A CONSPIRACY IN THE MAKING!

The Plantation Club hotel finds itself at the centre of a plot which is threatening, in comparison, to eclipse all previous schemes of mugging, treachery, corruption and fraud in Seychelles. People in high places are determined to swindle the owners of the Plantation Club out of their hotel. They do not care for the consequences it will have on the tourism industry or on the country’s reputation overseas. The big guys in government just want their share (backhander) of the cake. It involves a conspiracy of mammoth proportion being orchestrated by some of the most powerful in Seychelles, big bucks as always is the core motivation fueling the appetite of the willing. This is a story that the most successful director in Hollywood, Stephen Spielberg, would pay millions of dollars to lay his hands on. It has all the right ingredients, sex, big money, drugs and powerful people at its core.

Apparently the owners of the Plantation Club have over the last twelve months been receiving gentle persuasion from powerful people at the Central Bank, the Tourism Authority and other departments to part company with their hotel. They had lined up mega-rich friends; Arabs, who had fallen in love with the location of the hotel to take over - Arabs with billions of petrodollars to throw to whoever is willing to fulfill their desire. It is believed that the owners have been reluctant to accept the deal placed before them as a “fait-accompli”. But this did not deter the people pushing the deal for the Arabs.

According to unconfirmed information, in May 2007, the Plantation Club was advised that their license would not be extended beyond 31st December, 2007, if renovation plans were not made available. That was followed with another move late last year in December, when STB initiated a surprise visit to the hotel in an attempt to break the back of the owners, who have been running the Plantation Club for the past nineteen years. STB ordered a comprehensive audit of all amenities at the hotel. An army of officials from the Health Authority, Fire Service, Planning Authority, Tourism Division, Licensing Authority, Environment and others descended on the hotel without prior notice. With orders to find something wrong with the hotel, providing ammunition to close the hotel down – the report resulting from the visit was to go direct to STB and a copy has not been made available to the Plantation Club. No one outside a very small circle of influential people in government has seen the report not even the owners of the hotel whose business future the report will have a determining effect upon.  

Over the last nineteen years in operation Plantation Club has no doubt contributed its fair share towards the wellbeing of this country, especially in the form of employment and taxes, currently 250 Seychellois work for the hotel. Unlike other big hotels Plantation Club employs very little foreign labour. The Hotel is a favorite venue for conferences, seminars, meetings and all manner of functions, especially so with the government.

Our reporter visited the hotel two weeks ago and spoke to visitors and staff similarly, seeking their views on the matter. Almost everyone felt that the Plantation Club is being treated unfairly and harshly (if not illegally by the STB and the Licensing Authority. The staff said that they were happy with the current owners and were treated well with respect and dignity by their employer. The visitors we managed to speak to told us that they were happy with the level of service on offer for what they were being charged, they were of the opinion that they were getting value for money, “we cannot ask for more”, some commented. The owners were not available for comments as they were out of the country.

We also managed to access details of the intended project for the Plantation Club, by the prospective owners.  The hotel will be turned into a playground for the rich and powerful, especially rich Arabs from the Middle East; Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf States. They can reach Seychelles in a matter of hours in their private jets. The hotel will be exclusive to them, locals will have no access apart from their powerful local friends - girls will be imported from Eastern European countries as has been the case, and as highlighted by the article in the Balkan Times, about the criminal cases. The entire place will become one big prostitution den. This is what our leaders have in mind for us turning our country into one big whore house in satisfying their own and that of their friends’ lust and fantasies. There is a rumour doing the rounds that money has already changed hands, on two occasions, to the tune of five million dollars (5m) and the other for one and half million dollars (1.5m). The recipients are now pressing hard to deliver for their man/men.

All this cannot be good for the image of our little country - it will deal a further blow, we hope not deadly, to potential investors looking to invest in Seychelles.  No investment can be safe if what they are trying out with the Plantation Club materializes. There is no adequate investment code in place currently in Seychelles to protect investors from these kinds of operations. When the mighty and the powerful want their way in Seychelles they usually get it. Not even the most powerful Court in Seychelles can save you - justice is normally delivered by the telephone when big money is involved especially when foreign exchange is changing hands. This is a shameful exercise being conducted in all our names by people we entrusted through the ballot box to serve the Nation’s best interest. This shameless act in our name cannot be allowed to succeed! People of Seychelles rise up and express your displeasure. Otherwise one day you will wake up and find out that the country or your house belongs to someone you don’t even know…..