Recently a local newspaper reported that a “retaining wall
crumbles on home” and asked the question “Who`s responsible?” No names were
mentioned as some editors’ refused to touch it; accountability was out of the
window. Other Editors that had the information; just cowered in fear. Everybody
wanted to keep it hush hush. Parts of the original article are published below:
“A retaining wall in La Retraite, Anse Etoile has crumbled
on a neighbouring house situated just below the wall and it is still unclear
whether the incident is a result of the rain, or whether the construction was
faulty. Residents in the area expressed their concern about safety of
construction on such steep hills.
Parts of the neighbouring home below the retaining wall was
destroyed, crushed completely under the weight of the rocks and boulders from
the construction.
The house has since been covered in plastic sheets, while
construction workers have been seen deployed on the scene to start removing all
the debris and gravel from the area so that the wall can be rebuilt.
Certain residents of the area have expressed their concern
to this newspaper about the safety of certain constructions in the area, and of
the safety of homes located in close proximity with these large walls and homes
being built. The terrain is steep, and many of these houses are located on the
mountainside.”
Seychelles Citizenwatch can reveal the house and land belongs to no other than the "Cartel busting" Minister for Habitat, Infrastructure and Land Transport which
includes the planning department; Charles Bastienne.
Apparently, the neighbours below were not at home, otherwise it could have been a fatal disaster. H6305 is the
plot where the house is built. H12433 also belongs to Bastienne and purchased from the Government, totally
violating Government land allocation policy “ONE PIECE OF LAND PER PERSON OR IF
YOU HAVE (PRIVATE) LAND ALREADY YOU CANNOT GET GOVERNMENT LAND.”
Source: Seychelles Citizenwatch