Like most people, I have been watching the Lions Club going about its public contribution programs and observing what they say and what they do. Most countries have a Lion’s Club, each chapter forms part of the Lions Club International. They donate to the needy and celebrate the accomplishments of business persons in the hope that they will be able to highlight role models as an example for other people to emulate in society. They are supposed to be a charitable organization. However, in all chapters, some more then others, they are susceptible to political influence and abuse.
The Lions Club is supposed to be a non-political organization, but in Seychelles, it seems to have taken a very political spin, to the detriment of the organization’s reputation and credo of being Apolitical (not political).
The Lions Club
At a Dinner Gala early in the year, you could see how politicized the Lion’s Club Seychelles Chapter had become. Most of the people sitting down and eating away at the gala were well-placed hard-core SPPF. This included Danny Faure, Sylvette Frichot or Pool, Francis Macgregor, Roger Toussaint etc. At the time, I did not think much of it. There is always more than meets the eye with SPPF. It appears the Lions Club has become a flattery mechanism for the SPPF to give credit and respect to it’s premadonna’s, instead of them having to earn it. That is like building houses with a deck of cards.
Most recently the Lion’s Club honoured Colonel David Savy as “Business Person of the Year”. Colonel Savy is also CEO of Air
This year, one Shorts SD3-60 aircraft caught fire in the air. After an emergency landing, Colonel Savy was on hand to tell us that it did catch fire in-flight. The following week on SBC the Colonel said it did not catch fire. It only “smoked”. In the same interview, he fumbled about and then said the engine disintegrated and he sent it off to have an autopsy. We still have not learned of the cause of the fire. Hardly good performance for Guests safety for the year. Colonel Savy is also a member of the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority, the body entrusted by the Government to regulate the air transport industry in
Colonel Savy also opened the largest VIP Lounge in the region this year and that cost $1Million, but Air
Then there is the order of the Dreamliners. We will only know if this is a good business decision if Colonel Savy, as CEO of Air Seychelles, can afford to make the lease payments on that dream plane order when we receive the pair. Colonel Savy has yet to make available to the public Air
From the early forecasts, it appears Government of Seychelles cannot even ensure the steady supply of onions in the country; I do not see how we will be able to pay for these two planes. The verdict is not out on this brain ball idea, yet we must be fair to Colonel Savy and wait and see. The Lions Club should not consider Colonel Savy as a Businessman of The Year for this either, since it is still just a dream.
The Lions Club must know that Colonel Savy pays himself in Euros as CEO of Air
In business you must live or die by your decisions. When Colonel Savy has outsmarted himself and indebted Air
In our community, there are many, many potential “Businessmen of the Year” this year. But they cannot give you a free flight to
There is of course Mr. Joe Albert who brought us the New Cat Coco. This service has increased the quality of inter island ferrying of passengers where Colonel Savy and Air
Mr. Albert has also added one of the Worlds Leading Hotels, Maia Resort, to the Seychelles list of rooms. Maia has been awarded the “Best Resort in Africa Award”, “Best Garden and Grounds Award”, an achievement which the Lions conveniently overlook but we recognize. Congratulations to the Maia Staff and Mr. Albert.
Similarly, there is Captain William Rose, worth every weight in his body as “Businessman of The Year”. Mr. Rose already had more than sufficient seating capacity on his existing ferry service to La Digue prior to investing heavily in Cat Rose when the market indicators told him not to do so. His great risk has bettered our lives tremendously. If Air
Additionally, there is Vijay. If you want something done in
In Transportation, of course how can you forget Captain Luc Grandcourt. His family has been thrashing the Praslin- Mahe and inter/outer islands route for generations, over 150 years. Recently, in spite of heavy competition on the horizon, in spite of every business indicator telling Mr. Grandcourt to dock the boats, he has upgraded and invested his own money to improve his service delivery. Praslin Hero had gone under water a few years back, but Mr. Grandcourt brought it back to life. La Belle Praslinoise was tattered, he could have easily retired her, but he dry docked her and brought her back to work the routes faithfully again and again. His business effort results in an undetermined amount of benefit to our community. He could have easily been the “Businessman of The Year”. Thank you Captain Grandcourt. Don’t let a bunch of pussy cats get you down.
The Lions Club may want to consider Glenny Savy as “Businessman of The Year” next year. He has run IDC at a loss for every year and he cannot run the Outer islands for a profit - according to him.
Dr. Ramadoss will also be an ideal candidate for “Businessman of The Year”. He has promised a state of the art hospital to open in November 2007 and he has not done the foundation yet. But that did not stop the good Dr. from buying Printec, trying to shut down the Free Press, starting a supermarket next to a coffin sales outlet, operating the Praslin Airport Restaurant to the point of closure, failing to generate respectable profits in the Praslin Casino when he has a monopoly on that.