Between the old plantation house and the boatyard at L’Union
Estate on La Digue lies a plot of land in excess of nine thousand square
meters; Parcel LD 1613. The high value beachfront property has been carved out
of the massive portion of state land belonging to government but transferred onto
L’Union Estate Company years ago. On it has been constructed five chalets. On
further inquiry, it turned out the chalets are the property of La Digue Island
Lodge; it is being advertised on its website. Reliable information indicates
that the La Digue Island Lodge is up for sale; Parcel LD 1613 is part of the
package.
Trying to ascertain who owns Parcel LD 1613 has been
impossible. The registration office has no record of the parcel or who it
belongs to. One of the officers explained that the ownership of the parcel is
secret and cannot be revealed; we could not make out whether the officer was
stupid or whether this directive really existed.
La Digue Island Lodge is owned by the once affluent and popular
business magnat e , Mr Gregoire Payet; the right hand man of former president
Rene. For many years he was the powerful CEO of L‘Union Estate Company Ltd
which oversaw all government properties on La Digue. The friendship with former
president soured and Mr Payet resigned as CEO of the parastatal company some
years ago after massive financial irregularities were unveiled. The Minister
for Finance announced an inquiry into the allegations of corruption but
everything has gone quiet. To date, the accounts of L’Union Estate Company Ltd
remain unsubmitted.
