THERE is a well known saying which goes like this: “If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” The impression being given by the official media is that the Chairman and Chief Executive of Air Seychelles has finally paid heed to the saying and has decided to call it a day at Air Seychelles. But all is not what it seems as Savy is expected to assume the role of Chairman of the Board and as such will still command a huge salary and wield substantial power and influence over the airline. This has been the practice within the SPPF government and both Mukesh Valabhji and Glenny Savy are prime examples.
Valabhji stepped down as the head of SMB and was swiftly replaced by Mr. Patrick Vel. However, Valabhji still maintained control of the enterprise as a back seat driver and Vel is known to have taken his orders directly from the former. The same thing happened at SFA when Glenny Savy was removed as Chairman and was replaced by Randolph Payet. Payet is known to be the puppet of Savy and, like Vel at SMB, continues to be ordered around by Glenny Savy.
The airline was established on 15th September 1977 as Seychelles Airlines and adopted the present title in September1978. It started international routes in 1983 to Frankfurt and London. It is wholly owned by the Seychelles government and employs 663 staff. The events which preceded David Savy's resignation at Air Seychelles are now well known and documented.
1. First there was the dead rat in the food incident in Rome.
2. Then there was the fire in the air condition vent.
3. There was also the Veling controversy which implicated Savy in what on the surface appeared to be conflict of interest issues which caused the resignation of the Air Mauritius Chief although Savy refused to go.
4. This was followed by a near disastrous crash landing at Pointe Larue International Airport by an Air Seychelles aircraft which resulted in the suspension of two senior Air Seychelles pilots.
5. Lately, two Air Seychelles planes were damaged simultaneously causing disruption in the operations of the airline and massive loss of revenue to the company.
6. The straw that broke the camel's back it seems is the leasing of the 20-year-old plane by Savy to add to its two aircraft long haul fleet.
The latter turned out to be a total disaster and put a dent into Air Seychelles impeccable reputation thus far. The plane was said to be totally unsuitable and was quickly dubbed “La Vieille Creole” by local media. Savy is also not immune from controversy himself as there were numerous allegations of shady deals and conflict-of-interest matters leveled against him. There was even an allegation that Savy may have been involved in some sort of sinister deal in the leasing of a 737 aircraft by a Mauritian Company, Veling, in which Savy was alleged to have either direct or indirect vested interest.
The plane, which was initially part and parcel of Air Seychelles fleet, was leased to an airline in Africa, using the services of Veling in Mauritus. Savy quickly refuted the allegations on SBC television. But more damaging is the fact that Savy has familiar link to the Shah family here and Air Seychelles has controversially leased a whole building in the middle of Victoria from the Shahs or a company in which the Shahs may have major financial interest. He is also known to have retained the services of Kieran Shah, his brother-in-law, as Air Seychelles' lawyer on a retainer basis and has also used the services of AJ Shah's accountancy firm for Air Seychelles. All this, if true, smacks of conflict of interest and nepotism and when taken cumulatively provides more than sufficient reason to justify the resignation of Savy as Air Seychelles' CEO.
As complaints mount against the latest addition to Air Seychelles fleet, such as abnormal and prolonged violent shaking and wobbling of the plane in turbulent zones, air condition which can turn too cold one minute and too hot the next, lights which flicker on and off at will, damaged seats and overcrowding, little or no leg room as seats have been crammed on the plane in a move to make more money rather than provide for the creature comfort of passengers, and even the safety of the plane was called into question.
Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly published the track record of the plane which showed that it has indeed had a checkered history. Contrary to what Savy had stated on national television, the plane was clearly shown to be 20 years old and had been leased to several companies before finally landing in the hands of Air Seychelles. This revelation seriously called into question the judgment and management skill of Savy who had hitherto been shielded from controversy by his relationship to the former President Rene who appointed him as Air Seychelles Chief soon after Freddy Karkaria, the previous Head, was forced to resign. The controversy over the Veling Company in Mauritius, which caused the Air Mauritius Chief to resign and which was also linked to Savy, did not help matters.
Former President Rene, who also traveled on “La Vieille Creole” at one point, is known to have been very disappointed with the aircraft's overall performance. He refused, therefore, to come to Savy's rescue this time around. However, the fact that Savy seemed to have tacitly taken full responsibility for the fiasco at Air Seychelles by his unexpected resignation bodes well for the country as a whole. Unlike Minister Joel Morgan who refused to step down after he allegedly lost USD 4.5 million dollars of the country's money to a bogus businessman in Dubai, Savy has done the right thing. It is only hoped that Ministers and top government official will follow suit when they are deemed guilty of corruption, misdeeds and inefficiency.