As news crept in recently about huge parts of Desroches Island burning and being ruined and charred, my thoughts started to run about the incredible waste these Outer Islands have become under SPPF. We have heard countless stories over and over, most of which have been substantiated about SPPF waste on these islands. I think it’s time for SPPF to start thinking outside of the box when it concerns the Outer Islands, I do hope it is not too late.
These people have hoarded the Outer Islands over the years, treated these unique islands like a personal asset, private holiday spots, favorite bird eggs collection sites and personal love nests with girlfriends. They have kept Seychellois off the Islands unless as workers under Island Development Company (IDC) which treats workers almost like slaves. At best, they have made accessing these Islands very bureaucratic and difficult. They have discouraged us from having access to our National Heritage. Worse than that, they have prevented the OuterIslands from developing by not implementing a proper develop able plan for these Islands. They have left them abandoned or underperforming, only to wait for foreigners to come and offer to develop them for us. Hence, the reasons why not many people are willing to work on an IDC Island for long.
On Silhouette Island, the Third largest Island in Seychelles, the SPPF has given land for soft term leases for Hotels and is ripping a road through the middle of the Island’s endemic forest. But they have not offered to sell long time Residents of that Island land for a homestead.
In fact, Seychellois are not allowed to own land on Silhouette under SPPF, not even long term residents of Silhouette. They have not been able to own land on the Island. These People on Silhouette are Seychellois in their own Country. They are not cows, SPPF, should be treating them fairly. Give them their land below market prices. Build their houses at cost in exchange for their cost, incurred, for suffering under IDC tutelage for all these years. Make the Investors pay for it if you are smart. If not, make Glenny and Francis pay for it, since they care for all Seychellois, and have the interest of Silhouette at heart. That is why they are running a 5.5 meter road through it. They will get Michel to implement the proposal to create a Nature Reserve on Silhouette Island. Of course, we can charge a fee to enter the Reserve and drive through it with fast electric cars, so we do not leave a carbon footprint on the new road, right!
Electric cars do not have enough torque to make it up “Ran D’Avance”...
A few years back, when the SPPF ran out of money, they divided up Desroches into subdivided plots and exchanged it instead of making outright payments on a number of outstanding bills to numerous entities. Star Seychelles was one of the companies that benefited from this stroke of SPPF genius at work. Today, much of Desroches has burnt. Destroyed. IDC has been silent. More wasteland had been created. The SPPF did a subdivision without providing for adequate infrastructure like a proper fire brigade, hospital, day care, shopping centers, adequate water and electricity etc... Can the Boss at IDC explain that to us?
Rene and Mooky promised us that on Coetivy Island, we were going to raise prawns to meet all our Foreign Exchange requirements. Tourists were not necessary. Rene himself told me personally in a Tea Break during the Constitutional Convention, that this Project was going to earn for Seychelles, all the Foreign Exchange our Country required “next year”, they just needed a few more ponds. That was January 1993. After you think of the long running Foreign Exchange Crisis that we Seychellois have been struggling with for over Fifteen (15) years now, it seems like forever. The prawns have died, the pumps have broken, Coetivy has indebted us to the tune of almost $80 Million through SMB and the Project is non-competitive on the World Market. It is an SPPF flop!
The Island has been destroyed by SPPF. Prawn basins are everywhere. Now they want to give it to Lehman Brothers to run. Only one problem, Lehman Brothers selling prawns for a communist regime will not go down well on Wall Street. There are limits to what financial houses will do for money. When Wall Street finds out, shares in Lehman Brothers will sell at half price. It’s future will be much like our past... waiting for prawns to bring in some Foreign Exchange.
IDC runs like a Kingdom and has failed. We do not have to talk about the goat farms, sheep farms, deer farms or chicken farms to convince anyone. The Head of IDC has already told us on SBC about his annual failures and requirements for subventions to keep these islands going.
We have given everyone an island under the SPPF. Maldivians, Arabs, Iranians, Germans, South Africans, Gregoire has Felicite, Francis has chunks of St. Anne for rupees gifted to him for 1.00, Glenny has a bunch of Islands under his direct control, the list is endless. It is time to seriously think about giving the Rasta(s) their own island. A case can be made. We must consider it seriously.
Many Rasta(s) are very productive in our community. Many are not. The “Rasta” culture in Seychelles seems to have grown out of rebellion against the One Party State “discipline”. The people telling the Rasta(s) to be disciplined could not even discipline themselves to be honest enough to run a clean Country and to be fair to all Seychellois. The ones saying do not commit crimes are the same People that do commit crimes. Seychelleshas a selective prosecution culture under SPPF. Hence, I believe, the emergence of the Rasta culture in our Country. These individuals believed that the message of Albert Rene made little or no sense when compared to the message of Bob Marley and the Whalers. They rebelled.
I believe the Rasta(s) need an opportunity to live their lives as they so wish and be productive if they so wish. They need to have an opportunity that others have had in Seychelles. How do we do that?
Create a registry of people who consider themselves Rasta(s). Once the registry is full with 500- 1000 names, call a General Meeting. Establish a body corporate which will enter into a Lease Agreement with IDC. IDC represented by Glenny Savy will sign the Lease for a designated Island to the Rasta Body Corporate. The Rasta(s) must pick an island with adequate water; good fishing grounds and an airstrip, there are many. Example, Assumption only has four people on it at any given time, but you can land a plane there.
The Rasta members must elect a CEO (Corporate Executive Officer) which will sign all Agreements of the Body Corporate Group. Government should provide an initial subvention to set up the colony of settlers. This subvention will be paid back from profits earned after the second year of operation. If subvention is paid, the Rasta(s) should have a lease option on a second and third
Every year, the CEO will be subjected to elections in a General Meeting. If he has done a good job he will be re-elected. If he has done a bad job, he should stop wasting the groups time and move on. The CEO can also act as Island Administrator, hence relinquishing Mr. Savy’s control over the residents of the island.
They can create their own business plans for the island, have their own prisons and may even want to go in the prison business and contract out those services from Government of Seychelles, who does not seem to be able to control prisoners effectively. They can create fishing bases on these islands, harvest sea cucumbers and lobsters, plant, develop hotels and restaurants, use the IDC planes which are hardly used for much to ship out fresh fish and profitable sea cucumbers to market. In no more then 2 years this colony will start making a profit, easily.
Since Rasta(s) are known to enjoy Cannabis, we will have to have strict Customs and Quarantine on them when coming back to the main island to ensure they are not tempted to traffic illicit drugs. Fair enough. Will it work? Well, we took a chance on a bunch of prawns; I do not see why we cannot take a chance on some Rasta(s) willing to take a risk. We also took a chance on Francis and sold him chunks of
Rasta(s) are peace loving people they will keep the islands crime free, the ones who are involved in criminalities are not genuine Rasta(s) since many culprits act like Rasta’s but they are not really. They may take up the option of moving to the Rasta Island Paradise. They will definitely have a tourist appeal. The world loves Bob Marley and Ziggy Marley. Lucky Dube is a hero in
The model will also give the SSU a break from beating up people and strip searching them in public. Now they will only have MNA’s to beat up if they step out of line. Oh sorry, the Leader of the Opposition beat himself up, right.
The only thing the Rasta’s will have to watch out for is if Glenny starts growing dreadlocks to enter the Island Colony to take control of the profits earned!
May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois....including Rasta (s)!