the economy are doing so well? Why is Barclays Bank not paying the foreign exchange invoices of its clients on demand if it is doing so well? Why has Barclays Bank not given a salary increment in a long time to their lowest paid employees if it is doing so well? Finally, why doesn’t Barclays Bank contribute more financially to the community if it is doing so well?
As regards the Seychelles economy will Mr. Bainbridge explain to the Seychellois public, if the economy is doing so well how come there are no basic foodstuffs in the shops such as onions, ginger, garlic, condensed milk, ham, beef, hamburgers and beef burgers? How come there is a dire lack of building materials available on the local market hence most construction projects remain unfinished for long periods of time?
If we are doing so well, how come we need a foreign exchange loan in order to pay our membership dues to various regional and international organizations, such as SADC, COMESA etc? How come Seychelles has to take yet more loans to pay other unpaid loans and debts? How come unemployment figures have hit an all time high? How come people are still queuing up in the early hours of the morning at SMB’s doors or Super Save to buy a few kilos of onions, fresh fruits and vegetables when available?
These are pertinent questions we and many people in Seychelles have not had the opportunity to put to Mr. Bainbridge. Does Mr. Bainbridge know something we do not know or was he being diplomatic or sycophantic to the Government when he made these statements to Seychelles Nation?
The only candid admission of Mr. Bainbridge during his brief sojourn in Seychelles is that the economy, at one time, was so bad that Barclays Bank – like British Airways – was actually contemplating whether it would be easier to close up shop and leave! This admission is very revealing since it is doubtful whether the employees of Barclays Bank knew that their livelihoods were at stake. These kinds of decisions are taken by the board of directors far away from our shores and more often than not the workers or their representatives, know nothing about it until it is too late. When things do go bad, it is always the hapless workers who pay the ultimate price.
Today we salute the hard working and dedicated staff of Barclays Bank for the professional and efficient service which they deliver most of the time under difficult, frustrating and hostile circumstances occasioned by the current economic climate. It is these workers that make Barclays the number-one bank in Seychelles, and Mr Bainbridge owe them a public acknowledgment, something which he measurably failed to do.
