ROY FONSEKA PROVIDES MICHEL AN EXIT STRATEGY

INCLUSIVITY & DEMOCRACY MUST PREVAIL OVER MACHIAVELLIAN POLITICS, INTIMIDATION & VICTIMISATION

When Mohamed Bouazizi, a common citizen of Tunisia made the ultimate sacrifice on the 18th December 2010 to bring world attention to the sufferings of his fellow compatriots by setting himself ablaze, it can be said that the man simply had had enough.  That triggered the Arab Spring which in turn created the tsunami that still engulfs the Middle East today.

It is true that the likes of Saddam Hussain of Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya managed to keep on 'lock down' the ever bubbling lid of discontent in their respective country.   Punching a Machiavellian fist in the air, whilst holding a flaying whip in the other hand, they ruthlessly kept their peoples on tight leashes.  Terror being their favoured modus operandi and their role models being the likes of Stalin, Hitler and those post Empire African dictators, they were always ready to arrange a one-way ticket to the Great Allah for those who dared think of an alternative.

The Middle East is indeed going through a most testing period.  But unlike other periods in its previous turbulent history, the ongoing sufferings today can be most graphically viewed right in our sitting rooms and in real time, encouraging the false argument that appeasement is less chaotic than standing up to dictatorship and corruption.   There are those (even the supposedly most enlightened) who may now prefer the devil they knew, forgetting that they also must accept the consequence of them having turned a blind eye to the devil's dance in the first place.    Such turbulent times also draws in those who are prepared to perch themselves on the fence and become lecturers and professors of hindsight.   I personally subscribe to those who somehow knew that the world was not flat and dared look towards the horizon.  

But the fall from grace of the leaders of Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and soon others may follow, could have been avoided had they been able to spot the wind of change that blew right across their doorstep.  With clear foresight, they could have considered an inclusive team on the bridge to help steer the ship and avoided falling over-board.  Like President Frederik Willem de Klerk of South Africa who must be given immense credit for his role in taking a troubled South Africa from the past to the present.  And whilst all glory centred on good old President Mandela, the ability for de Klerk to detect that Mandela was a person who could be trusted must not be belittled in any measure.  But again it is not necessarily about the ability to single out any special individual.  It is more about being able to appreciate the true mood of the public and acknowledging the surge of the wave for change.  Thereby being able to seize the opportunity and become part of smoothing its progress towards its defined course instead of futile resistance until it is too late.  Change is no doubt a most healthy moment for a country.  However, in changing a fatigued and corrupt system, the compass of democracy must direct our path towards inclusivity so that a vacuum is not created for another devil to own that space.  This is an area where the Middle East is facing its biggest challenge.

There is no doubt that the mood for change here in Seychelles is unstoppable.  There is nothing more powerful in life than the true discovery of freedom within one's self.  It starts with the simple absence of fear which takes its form through one's innate thoughts.  But once a person discovers a true and noble purpose, fear will simply disappear.  Similarly soldiers with a clear mission and purpose also experience the calmness before a major battle, and in the same way the nuns and priests who dedicated their lives to treating lepers in those early days were also fearlessly committed, not forgetting those who recently treated the victims of the Ebola virus.

And once the power of freedom is tasted, it cannot be washed off with a forced gulp of arsenic and ratcheting up the flow of intimidation.  Freedom is contagious and sooner or later, it is replaced with something even stronger - individual pride and self-worth, .known as 'esprit de corps' by the military.   And this phenomena is what is presently taking place here in Seychelles.  To have men, who having been invited to State House with the subtle offer of a fat envelope, turn their backs, walk purposefully down the lane, with head up and chin forward after refusing to swallow hook line and sinker, is not only commendable, but  was a shattering rebuke  to the offerer.  Those are marks of true patriots, who must at some future period be considered to receive the citation of the Freedom of Victoria in time to come.

Those great acts prove that the common Seychellois bears an  immense quota of pride which have been suppressed for too long.  And had we nurtured those qualities over the past 39 years, instead of the practice of manipulative politics, our country could have been the best place to live in the world.  Our service levels could be the best, our tourism industry past anything we know of today, and our youth would be full of dreams with no heroine running through their veins.    But being an optimist, I am indeed hopeful for the future.  And as we leaders set an example of pride and unselfishness, we can start claiming the future of our country for a better and refreshed Seychelles.

The public's mood is clear, eager for change.  The downtrodden have picked themselves back on their feet.  The numerous tapes of lies and promises have been rewound once too often.  The people have been pushed to their limits and cannot be fooled any further.  Like a swarm of bees, self purpose directs their movement and no-one is without labour.

On the other side, bewilderment masks those previously well favoured as they watch a determined public demanding their right to free and fair elections, demanding an end to nepotism and deep-rooted corruption, demanding an impartial judiciary, demanding an end to victimisation, and insisting on good governance.  Those demands are being persistently made in a high spirited atmosphere and through respect for the law.  Contagious optimism fills the air and smiles and laughter are back amongst the once oppressed.  'What do these guys know which we do not' the new bourgeoisie ask themselves.  Freedom and self-respect is the answer my friends.  Some suddenly realise that the light that was directed at their eyes had been masking the darkness around them and quickly jump sides.   For the rest, it is never too late to walk towards betterment.  I say come and join us, there is room for everyone on this train of democracy.

As for the President, he must find himself between a rock and a hard place as he continues to use the election commissioner to engineer more obstacles along the voting process.  Gerrymandering and threatening to strike off the electoral register, his main opponent, he continues down an old path of futility.   Unfortunately that's all he knows.  In the absence of having anyone he can trust around him, he must find himself as being in a lonely place.  Unlike FW de Klerk, he has failed to create a visionary team.  He is left surrounded by only those who believe in self-interest. 

Foresight and opportunities, are either quickly grasped or very soon become elusive.  The President could take some lessons from de Klerk and turn this present scenario in his favour.   Pick the phone up and speak to FW de Klerk, I say.  And that is sound advice.  No doubt there will be reluctance from those close to him cunningly eyeing the crown.  But has the President got what it takes?  Only time will tell.

God bless Seychelles.

Roy Fonseka

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY

Not too long ago Minister Adam announced that Seychelles Gross National Income (GNI) was in the region of $14,000 per capita and in the same breath he said that in a recent census of household income it emerged that just over 39% of the population live below the poverty line earning SCR 3900/- per month or less.

Strange, because 39, is the number of years that SPUP, SPPF and PL has been in power. I cannot help but conclude that every year that PL has been in power the level of poverty has increased by 1% therefore the question is, if PL remains in power for the next 5 years (making a total of 44 years) will those living below the poverty line be 44%? 

One of the ways through which a PL government has contributed to the creation of poverty is the issue of “tan servis”. The formula of one day’s pay for each month worked, dates back to the colonial days, but in 2010 this government found it fit to trash it down to a mere 0.8333 pay for each month worked, therefore The tax payer loses 0.1677 pay for each month worked.

For example a person earning a salary of SCR 5000.00 per month, after working 5 years in a company/Government on a 5 day week  he/ she would have earned SCR 13846.00 as “tan servis”, but under the present system where a worker gets only 0.8333 pay, for each month worked he/she would only get SCR 11537.87, because instead of the government paying the employee 60 days equal to (5 years “tan servis” on the pre 2010 formula) the government only  pays the worker for 50 days. (Which is, four years and one and a half months salary only, instead of five years). In essence the longer you serve in the company or government you loose big time!! This means for every 5 years that an employee works he /she loses 10 days pay from his “tan servis” payment. If he/she has served 15 years therefore he/she stands to loose a whole month’s salary as compensation paid to him/her. This is day light robbery!! That is not all, the employees I have spoken with all tell me that after five years service they only get around Seychelles Rupees Six Thousand as gratuity.

And this, is only one of the ways that PL uses to give the citizens of Seychelles ‘son don li”.

Alexia G. Amesbury

PARTI LEPEP SECRETS; THE BIGGEST THIEF

By Alexander Pierre

Parti lepep which was formerly SPPF (Seychelles People`s Progressive Front) are the proud owners of 40 plots of land according to the latest publicly available information at land registration. This is beyond the richter scale of wrong.  They are as follows; S4014, S3421, LD730, LD704, B827, J1770, V7267, V8336, V8337, V8051, V8013, C2432, V10072, V12249, V12250, V12256, V12257, V4908, V8911, PR1521, PR2350, H4689, S4296, LD622, PR2392, T1713, LD1097, C2782, V5487, LD1103, V102270, V12216, S6690, J2939, J2941, J1808, B2565, T3822, T3823 and V19499.

The card was so full the last 3 had to be written on the back and the amount of square metres is too much to calculate. How many Seychellois families could have benefited from those plots? How does a political party come into ownership of so many plots of land?

When a company changes name the assets and employees still belong to that company which is the same for a Political party. SPPF is now Parti Lepep. Parti Lepep always take the opportunity to make it known of how proud they are of their past. A past littered with tragic consequences of the coup d`etat such as nation division, disappearances, corruption and many more; it is dictatorial socialism and communism gone wrong. Seychelles as a nation cannot hide from these facts anymore; a change must take place. The remnants of the past must go and a new path must be taken.

International school, Montessori school, Zil Pasyon head office and District Administrations are just some known entities which are shockingly on SPPF/Parti Lepep land. Question is how much rent are they paying to the forever communist party? What do they do with the money? There are too many parcels to individually highlight them.

Parcel C2782, where the bazar at Anse Royale is located, has already been brought to the attention of the public by LDS candidate for Anse Royale, Flory Larue, in her campaign Party Political Broadcast.

Parcel  B2565, which is 12218 square metres in size, is an interesting plot to highlight. This plot was amalgamated from parcels from B499, B500 and B502; mafia style by the President of SPPF. No date was bothered to by recorded. Seychelles does not need mafias. The huge parcel which has 5 erected constructions with a swimming belongs to the Anse Polite branch of SPPF. Many questions arise.

Does the money they earn from all the rent of these parcels go towards funding the party? How long did Parti lepep wait on the land list? Many citizens who are deemed against the dictatorial party have been waiting on the list for over 30 years. There’s also no conclusive proof money was actually transferred for the ownership of those 40 plots. And what happened to the land allocation policy of this Government of  one piece of land per person/entity or if you have (private) land already you cannot get government land?

Is this why they are more determined than ever to keep the majority in parliament in case their secret comes out? Albert Rene once published a document called “SPPF Policy Statement Onward to Socialism”; is this what they meant by this? SPPF/Parti Lepep principles have totally malfunctioned; all Seychellois must take the upcoming opportunity in the National Assembly Election to vote them out!

Permission is granted to republish the article in full only. 

THE SEYCHELLES TIPPING POINT

A PEACEFUL REVOLUTION OF A PROUD NATION

The word revolution instantly sends that creepy feeling down our spines and  warning bells to our heads.  History of revolutions around the world have in too many cases spilled innocent blood and left trails of suffering along its path.   Such as the great communist revolution.  Packaged as the ultimate solution to save the downtrodden, communism and socialism only transformed those regimes in brutal dictatorship across the world.   Until the mid eighties after the fall of the Eastern block countries, that doctrine was perhaps the biggest lie that many had to silently bear until it's true nastiness was revealed across the world's media.   North Korea being the exception still survives today and unfortunately our dark past saw our nation recognising its existence and shamefully flocked its company.   Seychelles have indeed walked through the valley of the shadow of shame following the cowardly act of the 1977 coup d'etat. 

But the bright news is that our beloved country, at this critical juncture is going through a revolution that for once, after four decades of lies and corruption, is bringing pride back to its people.  Pride that was so commonplace amongst us prior to the coup.   It is being coined our revolution of unity and peace guiding our country towards inclusivity, optimism and refreshed enlightenment.

The struggle is not quite over yet but the finishing line is in sight and the wave for change is unstoppable.  Similarly to the tipping point in felling a massive sandragon tree which also goes through a brief moment when it lingers to and fro just prior to its thunderous crash, this is is the very moment that we presently find ourselves in.  The tipping of the present regime.  But what exactly kindled this revolution of peace?  Like all revolutions, it is a combination of numerous factors.  But ultimately Darwin warned us that change is the only constant in our world.

Whilst leaders influence changes, this revolution is in the main being propelled by the common men and women of all ages.  But most notably, are those pensioners in their twilight years, who find it their faithful duty to come forward one more time to finally bring democracy back to their country. Discarding fear in the gutter that  kept them in meek obedience for 39 years, today they proudly stand firm and upright in their own shoes.   But this is no motley group of individuals on a wild rampage as have happened in numerous revolutions.  No Sir, this is the LDS on the move towards a very clear vision for an inclusive  Seychelles where no man stands above the constitution.  The Linyon Demokratic Seselwa  is formed of five different entities.  It's strength built from the abilities of such a diverse group.  Allowing it to fearsomely and honestly debate, conclude and work together.  

The complete opposite to a system of government reminiscent of those days of ruling by Presidential decree.  Alongside the practice of interfering with the judiciary, nepotism, victimisation, and wastage.  The list being endless.  A government service with an inbuilt design to frustrate and make processes difficult and unbearable.  All intended to lead an individual to a point where political allegiance to the ruling party will suddenly be offered as the remedy to smooth the impossible.  A public service that should aptly have, as its slogan, 'Serving in order to Frustrate.'     

For too long the country has been run under a system of crony capitalism. Where disparity between a favoured few and the rest of the population spans all the needs of its people. From ease of doing business, favoured access to land and property, to licenses and permits, to special concessions, favoured labour incentives, one Rupee lease amongst cronies, to name a few.  We have come a long way in our struggle since the day that our constitution was gang raped by a bunch of goons.  And sadly to a day where we see the victim willing to go to bed with the rapist.  To a day where our judicial system has lost the public's trust, a day where corruption becomes a necessary qualification to high office, a day where the Election Commissioner has equal respect to the con-man.  But despite all the injustices that we have and are still suffering,  we are prepared to forgive.   Yes we are, not because they know not what they do, but because our love for our country is greater than their desire to keep our nation in the dark.     

And today we repeat our call that no man should be above our constitution.  This is our one single demand that we will not compromise on.  Where no man can interfere with the judiciary, where no man can interfere with the Election Commissioner.   Where SBC meets its obligation of transmitting diverse views without favour.  This country deserves the best and we will not accept second best.  The people have made this call.  The people understands this call.   This demand is being done in the name of unity, peace and the preparedness to heal the nation and for once put to rest our dark past in the archives as lessons for future generations.  

Most important is that our distorted history is honestly righted so that our nation can take a deep breath and move on in unity.  Taking us towards our vision for a refreshed and inclusive Seychelles.  And until this demand is achieved, no mum or dad dare have dreams for their children.  No youth can have dreams of their own.  No entrepreneur can confidently invest without that eerie feeling that a malicious ghost hangs behind the curtains ready to trip his progress.  But as the wind of change fill our sails, we know that finally those dark days will soon be lost in the aft horizon.  Expect some that will drop to the lowest level of decency to block our movement.  But good always prevail over bad.    My friends, the best is yet to come for our beloved country.   Let us all be part of that change together.  Room for everyone on this train.  God bless our Seychelles.

Roy Fonseka

ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION; A FARCE

Another Election is round the corner and to date PL(Parti Lepep) has not yet announced that petroleum has been discovered in Seychelles Waters? It has been a hallmark statement from PL for the last few elections but this time it has come up with another “vote winner” it has created an “Anti-Corruption Commission.” To be chaired by none other than Duncan Gaswaga. This raises several questions. Why a Ugandan Mr. Danny Faure?

Or does he qualify as chairman because he has acquired Seychellois nationality. If so, was it under section 5 (2) of the Citizenship Act 1994 which gives the President total discretion to grant citizenship to a person who, in his opinion, special circumstances exist even if they are not otherwise entitled or eligible to Seychellois citizenship? Or was he granted Seychellois citizenship under section 5 (3) of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2013 which curtails the President’s discretion to grant citizenship by the imposition of a “Citizenship Eligibility Committee” to whom all applications have to be submitted and who will have to be satisfied that all the criteria set out under the new section 5 (3) are met especially when bearing in mind that a member of the Citizenship Eligibility Committee is Basil Hoareau who is a partner in the Chetty & Hoareau Chambers, the Chambers that represents President Michel, and members of his Cabinet?

"Corrupt" under the section 2 of the Anti Corruption Act 2016 “means the acts of soliciting, accepting, obtaining, giving, promising or offering of a gratification by way of a bribe or inducement, or the misuse or abuse of a public office for advantage or benefit for oneself or for another person, and "corruption" shall be construed accordingly”.

The credibility of the Commission depends on the personal integrity of its members, it is therefore of paramount importance that the above questions are answered honestly.

Parti Lepep has given us other “Commissions” before, such as the Human Rights Commission which has not been seen or heard of, since its creation. It did not even utter a squeak when Robert Banane was shot and killed in prison. We also have an office of Ombudsman which to all intents and purposes shut down after Judge Gustave Dodin left the office to become judge. But the one Commission that is notoriously embattled is the Electoral Commission chaired by Mr. Gappy. It is not only being fought against in court, but also on the Streets of Victoria.

I suspect that PL has approached the international community with begging bowl in hand, and it must have been told that the level of corruption or as President Michel has said the “perception” of corruption in the country is unacceptable hence the creation of this “Anti Corruption Commission.”

Which of PL’s Commissions has lived up to its mandate, Constitutional or Statutory? Another farcical move by PL was its adoption of the Opposition’s call for a two term Presidency. The Constitution was amended accordingly and yet President Michel remains in power continuing in his third term in office but shortly after the amendment we heard that Mr. Ban Ki Moon the United Nation Secretary General, is on a state visit to Seychelles and first on his agenda is to praise Seychelles as an exemplary democracy, simply because of this “timely” amendment. So, it is clear that these “commissions” are simply created to “bat latet” the international community.

Is this Anti Corruption Commission or ACC going to finally get IDC audited locally? Is it going to tell us where all our money and other state assets are hidden? Is it going to tell us who killed Ricky Hermitte? Is it going to reveal the identity of the soldiers who killed Brian Victor’s two friends and  who only managed to escape his killers by faking death?  Is it going to tell the Umarji family where Hassan is buried? Is it going to force Commissioner Elizabeth to divulge the identity of the “skull” discovered at Bel Ombre? This ACC is created by PL, so whose corrupt acts is it going to investigate? So please President Michel give me a break!!!

 In my view if President Michel wanted to leave a lasting legacy for Seychelles he would have created a “Truth & Reconciliation Commission” to be chaired by someone like Bishop French Chang-Him instead of this Anti Corruption Commission which I predict will follow the paths of other such “bodies” before it, and die at birth.

Alexia G. Amesbury