Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly is proud to celebrate its 44th anniversary which falls on 5th October
The paper, which was born on 5th October 1963 as Seychelles Weekly, was first printed on an old early twentieth century clamshell machine. The printing press was a donation by the then colonial government’s head printer Mr Joseph Stravens, to the then rising star of
The election which had taken place on 12th August 1963 saw a young political novice triumphed convincingly against the entrenched grand blanc political machine which had hitherto dominated the political landscape of
In 1963 only those who were registered taxpayers and had attained the standard six certificate of education were eligible to vote – hence the term limited franchise. In 1963 everyone had to pay tax on their income and even the smallest colonial outpost followed the established principle of the time, no representation without taxation.
In Victoria, the grand blanc had put forward their rising star – the former Queen’s orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Tony d’Offay, who had recently returned home after training and working in Britain. Unlike in the rural parts of Mahe, as well as Praslin and La Digue, the inhabitants of Victoria were not dependent on subsistence agriculture for their survival and, therefore, were not ward of the grand blanc land owners.
In 1963, Mancham epitomised the new intellectual elite of
It may be of interest for the students of history to note that the birth of the paper preceded that of the Democratic Party as well as its rival the Seychelles people’s United Party (SPUP), the predecessor to the SPPF, and its organ The People.
Of historical interest as well, is the amount of space the first issue of the paper devoted to the landmark ruling of the Chief Justice of the day, Sir Nicholas France Bonnetard, in a case arising out of a petition brought by one Salome Mathiot, a registered voter, that the election of Mancham to the Legislative Assembly be set aside because the polling station was kept open beyond the gazetted time to accept ballot papers. In his ruling, Bonnetard adjudicated that, even though it was illegal for the election officials to continue accepting votes beyond the gazetted time, he also held that, given the number of votes obtained by Dr d’Offay, even if all the votes cast after 6 pm as well as the spoilt ballots were removed, “the result of the election would not have changed and that Mr Mancham would have had still an overwhelming majority against his opponent”
In the 43 years of its history, the publication of the paper has had its dark moments, however. In June 1966 a homemade bomb exploded under the veranda of Progress House, the small wooden edifice which not only housed the private practice of lawyer Mancham, but also the printing press. The editorial in the issue of 18 June 1966 made the following succinct remarks: “there can be very little speculation as to the origin of this vile attack – for circumstances do indeed indicate its source. What message did this explosion convey? The answer is plain and simple. There is a group of people among us who is determined to create violence and to disrupt existing stability in furtherance of personal aggrandisement”.
Not surprisingly, the paper stopped publication entirely after the violent coup d’etat in June 1977, ten years after that editorial was written, which was followed by the setting up of the one-party state dictatorship, detention without trial, disappearances, while thousands fled into exile in faraway lands. But, the paper proudly returned soon after the multiparty system was re-introduced. However, time had changed after 15 years in the wilderness and the paper not only struggled to find a new niche with the advent of television, radio and satellite broadcasting as well as total political polarisation that characterises the modern Seychelles of today, but also had to find dedicated individuals to keep it alive as well as the appropriate printing facilities and, most importantly, money.
The band of dedicated individuals behind the success of the paper today is dedicated to keep the paper as the organ of real and truthful information with hard hitting opinions on matters of national interest consistent with the responsibilities for the free press inherent in a democratic society. As our readers are aware, nothing speaks more like success in the information age than when your detractors try their utmost to shut you up. This happened to us recently when the new management of the printing company, Printec Press Holdings, initially tried to censor us and eventually refused to print our copies. This is not surprising since the principal assets of that company, in other words the equipment as well as the land and buildings, are state property which the current owners, front men for the ruling SPPF, have virtually stolen from the state. One never prospers from ill gotten gains.
We are confident that the success that we have achieved thus far will be consolidated and will spur new ventures in the years to come. Watch this space.
