Seychelles External Debt Rose By 132.92% In Election Year!

Debt - external: $616.7 million (2006)

Definition: This entry gives the total public and private debt owed to non-residents repayable in foreign currency, goods, or services, accurate as of April 17, 2007.

Notes: Unfortunately we have been unsuccessful at this stage to access figures to cover the period from April 17, 2007 to December 31, 2007. As soon as we are able to get these figures we will provide you with an up-to-date chart. It is very important to note that in 2006, an election year and suddenly as if by magic our external debt went up by 132.92% on the previous year. SPPF bought the election. It is your Constitutional right to know this information. Especially in the year of “Our Constitution, Our Voice!”

More Debt for Seychelles!!

During a ceremony held at BADEA’s Headquarters in Khartoum, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) signed on Thursday 24 January 2008, six (6) loan agreements with the Republics of Botswana, Cap Verde, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, Mauritius and Namibia. The loans extended by virtue of those agreements are based on soft terms and aim at contributing to financing development projects in the afore-mentioned African countries. The total amount of these loans is US $ 45.3 million and US$ 1.5 million is being allocated  to the Republic of Seychelles to finance Second Line of Credit for Development Bank of Seychelles - (DBS). The loan will be repaid in 12 years, including a grace period of 3 years, and at an annual interest rate of 4%. The project aims at the protection of the environment and human safety and protection of the main income resources represented by tourism and agriculture. The project will ensure the continuation of the development of the economy, through the construction of the infrastructures to deal with hazardous wastes in the country mainly caused by the dissolved chemical and looped oil and wastes from printing industry and pesticides and sewerage wastes.

On behalf of BADEA, the agreements were signed, by H.E. Ahmed Abdallah Al-Akeil, Chairman of the Board of Directors and in the presence of H.E. Abdelaziz KHELEF, Director General. The beneficiary countries were represented by the officials designated by their respective countries; Mr. Hans Aglae, Special Advisor in the Ministry of Finance, sign for the Republic of Seychelles,

It is worth noting that BADEA’s total commitments to these six beneficiary countries amounted to about US$ 332.92 million, by the end of December 2007.

 The total BADEA’s commitments for the 43 African beneficiary countries during the period March 1975 to December 2007, stands at US$ 3354.127 million, to finance projects and technical assistance operations and the funds allocated through Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC).

JAMES MICHEL AND DANNY FAURE ARE RUNNING THE ECONOMY INTO THE GROUND!

On the day in April 2004, when James Alix Michel received the realm of power from former President France Albert Rene, the external debt of the country, which is the total public and private debt owed to nonresidents repayable in foreign currency, stood at $210 million dollars, SEE ABOVE CHART. In just three short years the national external debt under the Administration of President Michel has more than doubled. In fact our external debt has trebled and on April 17, 2007 it stood at over $610 million dollars. It is estimated that our external debt now as at January 31, 2008, is standing at a staggering $840 million dollars. This is only $160 million dollars short of one billion dollars, $1,000,000,000.

Seychelles is considered by the World Bank, IMF and the United Nation as the World’s most indebted country on the basis of its size and population. This situation has been reached in the four years since President Michel took over at State House and Danny Faure took over the Finance Portfolio at Liberty House, formerly the Queen’s Building. We are therefore appealing to the Finance Minister for an explanation on this matter. We need to know the truth before it is too late. The country is being sold to foreigners bit by bit. Investors, we are told, has been coming in by the hundreds, visitor numbers have increased, we were under the impression that money, forex, was rolling in as a result of all these transactions.

It is now clear that this is not the case. This Government has been misleading the population into believing that they were doing good business for the country, when in reality the boat was sinking and they had to resort to indebting the country further to keep the boat afloat. Seychelles is now officially bankrupt and the only people who are not accepting this state of affair are the very same people who are responsible for putting the country in that position in the first place. The SPPF government!

February 8, 2008
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles