fear and loathing in paradise

FEAR AND LOATHING IN PARADISE

An Exposé of Corruption, Nepotism and Greenwashing in the Seychelles

Alex Foulkes

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This book is dedicated to the good people of the Seychelles and particularly the downtrodden workers on Desroches Island.



DISCLAIMER This publication does not reflect the views of the Island Conservation Society or any of its staff or anyone affiliated with this organisation. Indeed no other member of staff, either previous or present of the Island Conservation Society has been involved in the production of this document. First edition. All rights reserved. The author of this publication is recognised as Alex Foulkes of Edinburgh, Scotland. To contact the author with any comments or corrections for the second edition please e-mail [email protected] This edition of this publication has been produced in electronic format and all copyright is waived. Circulation by electronic or other means is permitted subject to the author being recognised in any referencing. Published – Seychelles 2012



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There have been a lot of people involved in the writing of this book. Many of whom I cannot name for obvious reasons. To those that have passed me information and discussed the historical and current situation in the Seychelles I give my deepest and most heartfelt thanks. You know who you are. Additional thanks go to my correspondents overseas for their help in researching areas that were inaccessible to me. Finally, my thanks must also go to all the staff of the Seychelles National Library and the Seychelles National Archives in Victoria for their assistance in researching aspects of this book. Many of the arguments within this book are not directly referenced and the reason for this is that they have been provided in confidence from sources that do not wish to be named. However all efforts have been made to ensure the veracity of these arguments. My apologies go to the late Hunter S. Thompson for the rip off of his famous title. I can assure the reader though that the writing style of this book is not a parody of his legendary gonzo journalism. However, with his contempt for the abuse of power I think that he might like this publication. Any inaccuracies within this publication are mine and mine alone and should not be attributed to any other source.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Foulkes is a conservationist and writer from Edinburgh in Scotland. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Auckland and Edinburgh Napier University, studying Politics, Geography, Environmental Management, Wildlife Biology and Conservation. He has previously worked on conservation projects in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa and South America. He has lately been employed as the Conservation Officer for the Island Conservation Society on Desroches Island in the Seychelles.



CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

INTRODUCTION 7.

1. THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COSTA ALLEGRA 11.

2. THE REPUBLIC OF THE SEYCHELLES – WHERE MIGHT IS RIGHT 13. 2.1 Independence and Rise of the Dictatorship 14.

2.2 The Strange Love Affair between the Republic of Seychelles and the UAE 18.

2.3 Corruption in the Seychelles –Let the Americans Explain 18.

3. DESROCHES ISLAND – A MODEL OF MODERN APARTHEID? 20.

3.1 Racist recruitment policies on Desroches Island 22.

3.2 The Foul Stench of Nepotism 23.

3.3 The exploitation of Staff on Desroches Island 23.

3.4 Lies and Misinformation by Desroches Island Lodge 26.

3.5 A Long Litany of Complaints 27.

3.6 Secrecy, Fear and Intimidation on Desroches. 28.

4. ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE 29.

SEYCHELLES 4.1 Human Rights in the Seychelles 30.

4.2 The Seychelles Judiciary 31.

4.3 The Seychelles Media and Freedom of Speech 32.

4.4 The Governments Cynical Control of Power 35.

5. THE SOOTY TERN EGG FIASCO 37.

6. THE ISLAND CONSERVAT ION SOCIETY - THE ELEPHANT IN THE 40.

ROOM

7. THE GREAT SEYCHELLES GREENWASHI NG 45.



8. WHO OWNS THE OUTER ISLAND OF THE SEYCHELL ES? 50.

9. THE SEYCHELLES - WHERE TO NOW? 54. BIBLIOGRAPHY 57.

APPENDIX 1 – PRESIDENT RENĖ’S BROADCAST AFTER COUP 60. APPENDIX 2 – AID DISPURSEMENTS TO SEYCHELLES BY DONOR 61. APPENDIX 3 – US CABLE EXPOSED BY WIKILEAKS ENTITLED 62. ‘SEYCHELLES CORRUPTION ‘ APPENDIX 4 – JOINT STATEMENT BY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES 69. ON CAMPAIGN VIOLATIONS AND ILLEGITIMACY OF RESULTS APPENDIX 5 – MAP OF THE OUTER ISLANDS OF THE SEYCHELLES 71.



INTRODUCTION

‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’

John Emerich Edward Dalberg, 1st Baron Acton The Seychelles fits very much with the archetypal image of a tropical paradise. With 115 islands nestled in a benign tropical zone it has the idealistic white beaches, the palm trees and luxury resorts that have attracted millionaires and celebrities to its shores. It is an exclusive holiday destination and a playground of the rich and famous. The focus of the book is not on the incredible scenery and fascinating flora and fauna of the Seychelles. While the natural environment of the Seychelles is of paramount interest to me it is an area that has already been well documented elsewhere and is not the primary focus of this book. The less well documented dark underbelly of the Seychelles is what this book is about. This book is about aspects of the Seychelles that visitors do not know. The politics of corruption and nepotism and the greenwashing of the Seychelles environmental reputation are the main topics of this book. Greenwashing is the conscious act of promoting aspects of the environmental record of a country while distorting of hiding other important environmental issues. This book is in part autobiographical and traces my experiences and knowledge of the Seychelles but it is also an analysis of lots of the political debates and issues that rage in the Seychelles but have never been adequately documented. Prior to leaving Scotland to work in the Seychelles I spent many hours in the reference library in Edinburgh learning as much as I could about the Seychelles. The reference library contains copies of all the books published in the United Kingdom. There were very few books about the Seychelles and certainly no detailed books about the politics and culture of the Seychelles. This book attempts to go some way to remedy that gap. There can be no reservations or qualifications from the start that this book will make uncomfortable reading for some. Indeed that is one of the intentions of this book. However it is said that sunlight is the best disinfectant for corruption and as a young democracy which is still developing it would seem that the Seychelles is in need of a lot of disinfectant. The Seychelles has a seemingly strong global reputation in terms of conservation and environmental protection with a large percentage of the country now covered by some level of protection and designated as a reserve. However, there are aspects discussed in this book about the Seychelles which will likely surprise the non-Seychellois. You will not hear that shark



finning is legal in the Seychelles and continues to operate. Nor will many people know that the person who runs Desroches Island and other outer islands, Glenny Savy continues to allow and condones the hunting of dolphins and shark finning, runs unsustainable sea bird harvesting, continues to supply turtle meat and controls much of the country with a despotic iron fist as if it is his own kingdom. I suspect that you will not see this advertised by the Seychelles Tourist Board. I also suspect Prince William and Kate Middleton did not know this when they decided to come to Desroches Island in 2007. The Seychelles authorities could restrict or close all of these activities down if they wished but they choose rather to cover them up. A lot of other things that will be discussed in the book are not common knowledge outside of the Seychelles. It is important to state from the start that the purpose in writing this book is not to try to damage the Seychelles tourism industry or to scare away any potential visitors. Tourists when visiting the Seychelles should come with their eyes wide open when they visit these incredible islands and see beyond the picture postcard image that the Seychelles Tourist Board wishes to portray. The tourist dollar is king in the Seychelles and visitors can change things for the better here. The Seychelles Government is justifiably concerned about anything that might damage the tourist industry. Those in power in the Seychelles do not tolerate dissent. This intolerance is not something particular to the Seychelles and often exists in young democracies. It takes time for a free press to establish independence and sufficient journalistic freedom and integrity. The effective functioning of a free fourth estate in scrutinising those in power is a vital part of any democracy. It takes time for a democracy to function successfully and for a civil society to grow and develop. The Seychelles has only had multi-party elections since 1993, albeit ones that are neither free nor fair and it is a very young democracy. Any expose of corruption and nepotism can only be a partial tale as many of the corrupt acts and nepotistic deeds take place in the shadows. The corrupt and nepotistic go to great lengths to hide their nefarious actions. They bully and buy off opponents and constantly work to muzzle the press and suppress dissent. Politics in the Seychelles is run by a clique of individuals in the People’s Party (PP or Parti Lepep - the old Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF)) using a familiar pattern of corruption, harassment and nepotism. Only those within the circle of power get the pay offs, the contracts and the jobs. Those who do not support the governing Junta do not get access to power, the government jobs or certain social services. Those who vocally oppose the system are arrested, bullied, threatened, harassed and ostracised. It is a familiar pattern in Africa although most people associate such practices with countries like Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan and not the Seychelles.



The government of James Michel goes to great lengths to hide this corruption and nepotism from the tourists that provide his government with much needed export earnings and the international community that provides financial support for economic development and the fight against the threat of Somali pirates. The two main daily papers ‘The Seychelles Nation’ and ‘Today’, the one TV station, the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation and the one radio station, Paradise FM are controlled by the government. Most of the press practice self censorship for fear of losing their jobs and do not provide any effective level of scrutiny on the activities of the government or the powerful business elite. I have dedicated this book to the people of the Seychelles and especially the many good people who I met on Desroches Island who have had to endure a lot at the hands of tyrants and bullies. The people of Seychelles are ill-served by their leaders. I would not for one minute argue that the Seychelles needs a revolution by force or any form of violence. A coup rarely helps the people and usually replaces one corrupt ruling oligarchy with another. However, we have seen in many countries in Africa and the Middle-East in 2011 and 2012 the strength of the people uniting for change and it is change of this nature that the Seychelles needs. It has been well documented that many foreign interests have bought large sections – especially coastal sections – of the Seychelles and it is the contention of this book and many Seychellois that I have spoken to that these transactions have been concocted not for the wider benefit of the Seychellois people but to enrich the powerful vested interests in the Seychelles. As a result many Seychellois are being disenfranchised and are restricted from visiting more and more parts of their own country. The land of the Seychelles people has been taken over by despots and sold to foreigners that do not let the local people access their own land and beaches. There are foreigners such as the owners and managers of Desroches who do not allow people – including Seychellois - to travel freely around their own islands. There are many people in the Seychelles that are becoming rich on the back of the labour of others while paying very poor wages. All the while much of the riches of the Seychelles are being siphoned off to foreign bank accounts. The purpose of writing this book is to expose many issues in the Seychelles that are suppressed and should be told. The Seychelles people are talented, brave and honest and if they unite and challenge the corrupt vested interests in their country they will prevail despite the culture of fear that exists. Only by standing up and fighting for change will they be able to ensure that growth and development benefits all Seychellois and that their economy and government is open and accountable. It is important to deal immediately with accusations that will be used against this book. People may say that this book has been written by a non-Seychellois so why should we care what it



says. To some this argument might have merit but it is possible that this book could only have been written by a non-patriot as the accusations in this book are possibly so contentious that they would have caused severe problems for a Seychellois. Another criticism of this book may be that this is just the ranting and ravings of a disillusioned individual. Again, perhaps, people will hold on to this crutch to defend their actions and dismiss this book but in the end the strength of the arguments themselves will define what view people take of this book. There are many people in the Seychelles who are disillusioned with their leaders and the foreigners coming in and buying their land. I know this as I have spoken with many Seychellois at length about these issues. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara famously said that ‘if you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine.’ I have been unlucky enough to witness and learn about many injustices in this beautiful country. I am a comrade of yours and I write this book to all the people in the Seychelles who deserve so much better. I write this also because might cannot mean right and justice, fairness and democracy must prevail.



CHAPTER 1

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COSTA ALLEGRA

‘Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.’

Abraham Lincoln

It was in late February of 2012 while I awaiting the confirmation of my Gainful Occupation Permit (GOP) to the Seychelles that the Costa Allegra hit the news. The Costa Allegra was a cruise ship operating in the Indian Ocean and at the end of February the Costa Allegra lost all power due to an engine fire and had to issue a mayday call for help. They were drifting helplessly in the pirate infested waters of the Indian Ocean. This was more bad news for Costa Cruises that had in January 2012 been involved in one of the worst maritime disasters in recent history. A sister ship of the Allegra, the Costa Concordia had sank off the Italian Coast resulting in the loss of 32 lives and a global scandal. Costa Cruises were obviously desperate to avoid any further negative publicity and what in other circumstances may have been a relatively small story became another major world news story. I followed the story with interest from Scotland, especially as the news suggested that the boat would head towards Desroches Island in the Seychelles, where I was due to take up a post as the Conservation Officer for the Island Conservation Society. Reports suggested that it was going to disembark all passengers on Desroches so that they could be flown back to Mahé. Within what seemed like a few hours the reports changed and the boat was no longer going to be heading towards Desroches but was instead going to be towed a further 230 kilometers north-north-east to the main island of Mahé. The Allegra had over 1000 passengers on board living in unsanitary conditions on the roof due to the failure of the air conditioning on board and the resultant oppressive heat on the decks below. The toilets were broken and clogged below deck and food and fresh water was limited. The trip to Mahé would take a lot longer as they would have to be towed that extra distance by a tugboat. At the time I wondered why this decision had changed but as time moved on I gave it no more thought until I reached Desroches Island to start my new posting in March.



Naturally I discussed these issues with staff on the island and learned a lot more. Indeed some staff members from Desroches actually visited the boat to assist in their plight and hand over much needed supplies. I was still curious why the cruise liner did not offload passengers on Desroches but instead continued onto Mahé which would have subjected the passengers and crew to substantial additional discomfort and the clear and present threat of attack by Somali pirates. The answer was that the decision to disembark the passengers and crew was vetoed by two of the main protagonists who will feature in this book. The first is the General Manager of the Desroches Island Resort, Mr. Mark Leslie. He is a South African now based in Australia who trained as a chef and moved into hotel management. The second person is Mr. Glenny Savy, who is the Executive Director of the Island Development Company and reputedly the most powerful and feared man in the Seychelles. He gained his power from being the stepson of the erstwhile Seychelles dictator, France Albert René. He was also unfortunately for me the founder and a board member of the Island Conservation Society. These individuals will be discussed at more length throughout this book but from what I can gather it was these two individuals who prevented the Allegra from coming to Desroches and were partly responsible for the additional hardships and dangers endured by all those on board. As to why they decided to veto the cruise liner from Desroches, we can only but speculate. The full reasons may well come out in time. I have heard that it may have been because the island was too small to accommodate the numbers of people that would have disembarked. Others have speculated that it is more likely due to the possibility that the super rich guests living on Desroches may have been unhappy about the disruption to their holiday in paradise. Others have said that it might have caused bad publicity for Desroches and made it a target for the pirates itself. Indeed it may have been a combination of these and other reasons which led to the decision. This decision not to allow the Allegra to come to Desroches however does give you the reader an insight into the thinking of Mark Leslie and Glenny Savy. These individuals were happy to prolong the suffering of the passengers of the Allegra – many of whom were old and infirm – rather than come to their aid. This tale is one of many where power has been wielded recklessly without adequate scrutiny and accountability within the Seychelles by these individuals.



CHAPTER 2

THE REPUBLIC OF THE SEYCHELLES - WHERE MIGHT IS RIGHT

‘Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we're tired of hearing promises that we know they'll never keep.’

Ray Davies

Africa has had its fair share of tyrants. These tyrants take many forms. One of the most notorious is Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who went from being the liberator of the people and an African hero in 1980 to being one of the world’s most corrupt and hated dictators. There are many other infamous leaders who have been involved in genocide and corruption throughout Africa and they are well known and do not need to be listed or discussed here at length. It is different though in the Seychelles. To the world the Seychelles portrays itself as an emerging democracy; the playground of the rich and famous and a country fighting bravely against the threat of Somali pirates. Indeed the Seychelles seems at first glance to be much less corrupt than many other countries in Africa. In Transparency International’s UK Corruption Perception Index the Seychelles is placed at a relatively high number 50 (out of 183 countries and territories – Somalia is at the bottom) and the Ibrahim Index of African Government places Seychelles as the second least corrupt country in Africa behind Mauritius. This is only part of the story. The dictatorial regime of France Albert René still persists in power in the Seychelles, albeit in a supposedly democratic guise, and corruption and nepotism remains rife despite these limited democratic freedoms and rights. Real personal freedoms taken for granted elsewhere in the world are still not available to the Seychelles people. The press is controlled by powerful vested interests and economic growth has only benefitted vested interests while the vast majority has been kept in relative poverty. It is pertinent at this stage to explore why this is the case and to explain the current political climate will necessitate an analysis of the history and political development of the Seychelles. The current political climate does not exist in isolation but rather is the result of the decisions and actions of many people. The people in power now are a result of these decisions and actions and it is important to explain the context of how these people have gained and held such power.



2.1 Independence and the Rise of the Dictatorship The Seychelles was given independence from the United Kingdom in 1976. Unlike many countries that have fought their colonial overlords for freedom, the Seychelles was lukewarm about independence and was told that independence would be given as a fait accompli. The British geo-political world had changed and they no longer needed or could afford the Seychelles as a colony. The first elected leader after independence was James Mancham who won elections in 1976. The elections took place under a state of heightened tension as the Seychelles had been embroiled within the wider battle of the Cold War. The Seychelles was of geo-political significance as it housed a very prominent US ‘Satellite tracking base’ which was in actual fact a spying station and part of the global ECHELON spying network. It was spying primarily on the Russians and the Chinese during the cold war and was for many years of significant strategic importance to the Americans. In the 1976 election Mancham claimed that he was funded by anti-communist committees in the election and his opponent France Albert René was funded by communists. He also claims that he was supported for president in the election by the US Government and the CIA (Mancham 2001) Mancham was the long term leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and was previously elected leader of the Seychelles in pre-independence elections in 1970 and 1974 with a small majority in the percentage of voters but a large majority under the Westminster first-past-the-post electoral system. Campling et. al. highlighted that this small majority in votes but large advantage in terms of seat was a major issue for the opposition and stated that:

This obvious disparity would set the scene for the SPUP’s legitimisation of non-constitutional means to achieve power by force three years later. (Campling et. al. 2011)

Mancham was overthrown in a coup run in 1977 by his then Prime Minister France Albert René, the leader of the opposition Seychelles People’s United Party (SPUP), who he was working with in a government of national unity formed after independence. The circumstances of the coup are well documented in Mancham’s books ‘Paradise Raped’ and ‘War on America – seen from the Indian Ocean’ as well as Shillington’s ‘History of Modern Seychelles’. Mancham was in the UK while the coup took place attending the Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. While Mancham’s perspective must be looked at as coming from one of the protagonists and seen through that prism a possibly more impartial perspective of the coup was is documented by Campling et. al. who state:



The motivations for the coup were mixed. One stated rationale was the perceived mismanagement of the economy, fawning on foreign capitalists, and the lack of progress in socio-economic development, including the reported failure to implement promised reforms. These failings were blamed solely upon the SDP government, rather than the difficulty of the tasks involved or wider problems with the economy and society. Another stated reason that Mancham was planning to make himself president for life, effectively turning Seychelles into a dictatorship, whereby he would remain President forever (Campling et. al. 2011)

The irony and hypocrisy inherent in these rationales for the coup are unlikely to be lost on many Seychellois when considering what transpired in the next 35 years of the politics the Seychelles. The radio broadcast by René is included in appendix 1 and highlights the rationale given for the coup at the time. In it he states somewhat disingenuously that he ‘cannot blame the people if they have found it necessary to overthrow the government’ when of course it was him and a small cadre of friends that had launched the coup.

Figure 1 - This picture was taken on the day of the coup and shows France Albert René in the centre with current President James Michel on the left in army fatigues holding a gun. Source – Seychelles Weekly

Mancham did not get the support from the American or British he had hoped for. Shillington (2009) highlights the cold shoulder treatment that he received from the British claiming that ‘the prime concern of the British was that the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations should not be disrupted by the embarrassing political row’. He continues by highlighting Mancham’s isolation thus:

‘A handful of Commonwealth leaders indicated their sympathy with Mancham’s predicament, but they took their lead from their hosts, the British, and kept their distance from the ousted president. Not only was his invitation to speak at the opening ceremony



on Tuesday 7 June withdrawn, but he could not even get the issue on the agenda. Acknowledging defeat, Mancham bowed to Secretary General Ramphal’s request that he say away from the Commonwealth Conference’

Perfidious Albion abandoned the ousted leader of one of the newest independent countries of the world although others were keen to restore Mancham to power. There were subsequently a range of coups attempting to remove René including one by the infamous ‘Mad’ Mick Hoare. Mancham described the episode thus:

‘In November 1981, a group of Seychellois in exile got involved with Mike Hoare, the notorious Irishman, who had fought in the Congo in the sixties. Fifty-two white mercenaries led by Hoare fled into Victoria on a commercial jetliner pretending to represent a sport and drinking club called, the Ancient Order of Foam Blowers. A custom official discovered these weapons while checking baggage and after an exchange of fire, the mercenaries hijacked an Air India place and flew back to South Africa – the coup attempt nipped in the bud. Although they said they their initiative was aimed at bringing me back to power, I must say I had nothing to do with it.’ (Mancham 2001)

The dictatorship of René survived other coups attempts and Mancham highlights his frustration with the lack of support by the international community to remove the dictatorship:

‘Throughout this time, western governments ignored the plight of the Seychellois people. It was obvious that as long as René did not interfere with the tracking station, it would be business as usual despite so many declarations and utterances from Washington about democracy and human rights’ (Mancham 2001)

The SPUP was renamed the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF) and they proceeded to dismantle freedoms established under the previous government. The Second Constitution that they wrote institutionalised the one-party state and removed civil and political freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the First Constitution. The Seychelles People’s Defence Force was set up to help suppress the freedoms of the people and maintain the governments grip on power. These forces slowly replaced Tanzanian forces that were brought in to consolidate the coup leader’s control of power and suppress any internal dissent after the coup. There was widespread press censorship imposed under the new regime with the judiciary also controlled by the SPPF. Thousands were either forced into exile or left due to the oppressive nature of the regime. Indeed it is been estimated that since the coup in 1977, ten thousand Seychellois have fled the country, many for political reasons (Mancham 2001). The EU-Seychelles Country paper (2006) confirms this trend when it states that ‘(a)t present, the main reason for out-migration is employment, whereas in the early 1980s the principal reason was political.’



Figure 2 – Gerard Hoareau assassinated in London in a case that remains unsolved. Source

– Seychelles weekly

There were also a range of people who disappeared in suspicious circumstances or were murdered. One such story was of Hassan Ibrahim who was a prominent SDP Supporter who disappeared and his car was found abandoned. He was a prominent critic of SPUP and although the government denied involvement the disappearance has long been viewed as political

(Shillington 2009). Another even more famous case was the murder of Gerard Hoareau in London in 1985. He was a very prominent opponent of the dictatorship who admitted that they were bugging his house in London when he was killed. Opponents of the government claim he was assassinated by a hit man on behalf of the Government. (Seychelles Weekly 01/12/2006) The country was dependent over the years that followed the coup on the export earnings gained from tourism and fluctuations in tourism number significantly affected the economy. The SPPF was determined to crush any internal dissent or protests that could affect these tourist earnings. All the while René was following a policy on non-alignment between the US and Soviet superpowers. They continued to allow the US tracking station and the 130 US personnel to remain all the while

courting relations with the Soviets. The government managed high levels of debt through this period and was reliant on substantial overseas development assistance to keep the economy afloat. René’s dictatorship lasted until 1991 when under pressure from the international community and particularly the commonwealth René announced a return to multi-party elections. Elections took place in 1993 and René won these elections in controversial circumstances and stayed in power until 2004. When René stood down he passed the leadership to the current President, James Michel who has been a loyal senior apparatchik of René’s since the days of the coup. Throughout this period the Seychelles has been effectively a one party state run by the Seychelles Popular People’s Front (SPPF) which was renamed the People’s Party (PP) or Parti Lepep in Creole. The stepsons of René, David, Francis and Glenny Savy were given control of many of the assets and state run institutions or parastatals of the country under the dictatorship. This control they largely still maintain until today. The methods that the PP deploy to maintain this power will be discussed later in this Chapter 4.



2.2 The Strange Love Affair between the Republic of Seychelles and the U.A.E. The link between James Michel’s government and the UAE is very strong and has caused a lot of resentment. The UAE is one of the main donors to the Seychelles. In 2010 the UAE gave USD 17.44 Million in bilateral aid to the Seychelles (A full list of bilateral and multilateral aid to the Seychelles is listed in Appendix 2). The UAE was the number one bilateral donor exceeding other developed western economies such as France, Japan and Italy. It is unclear what the purpose of this aid is although evidently some was earmarked for an anti-piracy centre on Mahé. Anyone visiting the Seychelles can hardly miss the monstrosity that is Sheikh Khalifa’s palace which is on the old site of the U.S. Spy base on the La Miseré Road. Sheikh Khalifa is the leader of the UAE and is one of President Michel’s good friends and it has been reported that the land was sold to him for only 1 rupee. Demonstrations against the building work on the palace, which protesters were claiming were polluting water supplies, was brutally suppressed. There is a lot of resentment generally in the Seychelles about the influx of Arab money and the purchase of many thousands of hectares of prime real estate by foreign parties. This land grab shows no sign of abating. There are lots of sweetheart deals between the government, Khalifa and other middle-eastern ‘friends’ with the infrastructure and assets of the Seychelles all seemingly up for sale. These deals have been well documented elsewhere so there is no need to go into them in detail here. No doubt others will do that further but what it demonstrates is that the government is acting primarily for the benefit of a small ruling elite and not for the greater good of the Seychelles. Inward investment is deemed as some kind of vital national economic goal for many nations and a developing country like Seychelles does need to look outside its shores to help develop its economy. However, such deals need to be transparent and in the national interest. Any deals should not be involved in selling the family silver off cheaply and that is what many observers believe is what is happening. Much of the land and other assets are sold way below market price to friends of the powerful vested interests and you do not have to be some kind of genius to realise that these deals come with some kind of economic and political quid pro quo. 2.3 Corruption in the Seychelles – Let the Americans Explain. There are many different sources available citing corruption at the highest level in the Seychelles. A lot of them are on blogs and other websites and the veracity of the claims are hard to confirm. One of the most interesting and revealing sources is the cable from the U.S. Embassy in Port Louis, Mauritius that covers the Seychelles entitled ‘Paradise lost: How



corruption bankrupted Seychelles.’ This cable was released along with many thousands of others by Wikileaks and it is particularly scathing of the Seychelles government and its very dodgy connections. As it is a classified cable, that was never intended for public consumption, the U.S. Ambassador is likely much more candid and explicit that he would be in public. The cable is copied verbatim in appendix 3 although it is illustrative to highlight a few of the issues that it raises. The cable is very enlightening probably as it was never intended for release. The economic woes facing the Seychelles with the high levels of debt are blamed directly on the government and the corruption and nepotism which were behind the mismanagement of the economy. The U.S. Ambassador does not mince his words in the cable describing the ‘shady links between business and government’ and highlighted how much of the foreign income that should be coming into the country is actually absorbed by foreign companies operating here to the detriment of the Seychelles economy. The Ambassador also talks about the stranglehold that the government has over the media and describes the instance when opposition leader, Ralph Vocere was detained for exposing the USD 3 billion in overseas Seychellois bank accounts which were detected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He and others who criticize the government have been arrested and subject to harassment and threats. Vocere’s printing press was shut down. There is very little effective financial oversight of government departments and parastatals. The Ambassador continues in the cable to quote Guy Adam of the Seychelles Petroleum Company who admitted that they had not been audited in twenty years which would have made it easy to siphon off many millions of dollars. It is very likely that many billions of Seychelles money has been siphoned off by the corrupt elite in the Seychelles. The USD 3 billion may only be the tip of the iceberg. There are many different organizations, as well as the United States Government, that highlight the lack of press freedom in the Seychelles. One only has to pick up the daily papers in the Seychelles or watch SBC and you realize that there is very little criticism of government of senior business figures tolerated and much of the coverage is highly sycophantic.



Figure 3 – Desroches Island from the Air.

CHAPTER 3

DESROCH ES ISLAND

- A MODEL OF MODERN APARTHEID?

‘Apartheid does not happen spontaneously, like bad weather conditions.’

Jonathan Kozol

It is not an accusation that can be made lightly that South Africans are establishing a replica of the old Apartheid regime in another part of Africa. It is nevertheless an accusation that has been made about the people in charge of Desroches Island in the Seychelles. The Desroches Island Lodge Ltd. (DIL) is owned by several South Africans and operated by Seasons in Africa which is a South African based chain of luxury hotels. They run the resort with an iron grip, tolerating no dissent. They have very strict policies to ensure that they maintain control. One of the most detested policies of the Apartheid regime in South Africa was the notorious ‘Pass Laws.’ They were used to control the movement of black and coloured South Africans and were designed to ensure that it was not only difficult for people



to leave the townships but they also restricted people from gathering, so that dissent could be controlled. There is a similar practice in place on Desroches. There are strict policies in place for staff, not only of the Desroches Island Lodge (DIL), but also of the Island Development Company (IDC) from travelling to either side of the airstrip after dark. Permission needs to be given by management for the approximately 150 DIL staff to cross the airstrip at night. IDC employees are forbidden to cross the airstrip unless it is for work purposes. This policy is enforced by a 24 hour security presence patrolling the island. The fact that the staff members of DIL are forbidden from travelling freely in the Seychelles is most surely in contravention of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights which stipulates that people should be entitled to free movement and association. It is also certainly a breach of article 23(1) of the Seychelles Constitution. This could be tested in a court of law but with the doubtful impartiality of the judiciary – which will be discussed later - it might not get far. At the time or writing there is approximately 25 Seychellois staff working for DIL and the idea that they cannot freely travel on their own island and associate with other Seychellois on different parts of the island in their own time is repugnant. The control that DIL exercises over their staff not only within working hours but also outside of work hours in restricting them to a very small area of the island has led to staff members comparing working on Desroches to being confined to a prison camp. Desroches Island is operated by a parastatal company (similar to a quasi-governmental organization) on behalf of the Seychelles government on a 99 year lease. This company is the Island Development Company (IDC) and the IDC has a mandate to develop and run operations on the outer islands of the Seychelles. They also lease parts of the islands to tourist enterprises such as the Desroches Island Lodge. Desroches Island is marketed by DIL repeatedly and erroneously as a private island. It is not a private island. It is a Seychelles island run by IDC on behalf of the government and hence the people of the Seychelles. The IDC and their Executive Director, Glenny Savy make a lot of money from these outer islands. As their accounts are not on public record it is hard to quantify how much. Indeed enquiries at the National Archives confirmed that they do not hold copies of the accounts of IDC. As IDC is a parastatal body and hence part of the government for it not to have publicly accessible accounts seems strange. The staff of the archives suggested that the only place that the accounts could be sourced would be from IDC themselves. In most countries state run bodies accounts are published.



The I.T. Manager on Desroches during an indiscreet moment gave an insight into how the finances of IDC and Glenny Savy work. Desroches has a terribly slow satellite internet connection for which they pay USD 9,000 a month from Cable and Wireless. He explained that the reason that it costs so much was that Savy has ‘interests’ in Cable and Wireless and was taking a considerable cut off the top. This is likely only the tip of the proverbial iceberg and Savy will have many ‘interests’ in a whole range of such transactions in the Seychelles. 3.1 Racist Recruitment Policies on Desroches Island The employment policies of DIL are also highly suspect. As the time of writing of the 150 staff members working with DIL only 25 or about 17% of them are Seychellois. There are no Seychellois in senior positions and most of these positions are filled by white South Africans, Sri Lankans and Indians. When an organisation recruits staff members to the Seychelles they have to prove if they are bringing in a non-patriot that there is no person in the Seychelles that has the qualifications to be suitable to do the job. DIL have dozens of staff in junior positions that could and should be filled by Seychellois. These include butlers, chefs, kitchen porters, bar staff, maintenance and garden staff and other areas. Many of these employees are from countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Malaysia and while these are very talented and able it surely is possible to find people in the Seychelles to do this work. There is certainly a place for migrant workers and non-patriots in the Seychelles. I myself am one. However overseas workers should only be brought in when there are no suitably qualified Seychellois for the job and not on the basis of racial prejudice or nepotism. It is evident that DIL prefer to recruit foreign staff as they are seen to be more obedient and willing to deal with the oppressive rules and regulations on the island. Why you might ask do they not try and get more Seychellois? It is not only as the foreign staff are less likely to complain. The answer is more that and stems from deep seated nepotism and racism. The management of DIL wants to recruit their own people and are not keen to employ Seychellois. There have been countless accusations on Desroches of racism against Seychellois. There have been numerous Seychellois who have been fired or have become severely disgruntled at the work situation and left. It is often said that DIL are much more willing to fire Seychellois as they are cheap and easy to replace and it would be disgraceful if it is true that the bar for dismissal is lower for Seychellois. It is particularity disgraceful if this is the case as this would mean that Seychellois are facing discrimination is their own country.



3.2 The Foul Stench of Nepotism The discrimination runs further than that. The hotel runs a very strict alcohol policy limiting staff to four small beers three times a week. They can on occasion get one bottle of wine a month instead of the four beers. However, this policy only applies to certain individuals. If you are a senior staff member or a friend of the people running the resort than you can access much more alcohol. This includes spirits which other staff are prohibited from having. Staff baggage is searched in case they bring any alcohol onto the island. Indeed senior members of staff can put a weekly order in for whatever they wish. The management of DIL constantly refers to a strict alcohol policy but this policy does not apply to themselves or their friends. Indeed the management (most of them white South Africans) are entitled to free or heavily subsidized meals and drinks from the restaurant and bar. The double standards and hypocrisy of this policy has created understandable resentment. There was a very sad incident in 2011 when some bottles of spirits went missing at the bar and the rooms of the entire bar staff were searched without anything being found. The missing bottles were later found in the rubbish of one of the senior managers who manages the bar. The person who found it was a member of the housekeeping staff from India who felt duty bound to report that he had found the missing bottles. That individual was fired and sent back to India the next day for reporting on a senior manager. The theft was covered up and the messenger was fired. This has happened again subsequently when bottles have gone missing and the bar staff’s private quarters had been searched. It was clear in this instance that the person who has stolen these bottles was the same individual but in the nepotistic world of Desroches managers can get away with theft and are untouchable. 3.3 The Exploitation of Staff on Desroches Island The rights of the DIL staff are minimal. They are subject to instant dismissal and many have been sent packing on the next available flight off the island for the most trivial of issues that in any other workplace would have resulted in at worst a warning. There are many stories like this and people are in constant fear of the loss of their livelihood. There are a range of legal cases pending for unfair dismissal against DIL. As mentioned DIL aim to control staff not only during their working hours but also in their leisure time although they provide limited social facilities for their staff. A pool table and a table tennis table being the minimal exception. There is no proper communal social area. Suggestions from staff members of creating a staff bar or social area for gathering which exists in many other



resorts has been strongly rebuffed. Indeed many staff members have expressed the view that there is little interest from General Manager Mark Leslie in staff welfare. In July 2012 the Presidents of the Seychelles, South Africa and leaders from Madagascar were on the island and staff members were forced to work obscenely long hours. DIL employees were told to work shifts of up to 22 hours and those who said that they would not work extended hours were pressurised to work. There have been other periods where employees are forced to work for 20 or more days in succession without a day off even though their contract states that they are due a day off every week. One individual was forced to work 17 days running of 11 hours shifts (rather than the contracted 8 hours) as they had no one else to do the work. These are reprehensible work practices. Indeed it seems that DIL pay scant attention to any employment rules and regulations about working hours or conditions unless it suits them to enforce them. Indeed they are happy to flagrantly breach the contracts of staff in a range of ways not only getting them to work longer hours than contracted but also by exerting pressure on them to not take their day off. They are often promised overtime for this extra work although it is rarely forthcoming. The attrition rate of staff at DIL on Desroches Island is incredible with many leaving after only a few months. Indeed people often go on leave and just do not come back as they are so disillusioned. The questions have to be asked of the owners of DIL, Mr. Russell Collins, Mr. Ken Collins, Mr. Murray Collins, and Mr. Jack Brotherton whether they know of this and if so do they condone it. Do they know of this attitude towards staff members? Do they know about the unfair summary dismissals and the high attrition rate of staff? Do they know about the breaching of employment rules and contracts where DIL employees are forced to work excessive hours? Do they condone the nepotism, racism and hypocrisy of management? Are they happy that DIL employees are totally disillusioned and many more are planning on leaving or thinking about it? Are they happy that the company that they contract to look after their property do not care about the welfare of staff and fosters a culture of fear? The majority of the rest of the workers on Desroches are employed by IDC, apart from a very small contingent of staff working with the Island Conservation Society (ICS). There are about 200 Indian staff building staff working for IDC on the island and they get much worse treatment than the DIL staff. They are paid very little. Their salary is believed to be approximately 2,000 Seychelles Rupees (SR) a month (approximately USD 156 based on 12.8 Rupees to the Dollar). They have to work 6 days a week for up to 11 hours a day. This equates to an hourly wage of USD 0.54 which is much below the Seychelles minimum wage for public employees of SR 22.80 an hour (USD 1.75) (US State Department 2011). There is no minimum wage for private sector employees. Surely if IDC is a parastatal and hence part of the public sector then to pay these wages is illegal. The State Department Report for 2011 highlights the minimum legal work conditions in the Seychelles:



‘The legal maximum work week varied from 45 to 55 hours, depending on the economic sector. Regulations entitled each full-time worker to a one-hour break per day and a minimum of 21 days of paid annual leave. Regulations permitted workers to work overtime up to 60 additional hours per month. The law requires premium pay for overtime work.’

When it comes to the Indian construction workers these rules are likely being breached on a range of counts. In addition to this they are not allowed to leave the island for 2 years or they will forfeit their wages. Their living conditions are rudimentary and they have very limited access to the clean desalinated water that the rest of the island uses. As a result the water that they have to bathe and wash their clothes in is partially saline. They are treated as if they were little more than indentured servants or slaves. In the book ‘Outer Island of Seychelles’, Glenny Savy is quoted discussing using expatriate staff on the outer islands for IDC. He says:

‘In the 1980’s IDC employed entirely Seychellois labourers on these projects but eventually had to bring in expatriates because it was impossible to find enough Seychellois prepared to work in the outer islands.’

He fails to mention that the reason that Seychellois are unwilling to work for him on the outer islands is that he pays poverty wages which are well below the Seychelles minimum wage and at the same time providing extraordinarily poor terms and conditions. There are other workers on the island who work for IDC who do a range of tasks. One of them is collecting and de-husking of coconuts. Desroches Island still exports about 18,000 coconuts a month. This is a very hard and labour intensive job. For each coconut that they de-husk they get 0.2 Seychelles Rupees and they have to do at least 800 in a day. If they make this quota they get 160 Rupees. This is about USD 12.7 for a day’s work. These IDC workers are working long hours to make one man rich. This man is Glenny Savy. The construction workers are used to build villas that are being sold for USD 2 - 3.5 million to mostly rich South Africans. These villas cost USD 3,500 a night to stay in and the workers who build them would have to work for approximately 670 days before they earn enough money to stay in a villa for a night. The inequality on Desroches is breathtaking and should be evidence enough – were any more needed – that the government is not socialist but rather is a capitalist oligarchy that blatantly exploits workers. It is unknown how rich Glenny Savy is. It is likely that only he knows. His power and influence is well known in the Seychelles and he is not a man to be crossed lightly. He can arrange for anyone on Desroches and even senior people in the Seychelles to be fired by just lifting a



telephone. Just ask Mr. Ramadoss. Savy and his business operations will be discussed in greater detail later. 3.4 Lies and Misinformation by Desroches Island Lodge The guests that visit Desroches Island are blissfully unaware of the real situation on the island. As they sip their sundowners or fish for Marlin they do not get told of the truth. Indeed DIL actively lie to them. As mentioned they are told that the island is a private island run by DIL. This is untrue. It is legally a Seychelles island operated on behalf of the Seychelles people by IDC. It says on the DIL website that:

‘Private Desroches Island is a luxurious Seychelles Resort in the Amirante Archipelago, considered to be of the most pristine and untouched islands still around today.’

This is not the only lie that DIL propagate and they also say on their website that ‘(t)he Desroches Island Garden with its organic farming methods, using compost from waste material, will further protect the island’s ecological sensitivity’ but fail to mention that DIL do not use the vegetables and fruit from this garden and fly all of their fresh produce in from overseas. Much of this comes in from Dubai and when this produce is not only available in the Seychelles but could also be grown on Desroches this is patently ludicrous. DIL also claim to be eco-tourist location yet they built their new Spa for guests in 2011 right in the middle of the only sea bird breeding colony on the island. At the Muraille Bondieu area of the island there is a breeding colony of Wedge-Tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) and the Spa was built there without an environmental impact assessment being made or even consultation with the Island Conservation Society on the island. The supposed ecological credentials of DIL are no more than a marketing tool and do not fit at all with reality. Indeed most guests do not know that Desroches is used as the base for unsustainable sea bird egg harvesting and that shark finning boats visit the island. These areas will be discussed in later chapters. Prospective guests have also been told that there are three restaurants on the island. There is only one and the Creole restaurant in the village has been sitting empty for years despite it being advertised to guests as being open. The picture is still on the website as of August 2012. Quite a few guests have commented on this to ICS staff members. In addition to this it is the policy of DIL not to inform guests that there are Seychelles Peoples Defence Force (SPDF) personnel on the island. Four armed SPDF personnel are on this island to protect against an attack by Somali pirates. This is not something that guests are to be informed



about and I was specifically told about this policy by the DIL Head of Finance after discussing the issue with guests at management cocktails. He advised me not to speak to guests about the presence of SPDP forces on Desroches as this is against the DIL policy. DIL do not want to scare guests. If there is no threat of pirates attacking Desroches Island why do they have four soldiers on the island? If there is a threat of attack or kidnap by pirates then does it not seem right that the guests get informed of that potential threat? The staff who work on Desroches on the sport fishing and dive boats have protocols in place should they encounter vessels who do not respond to calls on the radio and hence may be pirates. They are told to return immediately to Desroches. 3.5 A Long Litany of Complaints Many guests do not seem to be happy with DIL management either. There have been many complaints about the way that the resort is run and specifically lots of complaints about the General Manager himself. The complaints have described the General Manager as arrogant and unhelpful. There have been many complaints from villa owners as well who are very unhappy with the service provided by and the attitude of the DIL management. DIL are happy to take the millions for the villas but, once they are sold they adopt an often arrogant and uncaring attitude to the owners. The villa owners are faced with a blizzard of rules and regulations and are on the verge of taking DIL to court on many issues. Indeed the Villa Owners are told when they buy the villas that they will be able to get a wide range of produce which is listed on an food and drink order form yet when they submit the list often half the items are unavailable. It is the villa management staff that usually has to deal with the complaints from the villa owners as the managers are too cowardly to front up and deal with the situation. The villa owners pay EUR 3,000 per month to DIL to maintain their villas yet are contently battling with the management of DIL to get the services and support that they were told that they could expect. The question has to be asked of the owners of the Desroches Island Lodge; do they know of this high level of dissatisfaction from guests and villa owners and the lies that are being propagated by the people they employ? If they do why do they tolerate it? Does the ethos of the customer always being right not apply to Desroches? Guests were constantly asking why the food is the restaurant is not Creole. There is an understandable expectation that in coming to the Seychelles they would get to try Seychellois food. We were unable to tell them the truth that the reason is that the General manager and head chef are unwilling to recruit Seychellois for the kitchen. There are no Seychellois chefs in the



kitchen. Does this mean they are racist? It is hard to tell but they are most certainly nepotistic and discriminatory against Seychellois and would be in breach of employment regulations in many other countries. Surely it is not hard to recruit Seychellois chefs when there are many talented Seychellois chefs in kitchens all over the country. 3.6 Secrecy, Fear and Intimidation on Desroches There is a constant and sinister veneer of secrecy surrounding many of the things that take place on Desroches Island. DIL owned a boat named ‘Sarcelle’ that went on fire while out at sea. Luckily they were able to evacuate the guests and crew, douse the fire and get her back to shore. After repairs the boat was taken under its own steam to Mahé where it was due to get further renovations and a refit. The boat was moored in the IDC dock and was then deliberately scuttled in an act of sabotage. The stop cock was taken out of the bottom of the boat and it sank rapidly. After this incident the boat was bought immediately off DIL by IDC. It was very strongly advised to all involved that no blame should be attributed or fingers pointed at IDC for this incident. Several days later a plane flying on the Desroches – Mahé route had an engine catching fire with guests on board. There was a concerted attempt to hush this up as well but the screaming sirens running to the airport put paid to that. Indeed there is a culture of fear and intimidation on Desroches and it comes from the top. It comes from Mark Leslie who as a former chef is used to wielding authority and not being challenged. His power derives from his business relationship with Glenny Savy of whom everyone seems to be terrified of. When I disagreed with Mark over several of his regressive policies, his abuse of rules and attempt to try and take control of ICS he chucked his toys. He told his staff first of all not to socialise with ICS staff and secondly later not to even talk to us. This was a petulant, pathetic act on an island of 300 people. To their credit all the staff ignored this nonsense and continued to talk to us. Mark also tried to get me fired and ran to Savy to get him to fire me. Mark Leslie and Glenny Savy do not tolerate dissent and will use all their power to viciously stamp it out. The organisation that operates the Desroches Island Lodge (DIL) is Seasons in Africa. They have just taken over the contract to run the hotel on Alphonse Island which is another of the outer islands in the Seychelles. I suspect that staff members working there do not know what is about to hit them. This hotel is due to be run by Chris Leslie who happens to be the brother of DIL General Manager, Mark Leslie. Chris Leslie is a farmer from Hazyview, Mpumalanga, South Africa and has had no previous experience of managing a hotel or tourist enterprise. In the nepotistic world of Desroches a lack of skills or experience is no restriction on employment.



CHAPTER 4

ECONOM ICS, POLITICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE SEYCHELLES

‘Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law’

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Republic of the Seychelles is a tiny economy, with a population of 84,000 and an annual GDP of $1bn. It is very prosperous by Sub-Saharan African standards. This prosperity is also reflected in Seychelles’ development indicators: life expectancy, access to clean water and sanitation, literacy and child mortality are all far removed from levels prevailing in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. Indeed the EC country Strategy paper from 2006 highlights some of these notable successes of the Seychelles.

‘With a Human Development Index of 0.821 and on the basis of a GDP per capita of around €7,000 (USD 8,610), Seychelles is classified among the countries that have achieved a high human development, and ranks highest among the African countries. Key indicators such as life expectancy, adult literacy rate, population growth rate and gender equality compare favourably with achievements in developed countries. Life expectancy is 67 years for males and 76 years for females, and adult literacy for men and women stands at 96%. Moreover, 95% of the population has sustainable access to an improved water source. Data available for 2003 indicate that 99% of one-year-olds were fully immunized against tuberculosis and measles’

Seychelles has long been more developed than mainland Sub-Saharan Africa, but the gap in living standards widened further after the opening of Mahe International Airport in 1971, which started a tourism industry that now constitutes the country’s most significant economic activity, employing 37% of the labour force, accounting for 25% of GDP and generating 70% of foreign exchange earnings. The Seychelles is characterised as a small upper middle income country and to its credit does provide many services to its citizens that poorer countries cannot afford or richer countries such as the US have not initiated. The most obvious of these is universal health care. This growing



affluence however has not been combined with a commitment to freedom of speech and human rights found in many other emerging economies. The Seychelles has a range of serious social problems which it needs to address urgently. It is currently facing a heroin epidemic and various sources have claimed that a very senior member of the government and his cousin are heavily involved in this odious trade. If this is indeed true then it is a shocking situation as heroin is an evil drug that is damaging many lives and is a major driver of crime in the country. It is a constant refrain that you hear from normal Seychellois that the cost of living in the Seychelles is cripplingly high. It is very hard for people in the Seychelles to gain a living wage and relative and absolute poverty is growing. While the Seychelles may on paper be a relatively rich country many are not benefiting from the supposed prosperity. The aim of equality and prosperity for all which was cited as a major rationale for the coup in 1977 seems like a distant memory and the government seems only interested in helping out themselves and their rich friends rather than dealing with the serious issues that the Seychelles faces. 4.1 Human Rights in the Seychelles The Seychelles is a signatory of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 13 of the declaration states that ‘(e)veryone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.’ As discussed in the previous chapter on Desroches Island this right is being directly breached and individuals are being denied to the freedom of movement enshrined in this article. Indeed access to much of the Seychelles is now being denied to Seychellois. Not just on the outer islands controlled by the Island Development Company but also on the central granitic islands as well where large areas are being sold to foreigners and beaches that previous generations enjoyed effectively privatised. This is not a tolerable or just situation for Seychellois. The land of the Seychelles people is being sold for the financial benefit of the elite few and the masses are losing their rights to access their land. Article 20 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ‘(e)veryone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association’ and again as can be demonstrated from the previous chapter on Desroches this is being fundamentally breached as the rights of the staff to have this peaceful assembly and association is severely curtailed. Indeed article 23(1) of the Seychelles Constitution states thus:

“23(1) – Every person has a right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and for the purpose of this article this right includes the right to assemble freely and associate



with other persons and in particular to form or belong to political parties, trade unions or other associations for the protection of the interests of that person and not to be compelled to belong to any association.”

In the Seychelles the exercise of power overwhelms the rule of law and in any democracy, no matter how young; this is not an acceptable situation. In many other countries there are well established rules and regulations about employee relations, grievance procedures, contracts and collective bargaining and negotiations. There are laws in place protecting workers from unfair dismissal and trade unions to defend the rights of the workers. In the Seychelles if Glenny Savy wants to fire you then you are fired. There will be private companies where his reach does not stretch but certainly in the public sector and a range of other areas he has incredible power over people’s employment. There are very few people who can fight him and win. There is only one Trade Union in the Seychelles and it is controlled by the ruling People’s Party (ACTSA Country profile). It is not an independent Trade Union that you would find in many other countries of the world. While the Seychelles do recognise Trade Unions in reality it is hard for these to form and for workers to be protected as there is such bullying, threats and intimidation in the workplace. Worker’s rights in the Seychelles are poor and employment legislation rarely enforced. 4.2 The Seychelles Judiciary There are many accusations of a lack of impartiality within the judiciary of the Seychelles with powerful people influencing the rule of law. France Albert René in his 2001 SPPF Manifesto entitled ‘Ale Sesel’ argued that ‘Justice should be carried out in absolute fairness and without interference’ yet eleven years later there are still many accusations of undue executive influence in judicial matters. One of the peculiar aspects about the Judiciary in the Seychelles is that many of the members are recruited from overseas and very few of them are actually Seychellois. It has been argued that the reason for this is that the foreign judges are more ‘malleable’, which makes it easier for the government to use ‘a patronage system to yield influence over the judiciary’ (US Government Cable R0707217Z - appendix 3). These are not my words but rather the words again of the US Ambassador who covered the Seychelles from Port Louis in Mauritius in 2008. The cable highlights the former Chief Justice Vivekanand Alleaar who is ‘a Mauritian citizen who resigned in January 2008 after numerous allegations of corruption, (and) is rumored to have received prime real estate for a development project from the SPPF and funding for his son's education in England for his loyalty to the party.’ (US Government Cable R0707217Z – appendix 3)



Indeed the European Union highlights this high foreign presence in the Judiciary as a cause for concern citing the ‘dependence on foreign judges, recruited from other Commonwealth countries, who are employed on renewable contracts.’ (Seychelles – EC Country Strategy Paper) The judicial system in the Seychelles was criticized heavily in the independent report of the inquiry into the events in Victoria on 3rd October 2012. These events are discussed in the next section but the reports states:

‘There were allegations made to the Inquiry that obstacles were being put in the way of citizens when they attempted to vindicate their human rights in the courts, especially if a challenge to legislation was involved. The obstacles, it was alleged, were usually of a technical legal nature and were, in effect, being used as a ruse to prevent challenges going to a full hearing in the domestic courts or in international fora. This allegation goes to the core of the Constitution and implies an imbalance in the separation of powers between the Executive and the Judiciary. This allegation is so fundamental to the Constitutional law of the Seychelles that it would be inappropriate for this Inquiry to pronounce a view on it one way or the other: a proper in-depth examination of this allegation would require wider terms of reference than those of this Inquiry.’

The ‘imbalance in the separation of powers between the Executive and the Judiciary’ is a serious charge and highlights the difficulty that ordinary Seychellois have in believing that the courts can provide them with effective legal redress to overturn injustices or provide them with a fair trial. The US state department also highlights this situation as well stating that the ‘judiciary is subject to executive influence’ (US State Department 2011). 4.3 The Seychelles Media and Freedom of Speech The control of the judiciary is only one way that the governing PP maintains their hold on power. Control over the press assists the government to sustain their vice like grip on the country. A blatant and cynical manipulation of the political and electoral process is the third strand in their trifecta of controlling power. René wrote in a Manifesto document entitled ‘Ale Sesel’ (2001) that ‘The Front believes in the growth of a free media that operates within the framework of the rights enshrined in the Constitution.’ This is obviously propaganda and has never been the true belief of the government and the real attitude to a free press was highlighted in a SPPF policy Statement entitled ‘Onward to Socialism!’ which stated:

‘The front rejects the capitalist concept of a so-called “independent press”. Such a concept is misleading because experience shows that “independent” newspapers invariably defend the interests of social groups or classes which they defend financially.



The media of Seychelles will never be allowed to fall into the enemies of the people or be used to promote the interest of one small group. Instead, they will continue to be a people’s media, used to create a just and fraternal society.’

The government will go to great lengths to maintain this control over the media and any public dissent is brutally crushed with the government even resorting to violence. An article by Think Africa Press entitled ‘Seychelles: Democracy without Freedom’ highlights such a case:

‘In his 2006 election manifesto Michel promised to “encourage national and private media practitioners to play an active and responsible role in our democracy”. However, in the same year legislation was submitted to the National Assembly by Michel’s government which made it more difficult for independent organisations to set up radio stations. A peaceful attempt to get a petition against this legislation signed was met by resistance from heavily armed paramilitary police which landed opposition leader, Wavel Ramkalawan, and then-editor of the opposition newspaper Regar, Jean Francois Ferrari, in hospital with head injuries and broken ribs. The government seems intent on maintaining an iron grip on its media dominance.’

Tear gas, batons, rubber bullets and live rounds were used against a peaceful demonstration. This protest was against the Broadcasting and Telecommunications act that would prohibit political parties from setting up a radio station. The SNP wanted to set up a station to counter the perceived bias of the SBC. Indeed in 2012 there is still only one radio station in the Seychelles, Paradise FM, although there is talk of two independent stations being allowed to set up in 2013. Paradise FM is controlled by the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and does not broadcast any criticism of the government. All attempts so far to set up an independent radio station has been strongly resisted and to date all attempts have failed. Indeed a SR 800,000 (USD 61,538) licensing fee was established deliberately to discourage independent radio stations from forming. (US State Department 2011) The repression of peaceful protest is not just confined to this one instance and has happened on other occasions and the threat of a brutal response to protest constantly persists in the Seychelles. Think Africa Press highlights this when they state that:

‘The government no longer tolerates such demonstrations because, as one citizen told Think Africa Press, “they would be bad for tourism”. Recent peaceful attempts, like the 2006 petition signing and demonstrations against water pollution resulting from the building of President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa’s new palace, have been met by armed police.’

The report of inquiry into the events in Victoria on 3rd of October strongly condemns the SBC and the government’s grip over the media in the Seychelles. It confirms that the SNP and other



parties do not get equal access to coverage and that the media is sycophantic to the government. They report that:

‘10.42 It was claimed that the national broadcasting media had deliberately avoided any subject that reflected negatively on the Government or the Government Party and only covered matters of national interest or controversy in a manner that reflected favourably on the Government Party. This was disputed by the SBC. 10.43 It was also claimed in evidence that the SBC had never been consistent as to what it considered news and that it disguised Government political propaganda as news. It was accused of not carrying out effective investigative journalism. The SBC responded by saying that controversial issues were mostly initiated in newspapers controlled by political parties and sometimes it was denied access to information it sought. It, therefore, would normally wait until the controversial issue was debated in the Assembly when it could edit the broadcast and thereby reduce the risk of libel action. It also claimed that the role of the opposition parties comes into play when controversial issues are debated in the Assembly and it is in this forum that coverage of the opposition parties’ contribution to the debate is appropriate. 10.44 The Inquiry considers that for the SBC to say that it must wait until issues are raised in the Assembly is not just weak, it is unsustainable.’

The US Government State Department produces an excellent review of Human Rights Practices every year and they are damning of the status of Freedom of Speech and Press in the Seychelles. They report the following:

‘The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press; however, the government did not respect these rights in practice. Journalists from state-controlled media practiced self-censorship…Individuals who criticized the government publicly or privately sometimes suffered reprisals, such as harassment by police or the loss of jobs or contracts.’

Restrictions extend to the internet as well and the report highlights several cases of the government extending its censorship to the internet where ‘(o)pposition activists claimed that the government blocked access to their party Web sites. There also were reports that the government monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms.’

They go on to highlight specific cases of censorship, harassment and heavy handed police tactics to deal with dissent:

‘For example, on June 9, an opposition supporter was detained for 15 days for having allegedly insulted the president on a social networking Web site. No charges were filed.



On December 5, police detained a man after he allegedly criticized a senior government official on a social networking Web site. The man was released the same day, and no charges were filed.

On October 28, a man was arrested, and later released, for posting negative comments against Air Seychelles. No charges were filed.’

4.4 The Government’s Cynical Control of Power The governing PP utilise a mixture of threats, bribes and nepotism to win votes. In the Seychelles the votes of the people are often bought (Think Africa Press). Sometimes it is by arranging housing or other state sponsored benefits. Other incentives or bribes to vote for the PP might be renovations to property or building materials conveniently provided just before or after the election or it might be just directly by giving bribes of money. The going rate for a vote depends on who the person is but the current going rate is usually between 500 and 5000 Seychelles Rupees (USD 32 – 320) per person. In the 2006 presidential election the SPPF were accused by the opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP) of using the large amounts of finance available from being in government to win the elections. (Murison 2007) The latest election for President in 2011 was mired in controversy with all the opposition leaders refusing to accept the result. They issued a joint statement about the corruption in the election highlighting the ‘Campaign Violations and Illegitimacy of results.’ The full statement is documented in Appendix 4 of this book. The legislature is dominated by PP members as the opposition Seychelles National Party (SNP) boycotted the Seychelles parliamentary elections of 29th September – 1st of October 2011. Indeed in the election the People’s Party won all 31 of the seats. The SNP leader Wavel Ramkalawan accused the PP of electoral bribery and failure to reform electoral funding of parties in the Seychelles. (Polity South Africa) It is made clear to people who vote for the opposition that they will not be getting the renovations, the social housing, the government jobs or any other handout from the government. Indeed if people who work for the government do not vote for the governing PP then they can lose their jobs. This is how the government stays in power. It directly buys peoples votes. The European Union highlighted this practice documenting ‘a perception of the existence of corruption or influence-peddling linked to the award of commercial contracts and of employment in the public service, and to the allocation of government housing.’ (Seychelles – EC Country Strategy Paper) Think Africa Press further highlights the nature of the corruption that helps the PP stay in power. They state:



‘Allegations of corruption are not limited to James Michel’s party. But it seems clear that the party in government has the greatest opportunity to play on the fear of the electorate. Not only is the party in power far richer than the opposition, it also runs a public service system which stretches deep into Seychellois society providing employment to many people. People in these public jobs fear losing their positions or being refused promotion if they vote against the incumbent government. Moreover, the government has the ability to organise large-scale events functioning as self-promotion tools paid for with public money.’

Indeed the sad case of Air Seychelles is instructive in demonstrating this practice. This company was run by David Savy (brother of Glenny Savy) and after severe mismanagement the routes were sold to Etihad which in the process killed off Air Seychelles and the proud record of the Seychelles being the smallest country in the world with a national airline. There followed many redundancies of Air Seychelles staff and most of the people who were removed were people who supported the opposition. ZIL Air is a helicopter company owned by Francis Savy another brother of Glenny Savy. Recently their long established rivals, Helicopter Seychelles, lost their license to operate in dubious circumstances leaving ZIL Air with a Helicopter monopoly in the Seychelles. This decision was cited as another example of illegal and unfair pressure put on government by the Savy brothers for their own cynical financial gain.



CHAPTER 5

THE SOOTY TERN EGG FIASCO

‘It's obvious that the key problem facing humanity in the coming century is how to bring a better quality of life - for 8 billion or more people - without wrecking the environment entirely in the attempt.’

E. O. Wilson

The Seychelles has one of the world’s largest populations of Sooty Terns (Sterna fuscata). It is an important bird to the Seychelles people as the eggs have long been a much desired annual delicacy. They are harvested legally and illegally off a range of islands in the Seychelles such as Desnoeuf, Cosmoledo, Bird Island and Aride. The debate over the harvesting, sustainability and ethics of Sooty Tern eggs in the Seychelles is succinctly documented in the ‘Birds of Seychelles’ by Skerrett, Bullock and Disley. Research into the sustainability of the harvest has been mostly undertaken by Professor Chris Feare although most of this research dates from the late 90’s and earlier. (Feare et. al. 1997) There is a lot of controversy about how sustainable the harvest really is and there is substantial poaching taking place on Aride Island which is an island operated by the Island Conservation Society (ICS). Aride was bequeathed to ICS by James Cadbury and the Cadbury Foundation (of Cadbury chocolate fame). Mwebana et. al. recorded one period where there was extensive poaching on Aride:

‘The poaching of protected species does occur and mostly within protected areas, particularly during the nesting and breeding seasons. For example, 11 poaching incidents of birds and birds’ eggs occurred on Aride during the breeding season of June 2008.’

In July 2012 during the annual harvest IDC workers were harvesting eggs on Desnoeuf which is another of the islands in the Amirantes group. They used Desroches as their base of operations with ZIL Air helicopter staff based on Desroches for several days staying at the Desroches Island Lodge (DIL). At the end of operations IDC donated eggs to DIL and these were cooked and served in the DIL staff canteen. Eggs were also provided to some IDC staff on the island. There was great discomfort and displeasure amongst many staff members that these eggs should have been eaten in the canteen and the island used as a base for potentially unsustainable harvesting operations. Several staff members approached me as the Conservation Officer on the



island expressing their reservations about the eggs as they believed the harvest was not sustainable and would seriously damage the Sooty Tern population on Desnoeuf. After discussions with the collectors it was calculated that between 400,000 and 800,000 eggs were removed from the island although the actual figure was never confirmed. The population of Sooty Terns on Desnoeuf has been estimated at approximately 700,000 so it may be that virtually every egg was taken. I duly spoke to the IDC Manager and the IDC Environmental Manager (who happened to be on the island at the time) about the representations I had received and asked if they had scientific evidence proving the sustainability of the harvesting. They said that they did not and advised me to contact the Ministry of Environment who they said had officials on Desnouef as they could provide ICS with this information. The proper channels to follow for an issue like this I reasoned, which was politically and culturally sensitive, would have been to contact the ICS CEO and ask the ICS Scientific Committee to investigate. I sent an e-mail to Dr. Adam Moolna who was at the time the acting CEO and Management Consultant and copied it to members of the ICS Scientific Committee and asked the committee to make representations to the Ministry of Environment requesting the relevant documentation. This initial e-mail created the most incredible correspondence. Various members of the ICS Science Committee expressed support for looking into the issue and concerns about the sustainability of the harvest. Various individuals said that it is time we had a discussion over these issues and that we should try and run campaigns in the Seychelles to highlight the threat to the Sooty Tern population in the Seychelles to try and get the Seychelles people to stop eating them in such numbers. All the time it was acknowledged that this would be difficult as this was a deep seated cultural behaviour and they were very much in demand. Dr. Moolna decided to copy Glenny Savy into this discussion as he is board member and more importantly the head of IDC which is running the harvesting operations. Mr. Savy did not take well to the discussions and sent a long reply challenging many of the points made that included personal abuse and threats. I am precluded by the terms of my contract with the Island Conservation Society from disclosing the full details of the e-mails. I am certainly not restricted from discussing the experience that I had and the wider issues involved. As of now no documents have been produced to show that this harvest was sustainable. This is most likely as the harvest was not sustainable and it is very unlikely any documents exist as no population analysis of the impact of the harvesting took place. It was claimed by Mr. Savy that there were Ministry of Environment (MoE) officials present monitoring but no names were mentioned and in the context it looks unlikely that the MoE had any influence or presence. The



e-mail exchange was a classic example of Glenny Savy trying to bully people into silence with threats and abuse. In it he shows how intolerant he was of criticism. Mr. Savy has previously used the Sooty Tern eggs as a political and economic tool. Indeed in 2010 he cut off the harvest and caused outrage in Mahé. There is a major conflict of interest for a conservation group that is ostensibly there to achieve conservation ends but is run by someone who undertakes practices in direct contravention to the aims of the organisation that he co-founded. This will be discussed at more length later. As mentioned the base of operations for the harvesting of Desnouef in 2012 was from Desroches. The helicopter was based here and the pilots were staying in the hotel. Desroches is supposed to be an eco-tourist paradise. The Resort hosted Prince William and the then Kate Middleton in 2007 when they were getting back together several years before their famous royal wedding. It has hosted many other rich and famous people. Many who come here come for the ‘pristine’ environment and have no idea of this issue. So, will the Sooty Tern population collapse in the Seychelles due to harvesting? This is unknown as there has been seemingly no recent research on the topic. While the population of the Sooty Terns in the Seychelles is sizable there are many examples around the world where large populations have suddenly collapsed due to environmental or human impact and especially due to over harvesting. Without adequate research on population projections the damage can be done way before any realises. The case of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) in North America is a famous case. Its population numbered in the billions in the 1800’s and the flocks used to turn the sky dark yet human predation led to a very rapid collapse and now the species is extinct. There may be many Sooty Terns in the Seychelles today but it is surely the role of conservationists to question the sustainability of any harvesting and help ascertain whether these birds will be around for future generations to admire. Yet in the Seychelles power does not like being questioned.



CHAPTER 6

THE ISLAND CONSERVATION SOCIETY

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

‘The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.’

William Hazlett The Island Conservation Society (ICS) is in many ways a fine organization with some passionate, talented conservationists undertaking excellent conservation work. I am not just saying that because of my association with them. There is however an elephant in the room at ICS. The elephant is Glenny Savy who is with Adrian Skerrett and Edwin Palmer one of the founders of ICS. Glenny Savy is not an environmentalist. He is a businessman. Mr Savy set up ICS not because he has any deep seated interest in Conservation but because he is interested in power. He does not really care about conservation and set up ICS so that he could maintain control over the environmental work on the islands he controls and operates and so that no environmentalists would be able to cause him any problems or question his actions. It is therefore evident that the Island Conservation Society does not have the degree of independence and impartiality that a conservation organisation needs to have to be tenable. Indeed I was told on my second day on the job by an intern that ICS was just an IDC front. In a story in the Seychelles Nation entitled ‘Tourism industry ‘doing much better than expected’’ on the 24th of August 2009 the issue of the nature of ICS operations was highlighted. It stated:

‘The committee (International Affairs Committee) also talked to IDC Chief Executive Glenny Savy in a separate meeting, when he explained the company’s decision to allow the Island Conservation Society (ICS) to be the only non-governmental organisation doing work on the islands Mr. Savy explained that under the current guidelines on conservation activities, other environmentalists can also operate but under the supervision of researchers from the ICS. This is to ensure sustainable results and guidance in carrying out environmental projects on the islands.



This regulation was endorsed after reports that some environment conservation NGOs were allegedly carrying out protection activities for their personal gain and not necessarily with Seychelles and the environment at heart, Mr. Savy said.’

Glenny Savy is of course not interested in ‘sustainable results and guidance’ but is rather more interested in controlling ICS and its activities. He does not want any other environmentalists to criticise him and highlight the environmental crimes that take place in the outer islands. His accusations against other conservation NGO’s – who are unnamed – is risible and it is very doubtful any serious reports exist. The only person who is ‘carrying out protection activities for

their personal gain’ is Glenny Savy. The inability to challenge the vested interests on the unsustainable harvest of Sooty Tern eggs as mentioned previously is just one of the areas where ICS is lacking. The ICS bends over to accommodate the vested interests important to IDC, especially the owners of resorts on the islands run by Glenny Savy. He can fire ICS staff at will. Everyone that works or is involved with ICS – even his co-founders - are in fear of his power and cower beneath his rich man’s frown. I held the role of Conservation Officer at the Island Conservation Society on Desroches from March 2012. Since the inception of the ICS office on Desroches in June 2009 there have been five Conservation Officers working on Desroches. They have all had to deal with intolerable working conditions and been severely restricted from being able to question any environmental crimes or

raise any substantive environmental issues. They are not allowed to discuss a range of issues that would upset Glenny Savy. None of the conservation officers lasted very long. All of them left before a year of their contract was up for a variety of reasons. One of the previous Conservation Officers was Elke Talma. Elke was Conservation Officer for less than two months before she was fired. She had supposedly written on a blog about her experiences on the island which mentioned that DIL had failed to send any staff members for a beach clean up after promising to do so. This was true but it upset Mark Leslie at DIL who called Savy and for this she was fired. Mark drove down to the Island Conservation Office on his motorbike, walked in and told Elke she was fired. Afterwards he left grinning while she was left crying. This is a horrible case of a bully picking on a defenseless young woman. He was not even her manager. She left the island on the plane the next day. Elke from what I can tell – I have not met her – was a very talented individual who was doing the job well. She was fired for being honest and for upsetting those who must be obeyed. There was no warning or second chance.

Figure 4 – Mr. Glenny Savy. The ‘King of the Outer Islands.’ Source – Seychelles

Weekly



Glenny Savy was undoubtedly behind the sacking of Elke. He is behind everything that ICS does. His control restricts ICS from undertaking conservation and advocacy work that any independent conservation body would normally undertake. ICS is unable to be an independent campaigning conservation organisation. It is emasculated in its work and can only really undertake monitoring work and some other environmental education activities. It is an organisation set up by three powerful business men (Glenny Savy, Adrian Skerrett and Edwin Palmer) and it serves business interests first and foremost. One of the examples of this is the case of the Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) that are found in Seychelles waters. These are expertly constructed rafts made of wood that are deposited in the ocean by fishing boats. They contain a sophisticated GPS device that will detect when there is a large aggregation of fish underneath the raft. The fishing boats then come and collect the fish. The fishing boats are using these to target large commercial fish such as Tuna. The FADs are banned in South African and other territorial fishing grounds. These FADs can do a lot of damage to reefs. They float with the tides and end up getting caught on the coral reefs in the process ripping up the coral. They have large amounts of netting underneath that not only does damage to the coral but also had a damaging impact on sharks, turtles and pelagic fish that get caught in the netting and die. In the last few years ICS Desroches and Castaway staff (The DIL aquatic sports centre) removed some of these FADs from the reef, several of which had dead turtles on them. As the Conservation Officer on Desroches I felt that it was my job to report the presence of these FADs and the damage that they were doing. I subsequently sent an e-mail to the ICS, CEO Dr. Adam Moolna and our ICS Turtle expert in the Seychelles, Dr. Jeanne Mortimer. Dr. Mortimer has thirty years experience working with turtles in the Seychelles and overseas and is a global authority on turtles. The e-mail suggested that we take some action on these FAD’s. It is not possible to reveal the full details of the e-mails due to contractual reasons but Jeanne sent a long e-mail back confirming that she agreed that we should do something about them. Subsequently Dr Moolna replied advising us that we could do nothing publically on this issue implying it has sensitive political ramifications. These ramifications were evidently that Glenny Savy would not want us to take action on this and this is most likely as his business interests are linked to the commercial fishing enterprises in the Seychelles. Indeed Glenny Savy used to be the chairman of the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA). Conservation in the Seychelles is a strange business and is very much shackled by political and economic interests. The Seychelles is not alone in this but organisations here certainly have less freedom than in other developed democracies where there is more separation between such vested interests. Indeed the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has previously attempted to



set up an office in the Seychelles and such attempts were strongly resisted and at the time of writing they are still not present. They cover the Seychelles from their Madagascar office. There are virtually no international conservation organisations working in the Seychelles. The only one that has been given permission by the powers to be to work in the Seychelles are the ‘Save Our Seas Foundation’ which is registered in Switzerland and is funded by a very rich Saudi Royal Sheikh, Abdul Mohsin bin Abdulmalik Al-Shaikh. This organization does excellent work on marine conservation and particularity marine education and is likely allowed here due to the importance of the owner and the generally non-political nature of the work. They educate on the importance of preserving marine life and especially sharks. The Sheikh’s strong business links to the ruling business and political elite in Seychelles has most likely also allowed him to operate here. He has recently purchased D’Arros Island in the Amirantes, which is close to Desroches, for USD 60 million and he would have only been able to do so if he was in favour with the corrupt ruling classes in the Seychelles. This purchase had to be approved by the Seychelles government. ICS has a range of other dark secrets. I suspect though, that I am only privy to a few of them. Aride Island is a hugely important sea bird island north of Praslin. Indeed it has been described as one of the most important sea bird colonies in the Indian Ocean. It was bequeathed as previously mentioned to ICS by David Cadbury and the Cadbury Foundation. David Cadbury was the chocolate magnate and philanthropist that bought lots of islands around the world to help preserve the wildlife on them. Aride has been made a Nature Reserve and has a Marine Protected Area surrounding it. There are quite a few employees and volunteers that help manage the island and several staff members have been implicated in the illegal poaching of Sooty Tern Eggs on this island. These are the staff members that are employed to stop the poachers yet are helping to run the poaching operations themselves. There was also the story of the ranger who was caught poaching octopus within the Marine Protected Area. He was dismissed for this but subsequently re-hired. It is important to stress at this point that the ICS, despite these substantial constraints, do a range of important conservation work and that there are many talented and well meaning people within the organisation striving to achieve what they can in often difficult circumstances. While this organisation continues to be controlled by Glenny Savy though they will be emasculated and severely constrained and the integrity of ICS will remain severely compromised. There is an incredible conflict of interest within the founding ethos of ICS. It is an organisation set up supposedly for conservation ends but it is controlled by someone who commits heinous environmental crimes. As the next chapter will document Mr. Savy is either running the operations of or is complicit in condoning shark finning and dolphin and turtle poaching in the vast area of ocean surrounding the outer islands that he controls.



It is the responsibility of conservationists to talk truth to power. They must be able to campaign on serious issues and be able to highlight uncomfortable truths without the fear of instant dismissal.



CHAPTER 7

THE GREAT SEYCHELLES GREENWASHING

‘The enforcement of environmental legislation in Seychelles has historically been described as weak and is regarded so by all parties interviewed in the course of this study. Violations occur and a great number of them go

unprosecuted.’

Mwebeza, R., Njugunu, P., Corullus, I. and Matatatiken, D., (2009) A Situation Report: The nature and extent of environmental crimes in Seychelles

The Seychelles is viewed by many tourists as paradise with its beautiful, unspoilt coralline islands or dramatic granitic islands forming part of a pristine environment. To some degree this is true and there can be little doubt about the beauty of the islands of the Seychelles. Much of the land of the Seychelles has been designated with some form of environmental protection. A recent Global Environment Facility report on the Seychelles highlights the degree of protection afforded the terrestrial and marine environment.

‘Seychelles has a system of 21 formal protected areas covering a total area of 51,597 ha, of which 21,761 ha (47.06% of the total landmass) is terrestrial and 29,836 ha (0.03% of the EEZ) marine. The Aldabra Special Reserve currently represents some 60% of the total extent of the Protected Area System (PAS)’

However, as mentioned in previous chapters the environmental reputation of the Seychelles is not all what it seems. The Seychelles is a signatory to a wide range of international environmental legislation. There is also a whole raft of domestic environmental legislation in place in the Seychelles. See the ‘Handbook of Environmental Legislation in the SADC Region’ for a detailed breakdown of the legislation. This legislation all works within the framework of the ‘Environment Management Plan of the Seychelles 1990-2000’ and ‘Environment Management Plan of the Seychelles 2000-2010’ This legislation is only truly worthwhile if it is enforced and there are adequate resources provided for the enforcement of the legislation. In addition there has to be a desire amongst the Seychelles Legislators and Judiciary to enforce and prosecute for environmental crimes. As Mwebeza et. al. highlight in their situation report on environmental crime, enforcement has been weak. Nowhere is this more the case than in the outer islands of the Seychelles where Glenny



Savy’s word is the law. Indeed Doan (2000) highlights the gap between the theory of environmental protection and the reality of weak protection due to the lack of resources and political will. Furthermore a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report highlights the weak commitment to sustainable development and monitoring in the Seychelles when it states that ‘(b)y 2010, the Department of Environment, one of the key partners in the promotion of sustainable environmental protection, had seen its staff reduced by more than 50 per cent. This led in turn to the creation of several new environmental agencies with limited implementation capacities.’ This failing is reiterated by the European Union who state that ‘(l)ack of enforcement of environmental legislation remains an issue at all levels, and represents one of the most challenging obstacles to implementing environment policies.’ (Seychelles – EC Country Strategy Paper) and reiterates the point stating that ‘(t)he foremost priority for the environmental management of the Seychelles is enforcement of the environmental and land use regulations together with a ‘reinforced management of protected areas.’ The United Nations Development Programme project document also highlights the poor environmental enforcement and protection in the Seychelles. They state that:

‘Though a large portion of Seychelles surface area, both terrestrial and marine, is protected, the protected area network is disjointed. Some of these areas have not been developed with strict biodiversity priorities in mind. Many Protected Areas are not actively managed, and few management plans exist.’

The report on environmental crime by Mwebaza et. al. highlights major problems with the detection, recording and enforcement of legislation that aims to prevent such crimes. The true extent of environmental crimes in the Seychelles is therefore hard to quantify. They state that:

‘The major constraint in assessing the extent of environmental crime in Seychelles is the lack of available data. Collection of data by institutions involved in either the enforcement or management of environmental crime is done in various ways. Institutions that have international reporting obligations do collect information regularly and in a succinct manner. Some organisations collect their data in a systematic manner, for instance recording the data and number of incidents. Reporting of incidents by some organisations is done periodically, for instance through monthly reports. Other organisations, especially on outer islands, will have to set up a reporting mechanism. Others collect information in an ad hoc manner or do not keep any record of incidents at all. All institutions involved in the detection and enforcement of environmental crime refer their incidents to the DOE for follow-up. The Legal Unit does not keep any record of cases it receives and this makes it virtually impossible to know the exact number of cases of environmental crime that have occurred over any period of time. It is unclear how the Legal Unit and the other sections of the DOE coordinate follow-up action.’



The recording of environmental crimes in the outer islands is particularly poor with many organisations such as IDC turning a blind eye or being complicit to these criminal activities. The total area of the Seychelles is 1.3 million square miles including the exclusive economic zone. However only 455 sq miles is land and the rest is the Indian Ocean. It is the smallest country in Africa. The granitic islands comprising Mahé, Praslin and La Digue are where the majority of people live. They are in the north eastern sector of the Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with the vast majority of the area in the southern western part comprising of the outer islands and the surrounding ocean. (See map in Appendix 5) The outer islands are very much unregulated and are under the de facto control of Glenny Savy. This is a huge area of ocean where a range of environmental crimes take place. These include the previously mentioned shark finning, dolphin hunting, turtle poaching, bird egg poaching and no doubt a range of other environmental crimes. It should be reiterated here that shark finning is not totally illegal in the Seychelles. In 2006 the Seychelles made international headlines by banning internationally registered boats from finning sharks (Environmental News Network website). Shark finning is however not banned for Seychellois boats and the practice is thought to be common although it is covered with a cloud of secrecy as much is in the Seychelles.

Figure 5 – this is a picture of shark fins that have been collected. Source – Ocean.org



Figure 6 – The remains of a Green turtle poached on Desroches Island in 2011

Source - ICS

On the 11th of August 2012 a group of fisherman arrived on a boat in the Creole village on Desroches. They were supposedly on Desroches to call home to their families on Mahé. They said that they were Sea Cucumber fishermen who were just doing some fishing before the sea cucumber season opened. It turns out from further investigation that they were fishing for sharks. They were fishing specifically for the fins of sharks. They would discard the rest of the shark. This loathsome trade is driving many species of sharks to extinction. I reported the presence of the shark finning boat to ICS head office but got no reply. The shark fins are removed and the rest of the shark is thrown back into the sea where the shark will die. The fins are sent to China for shark fin soup and command a very high price. One kilo of shark fins are worth around USD 600 in Hong Kong. The fins however are tasteless and need other flavourings to be added for the soup to have any taste. There are an estimated 75 million sharks killed every year globally and most of them are for the shark fin soup trade. Glenny Savy could stop shark finning in the outer islands if he wants. But as mentioned Savy is not an environmentalist. The hunting of turtles in the Seychelles has been banned since 1994 but the practice still continues today albeit clandestinely. Wilson (1994) cited that hunting is ‘practised by locals at every opportunity’ and even to this day it is common knowledge that turtles are still hunted especially on islands where there is no tourist enterprises or habitation. There have been recorded on Mahé of turtle poaching. An article in the Seychelles Nation from the 21st of October 2009 entitled ‘Turtle and Dolphin meat destroyed’ cited a case 18 kilos of dolphin meat and 13 kilos of turtle meat which were found at Anse Petite Marie Louise beach. Another article on the 23rd of January 2009 in the Nation entitled ‘Turtle poaching on the increase’ cited ‘more than 20 cases recorded of hawksbills being poached, especially in the south of Mahé’ with ‘poachers now using spear fishing to catch the turtles while they are at seas, as well as killing them under the cover of darkness.’ Indeed even on inhabited islands such as Desroches where there is a lot of enforcement there is still the occasional act of poaching as there was in May 2011 (see picture right). This is the remains of a Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) which had been killed for its meat.



Nature Seychelles discuss the problem of poaching further and state that ‘poaching continues to be a problem in Seychelles, despite increased awareness and legal protection nationwide. Targeted hunting of turtles still occurs, and incidental by-catch is also recorded.’ UNDP highlights also that ‘(p)oaching is taking place in most of the reserves and especially the 6 Marine National Parks around the granitic islands.’ (UNDP project document) Mwebaza et. al. have highlighted the prevalence of poaching in the Seychelles. They state that:

‘Between 2000 and 2008, 36 cases of illegal fishing were reported. This number includes cases of fishing in protected areas or prohibited zones; fishing with illegal equipment, for instance unlicensed nets (in the case of mackerel); shark finning; and the poaching of sea cucumbers.’

There are many rumours about Glenny Savy in relation to environmental issues and poaching. It is hard to determine what is true about this man. I have heard from several sources that Savy still enjoys eating Green Turtle meat and IDC still supply this to various powerful people in the Seychelles. This is of course illegal and if true is truly incredible as he is a founder of one of the foremost conservation organisations in the Seychelles. It is rumoured also that IDC provides salted dolphin meat to certain powerful people in the Seychelles. It is not a commonly known fact that dolphins are still hunted in the Seychelles and I suspect one of many facts that the Seychelles Tourism Board would not want to advertise. (Mwebaza et. al.) Again this hunting is clandestine and may go part way to explain why dolphins in the Seychelles are so reluctant to approach boats in Seychelles waters. The Seychelles Tourist Board is very keen to sell the Seychelles as an eco-tourist destination. This chapter has focused on several environmental issues that sit uncomfortably with the Seychelles supposedly strong environmental credentials. There are other issues that we have touched on in other chapters such as the exploitation of sea birds colonies for their eggs. This is not confined to sooty terns. In addition to that there are major issues with over fishing and over exploitation of sea cucumbers on the Seychelles bank. If the Seychelles Government is really serious about addressing a wide range of environmental issues and crimes than it must take some fundamental steps. It must help ensure that Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (eNGOs) are truly independent and that international NGO’s can set up. Conservation bodies such as ICS, Nature Seychelles and others are controlled by the PP and hence the government and have no ability to criticise government policy or raise any serious environmental issues. In addition to this it must enforce the existing legislation, fund agencies sufficiently, record and publicise environmental crimes and prosecute offenders. That one of the main offenders may be the most powerful man in the Seychelles might prove problematic.



CHAPTER 8

WHO OWNS THE OUTER ISLANDS OF THE SEYCHELLES?

‘Corruption has its own motivations, and one has to thoroughly study that phenomenon and eliminate the foundations that allow corruption to exist. ‘

Eduard Shevardnadze

The 72 Outer Islands of the Seychelles are situated beyond the Seychelles plateau and comprise low-lying sand cays and atolls ranging anything between 230 km and 1150 km from Mahé (see map in Appendix 5). Most of these islands as well as Silhouette (which is in the inner Granitic range of islands) are operated by the Island Development Company ostensibly on behalf of the Seychelles people. IDC were set up in 1980 under the government of the dictator France Albert René. These islands were given to IDC for 1 Seychelles Rupee on a 99 years lease. Most of these islands are uninhabited. Silhouette is the third largest of the islands in the Seychelles and is only 30 kilometers from Mahé. The IDC control a string of islands in the Amirantes, the Alphonse group of Islands and others in a vast area of ocean to the south west of Mahé. These include isolated island atolls like Cosmoledo, Farquar and Coetivy. The jewel in the crown is Desroches Island which has the biggest population of all the IDC run islands apart from Silhouette. These islands are supposedly part of the Seychelles but they are really operated as the personal fiefdom of Glenny Savy whose word is the law. Indeed he has been called the ‘King of the Outer Islands.’ Nothing happens on these islands without Savy’s approval and Seychellois really have very few rights to access these islands for commercial or recreational purposes without his agreement. His mentality and power comes from the time of the dictatorship of his step father France Albert René and Savy is certainly not keen to relinquish any power. Glenny Savy is involved in selling off parts of these islands to overseas enterprises to enrich himself and his cadre of friends. In the book entitled the ‘Outer Islands of Seychelles,’ France Albert René is interviewed about his experience and vision of the outer islands. He is quoted thus:



‘Part of the vision was to make money by bringing tourism from abroad over to the outer islands, but at the same time get local tourists to visit and enjoy the beauty of these islands, for much less cost, because of course Seychellois cannot afford to pay the same prices as tourists are paying I would like the Seychellois to realize that these are their islands, and they should be able to visit them as freely as we travel to Praslin or La Digue, and for all our children to go visit those islands, but at the same time, not spoil them.’

This vision was certainly not realised. As with many prognostications from René it was just a smokescreen and propaganda. Most Seychellois have not visited the outer islands and it remains very difficult for them to do so unless they are very rich as there is little affordable accommodation being provided for them. The only Seychellois that get to visit the outer islands, apart from some workers family members, are friends of the PP, IDC and Glenny Savy. These groupings are often one and the same. An article in one of the weekly newspapers, Regar, on 14th June 1996 entitled ‘Selling Plots of land on Desroches’ discussed the development of Desroches. Is report this:

‘The Chairman of the Island Development Company, My Glenny Savy, denied that plots are ready for sale but confirmed that proposals were being studied. In a statement responding to our enquiry he said it has been government’s policy to try and encourage people to go and live on the outer islands. He said the necessary infrastructure for this was now in place and the company was studying the possibilities of how to promote settlement.’

Somewhere down the line this policy changed. Indeed there are very few normal working Seychellois on Desroches. No Seychellois owns land on Desroches. The land has been sold to rich South Africans with the Russians and Arabs as the new target market. Mr Savy seems to have little interest in providing land to Seychellois on the outer islands. This would not make him enough money. Glenny Savy has the ability to kick anyone off one of his islands at the drop of a hat. There will be no investigation, no appeal or legal redress and no second chance. Once he kicks them off he usually says that they will never step on another IDC island for the rest of their life. What he means when he says this is that they will never step on one of his islands again as he believes he owns them. He will continue to have de facto ownership and control of these islands while he has a continued hold on power over the government of the Seychelles. Yet these are still island of the Seychelles. When guests come to visit islands such as Desroches, Silhouette, and Alphonse they do not think that they are visiting a new country. They are legally only visiting one country which is recognised by the United Nations. Yet in many ways these



islands are operated as another country. Like the lawless tribal lands in Pakistan these islands are to a great degree out with the control of central government and are the personal fiefdom of ‘King’ Glenny Savy. For many people in the Seychelles Glenny Savy is a familiar and sinister character. To people out with the Seychelles he is virtually unknown. He prefers to stay out of the limelight. Indeed there is no Wikipedia page about Glenny Savy and limited information about his activities online. He does not tolerate any criticism and bullies and threatens those who challenge him. As previously mentioned he is the step son of the erstwhile dictator of the Seychelles France Albert René. His brothers Francis and David are powerful individuals in the Seychelles as well and they have all learnt a lot on how to ruthlessly hold on to power from the old dictator. Glenny Savy is Executive Director of the Island Development Company (IDC) and he runs the management of these islands and leases areas for tourism. He runs IDC aviation which connects the islands to the main island of Mahé and IDC shipping which ships the supplies to the islands. IDC have a monopoly on economic activity on these islands and in the waters surrounding them. If someone is allowed onto one of the outer islands by Glenny Savy to set up an enterprise, be they tourist or otherwise and then incurs the displeasure of Savy then they are kicked off and are told they are never to return. This has happened on Desroches when a farmer came to farm some land and after a while was kicked off without any compensation. It is happened on a greater scale elsewhere on the other islands where organisations have come in and built infrastructure, such as airports, building or jetties and then they have been thrown out. Of course Savy and IDC keeps the infrastructure and no compensation is paid. There is no rule of law on the outer islands, contracts matter little and no one will succeed with a law suit against IDC as Savy has control over the Seychelles Judiciary. Glenny Savy set up the Island Conservation Society with his friends for the purpose of controlling the nature of the conservation work undertaken on the outer islands. He cares little for conservation but he does care for control and does not want to allow conservationists to come in and tell him what he is doing wrong with ‘his’ resources. In the outer islands there is little effective environmental monitoring or implementation of environment legislation. The EC-Seychelles Country strategy paper highlights this problem stating that:

‘The capacity to enforce environmental legislation remains a serious issue at all levels and presents one of the most challenging obstacles in implementing environment policies. For instance, the surveillance of poachers - in particular on the remote islands of the Seychelles - remains a serious challenge. The lack of financial resources for further research or specific conservation work is also a serious concern.’



The irony in this situation is that it is the gamekeeper who is the poacher. The only two conservation offices in the outer islands are on Alphonse and Desroches (apart from Aldabra which thankfully Savy has no direct control over) and are run by ICS. The ICS has a remit to advise IDC on conservation matters all the other islands. The IDC and the tourist operations which are indirectly under the control of Savy provide the funding for ICS. He who pays the piper calls the tune. Glenny Savy has a reputation for being an ogre and from what I can tell it is a reputation that is justified. If there is someone on one of ‘his’ islands that upsets him then he has been known to fly to that island and beat the person up himself. He supposedly stopped this several years ago when he stopped drinking. He still flies to the islands regularly to kick people off who disagree with him or displease him in any way. Everyone working on the outer islands is scared of him and no one dares to challenge his authority. The author of this book challenged Savy on a legitimate conservation issue and incurred his wrath.



CHAPTER 9

THE SEYCHELLES WHERE TO NOW?

‘Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.’

Henry George

It is often one of your strongest allies that become your harshest critics as dreams and promises become broken and disillusionment set it. Maxime Ferrari was one René’s strongest allies, a former minister and was part of the coup d’etat in 1977. He eventually resigned from government as the promise of equality and socialism from the coup turned into dictatorship and nepotism. His words are powerful and it is instructive to quote a few words from the end of his memoirs.

‘Seychelles today is being run more or less the same was as it was run prior to 1993. Political victimization is common. Confidence in the judiciary is sorely lacking. The media is practically entirely in the hands of the SPPF. There is no transparency. Corruption is said to be on the increase. Those who do not belong to the party are completely ignored.’

This was written in 1999 and in the intervening 12 years little has changed. The people of the Seychelles are disgruntled with their leaders. This is not unique to the Seychelles and expressions of dissatisfaction with politicians are common in many countries including the western democracies. In the Seychelles however it is very hard for the people to express their opinions and air their grievances. The press is emasculated and controlled. Power is wielded recklessly and jealously guarded by a small corrupt elite and dissent is quickly quashed. Elections are neither free nor fair. The Seychelles does not live in a vacuum though. It requires the money from high end tourism to support its economy. As stated the purpose of writing this book is certainly not to harm this industry which provides an income to many Seychellois. The Seychelles Government bans demonstrations on the basis that they might harm the tourist industry. The Government goes to great length to hide the human rights abuses and corruption in the country. The Seychelles has a fine constitution enshrining a range of important rights but it is extraordinarily difficult to get a



copy of this document. I had to go to the National Archives and get them to scan in every page to get a copy. It should be taught in school. The Seychelles tourism industry sells the country on the back of its natural beauty and its concern for conserving the natural environment. Much of this is greenwashing and a smoke screen that does not stand up under greater scrutiny. The Seychelles government goes to great lengths to hide many of the unpalatable truths highlighted within this book. There have been many environmental successes in the Seychelles. Many species such as the Seychelles Magpie Robin (Copsychus sechellarum) have been saved from the brink of extinction by the incredible work of dedicated conservationists. Aldabra is an incredible place and justifiably viewed as a model for conservation. Despite that there are many environmental issues in the Seychelles that still need to be addressed. I have documented some of them. The damage done by the Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), the continued exploitation of turtles and dolphins, the shark finning and the unsustainable harvest of sea bird eggs are only some of them. The issue with the over harvest of the fishing and sea cucumber resources is another huge issue and is out with the scope of this book to document in sufficient detail. Environmentalists need to have the courage and freedom to raise these issues publicly. The existing regulations need to be enforced, enforcement agencies adequately funded and environmental groups need to be given the freedom to criticise government and the businesses that breach them. The Seychelles government receives a range of financial support from overseas organisations. Some like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are more interested in economic liberalization and freedom for investors than human rights and democracy. Others like nation states, the European Union, the United Nations and other grant giving and charitable bodies have other priorities. The Seychelles government does care about its international reputation and the international community needs to scrutinise the record of the Seychelles on human rights, social justice and the environment when taking into account their financial decision making and grant giving. Fundamentally though, it is the Seychellois people that should decide their own future. I have experienced fear and impotence among many Seychellois when they talk about change. Human and employment rights are abused and the media and judiciary do not work for the people and provide the much needed scrutiny of the government and powerful vested interests. It was a coup that caused many of the difficulties that the Seychelles people face in terms of freedom and human rights. There needs to be a revolution that will fix it. Not a revolution of guns, bombs and barricades but a revolution of hearts, mind and spirit. The people of the Seychelles need to stand up and define their own destiny.



The Seychelles needs a proper democracy where votes are not bought but won by the strength of arguments. It needs a dynamic civil society where community organisations, environmental organisations and trade unions can be independent and can flourish. It needs a free and impartial judiciary. It needs social justice and decent wages where the fruits of economic growth are shared amongst all the people and not just concentrated at the top. It needs the effective enforcement of environmental legislation. The land of the Seychelles needs to be owned and run for the Seychellois and not sold to foreign interests for the sole benefit of the corrupt elite. Seychelles needs to rid itself of the powerful and ruthless elite that corrupt the country and who have dominated for too long. Then it will truly be Sesel Pou Seselwa.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

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APPENDIX 1 June 1977 President René at Radio Seychelles

First broadcast after coup

‘It is clear that today has been an eventful day and naturally I will not be able to tell you much.

I have to form a Government and I must ensure that no-one in he country suffers because of the changes which have just taken place. I have agreed to form this new Government because I, too, have been worried by many things that have been happening lately. Furthermore, Mr. Mancham as trying to create a situation whereby he would remain President forever, and he was putting our country in a situation that we would have found ourselves slaves of the capitalists and foreign countries

I had told him that before postponing the election for another seven year as he had been trying to do, we should have a referendum and ask the opinion of the people. I explained to him that for my part I have to consult the people of Seychelles first, in particular those people who gave me their vote.

But Mr Mancham replied that whether I like it or not he was going to have elections postponed. His answer proved to me once and for all that he was adopting a dictatorial attitude and naturally I shared my impressions with as many people as I could, because it was necessary for me to inform the people of what was going on, and therefore today, I cannot blame the people if they have felt it necessary to overthrow the government.

I now believe that we shall have the chance to run the country in such a way as to satisfy the people of Seychelles and, to enable this to be done we need the co-operation of all. Since this morning I have felt that this co-operation is real’

Source - Portrait of a Struggle. (1983) Ministry of Education and Information. Seychelles National Printing Co. Ltd.



APPENDIX 2

Aid disbursements to Seychelles, by donor$ million

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total

Total 13.64 11.04 12.52 22.76 56.04 116.00

Of which bilateral 7.15 1.49 5.03 11.78 29.26 54.71Australia 0.05 .. .. .. .. 0.05Austria .. 0.03 .. .. .. 0.03Belgium 2.02 .. .. .. 1.02 3.04Canada 0.23 0.51 0.24 0.21 .. 1.19France 2.52 0.67 2.93 2.31 10.48 18.91Germany 0.07 0.08 0.06 0.08 0.52 0.81Greece 0.01 0.05 0.01 .. .. 0.07Italy .. .. 0.05 .. 8.31 8.36Japan 1.91 0.76 1.62 9.06 9.57 22.92Korea 0.02 0.08 0.01 .. 0.01 0.12New Zealand .. 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.06 0.17Portugal 0.19 .. .. .. .. 0.19

Spain .. .. .. .. -0.77 -0.77

United Kingdom 0.02 -0.86 0.07 0.06 0.04 -0.67

United States 0.11 0.14 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.29

Of which multilateral 7.17 7.89 7.31 10.93 9.66 42.96AfDF .. -0.43 -0.20 -0.70 -0.72 -2.05BADEA 1.25 -0.09 -0.14 -1.00 2.36 2.38

EU Institutions 4.40 0.80 0.74 11.98 4.62 22.54

GEF .. 6.00 6.17 0.90 3.38 16.45

IAEA 0.01 0.05 0.18 0.13 0.22 0.59IFAD .. .. .. -0.12 .. -0.12OFID 0.99 0.54 0.03 -0.31 -0.31 0.94UNAIDS 0.02 0.04 .. .. .. 0.06

UNFPA 0.04 0.03 0.09 0.05 0.11 0.32

UNTA 0.46 0.95 0.44 .. .. 1.85

Other bilateral donors -0.68 1.66 0.18 0.05 17.12 18.33United Arab Emirates .. 2.06 .. .. 17.44 19.50Others -0.68 -0.40 0.18 0.05 -0.32 -1.17

Source: OECD DAC database



APPENDIX 3 US Cable exposed via WikiLeaks, entitled ‘Sechellois corruption’:

VZCZCXRO5286 RR RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO DE RUEHPL #0381/01 3120721 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 070721Z NOV 08 FM AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4257 INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0222 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0294 RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0095 RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 0161 RUEHSA/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 0756 RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 PORT LOUIS 000381 SIPDIS AF/E FOR MARIA BEYZEROV JOHANNESBURG AND CAPE TOWN FOR FCS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2018 TAGS: SUBJECT: PARADISE LOST: HOW CORRUPTION BANKRUPTED SEYCHELLES REF: A. A) PORT LOUIS 267 B. B) PORT LOUIS 316 C. C) PORT LOUIS 365 Classified By: Ambassador Cesar B. Cabrera for reasons 1.4 b and d. 1. SUMMARY: (SBU) An overall lack of transparency and corruption throughout the ranks are behind the Seychelles’ recent international appeal for help after a chronic lack of foreign exchange, loan defaults, drastic inflation, and an excessive debt burden of 175 percent of GDP effectively left the country bankrupt. After defaulting twice on government debt payments, Seychelles will be forced to accept economic reforms they have so long rejected and possibly confront and correct a seemingly corrupt, government controlled, opaque economic system. END SUMMARY.



----------------- CURRENT SITUATION ----------------- 2. (U) According to studies conducted by various International Monetary Institutions (IMI) as well as the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Seychelles has been flirting with bankruptcy for years due to poor economic policies, severe foreign exchange shortages, and excessive state control of the economy. Despite having a per capita GDP of 10,000 USD and being classified as an "upper-middle income" country by the World Bank, the Seychelles recently was forced to the breaking point due to rising inflation and perennial shortages of foreign exchange. 3. (U) In July 2008, lack of foreign exchange led to Seychelles defaulting on a principal and interest repayment of a 85 million USD private placement note causing international credit rating agency Standard and Poors (S&P) to downgrade the country's foreign currency sovereign credit rating to Selective Default (SD) from the already low rating of CCC/C. The July default prompted S&P to lower the credit rating on Seychelles 230 million USD global bond, which matures in 2011, to CCC- from CCC, in anticipation of the government also defaulting on this loan, which indeed did happen in early October 2008. 4. (U) According to an October 29 Reuters Africa report, the government is asking 12 percent of its civil service, the largest employer in the nation, to "voluntarily" resign in order to cut costs on the national economy, which has a debt burden that, according to government statistics, equals about 175 percent of GDP. On November 3, international press reported that after exchange controls on the Rupee were lifted in accordance with the new IMF program, the Rupee depreciated 78 percent to the U.S. Dollar moving the exchange rate from USD 1 = SRs 8 to USD 1 = SRs 14.29. This coupled with the global credit crisis is sure to peak already high inflation rates in Seychelles. 5. (C) The credit downgrades and continued defaults coupled with an all time high year-on-year inflation rate of 31.6 percent driven by rising food and oil prices suggest that Seychelles will have a difficult time securing foreign loans to continue to finance their debt. The Paris Club lenders stance to reject a request to reschedule Seychelles' debt until they worked with the IMF on a comprehensive program made Seychelles' desperation more apparent. ----------------------------------- REASONS GIVEN FOR THE CURRENT CRISIS ----------------------------------- 6. (C) A quick glance at international headlines on the Seychelles economy will suggest that this small, net-importing island nation is a victim of the global financial crisis, or rising commodity prices. The Seychelles Government (GOS) offers vague official statements that cite "irregularities" or "errors" as a reason for recent defaults on debt payments. Even though it is clear that the current global economic situation has exacerbated the problem, history, local contacts, and recent occurrences suggest instead that Seychelles faces this situation due to internal culprits -- especially the lack of transparency, government cronyism, and corruption.



7. (C) International bodies, including USG advisors, have warned Seychelles for many years that their economy was in need of drastic reform. For example, in 2005, a visiting World Bank team urged them to prepare an 'Economic Restructuring and Debt Workout' plan and provided them with a proposed timetable for its implementation. Key first steps in this plan included devaluing the currency, privatizing state-owned enterprises, and meeting with donors to address debt in arrears. Even before the World Bank suggestions, Paris Club lenders urged Seychelles to adopt an IMF program and devalue their currency. Seychelles remained defiant to these suggestions. In 2006, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) explicitly told a USG-funded debt management advisor that GOS would not consider currency devaluation in the immediate future. Furthermore, despite the exasperating effects that overvaluing the rupee had on foreign exchange and GOS' ability to pay off foreign debt, the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) and MOF Debt Management Team encouraged the USG advisor to focus on domestic debt only, even though at the time GOS had just taken out a 200 million dollar global loan (approximately 1/3 of GDP) with a 2011 maturity date. 8. (C) Although government officials cited concerns for short-term social unrest as the reason they avoided implementing economic reform, opposition leaders, private sector representatives, and others -- in private meetings with EMBOFFS -- all pointed to fraud and corruption as the real reason. Continued pressure from the IMF and multilateral lenders to undertake reform measures caused GOS to finally accept the need to introduce modest reform in late 2006 to allow the rupee to fall from USD 1= SRs 5.50 to USD 1 = SRs 8, announce moderate privatization of the Seychelles Savings Bank and several units of the former Seychelles Marketing Board (renamed the Seychelles Trading Company (STC)), and use budget surpluses to pay down domestic debt. 9. (C) GOS acceptance to undertake these reforms seems positive until one considers that shortly after initiating reforms, GOS halted the depreciation of the rupee leaving it overvalued, as witnessed by its persistent trading on the black market. The STC does not have any buffer stock of commodities, so price inflation was immediate at the onset of economic reform, which wreaked havoc on foreign exchange reserves, so the GOS remained hesitant to restart depreciation measures (Note: On November 3, GOS lifted exchange controls due to a mandate by the new IMF program. End Note.) In addition, even the moderate privatization announced concerning the Savings Bank and STC has yet to take place, and according to Post contacts in the private sector, there is still reason to suspect that budget surpluses will continue to be spent on government projects instead of financing domestic debt. 10. (C) In a September 2008 conversation, local businessmen and SCCI members told ECONOFF that they have little faith in the government paying down its domestic debt (currently 2/3 of GDP) with budget surpluses because throughout the years, the government has consistently put any reported surplus into heavily lauded but ineffective government projects. One businessman noted the 25 million USD desalination project, championed by the head of the ruling Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF) and, by most accounts, real ruler of Seychelles, Albert René as the project that would make water shortages something of the past. To date, Seychelles has water shortages and the plant still does not work. In another example, local businessman Marc Hoareau, mentioned the prawn farm in Coetivy Island as another



lionized initiative that has not lived up to its billing, left the country indebted some 75 million USD, and could not be sold to any private management company because it was deemed non-competitive on the world market. ------------------------------------------- SHADY LINKS BETWEEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT ------------------------------------------- 11. (C) According to the Indian Ocean Newsletter, a weekly periodical sponsored by Indigo Publications, the government could not find a buyer for the prawn project on Coetivy Island, so it decided to cut its losses and sell the island for 117 million USD to Indian businessman and recently president-appointed Ambassador-At-Large, Chinnakannan Sivasankaran, or as the locals call him, Siva. Reportedly, Siva will use the island to create a tourist complex of ten 250 room hotels. Although this seems like it could be a regular business deal, many local contacts tell EMBOFFS that business deals like these, that hint at corruption and are motivated by political gains with little regard to the local economy, are destroying Seychelles' economic future. 12. (C) SCCI Chairman Albert Payet recently told POLOFF that in 2004, when the SCCI met with MOF, the SCCI recommended amending the Tourism Incentive Act (TIA) so that once tourism was operating at almost full capacity, investors and hotels would receive fewer concessions, but to their chagrin, the new TIA released earlier this year granted even more concessions. Official MOF documents dated November 26, 2007, show concessions given to the Ephelia Resort which exempts the resort from 75 percent of the regular taxes imposed on an investor. Moreover, SCCI members reported with disappointment that many tourist resorts (specifically citing North Island, Le Marriott, The Banyan Tree, and the Silhouette) that do their business primarily in foreign currencies effectively bring little foreign exchange (FOREX) through Seychelles banks because of retention rates that allow some to retain up to 100 percent in foreign coffers. 13. (C) In an October 30 meeting, Ralph Vocere, editor of a local paper and member of an opposition party, illustrated the situation further with an anecdote about the Barbaron Hotel, the hotel with reportedly the most revenue earned in FY 2008. According to Vocere, the foreign owners of Barbaron Hotel also have a commanding stake in Aitel Phone Services, which is a big local phone service provider that does 95 percent of its business in rupees. The owners could not repatriate the funds from Aitel given the current status of the rupee, so GOS reportedly made a deal with the owners that they could invest in a local hotel to earn foreign exchange and would be able to keep 100 percent of their earnings. This is allegedly how the owners bought the Barbaron Hotel and now are able to retain 100 percent of the FOREX. Contrastingly, according to post contacts, local Seychellois hoteliers are allowed to keep only 15 percent of the foreign exchange they earn. 14. (C) Vocere reports that corruption, coupled with the selling off of lands to what he calls the "business mafia," is what is holding back the Seychelles economy. He believes that until this problem is tackled, the IMF and World Bank can keep attempting to help the Seychelles, but it will be to



no avail. Vocere added that the "mafia" consists of key Seychellois figures such as SPPF chief Albert René and other SPPF cronies, Indian businessman Siva, local businessmen the Savy brothers, and "Arab investors." "Mafia" member or not, no one can deny that Siva has profited from his time in Seychelles. He now owns many business, three islands in the Seychelles archipelago, and was nominated Ambassador-at-Large by President Michel after only being in Seychelles for about a year. This nomination was supposedly a reward for bankrolling Seychelles debt and providing money to government officials. Soon after awarding him the position, the Government of Seychelles requested a U.S. diplomatic visa for Ambassador-at-Large Siva. When Post requested information as to the plans and nature of the diplomatic trips planned by Siva, the GOS withdrew the application. 15. (C) According to Vocere, the current IMF team has uncovered 3 billion USD in overseas Seychellois bank accounts. The day after Vocere made this information public during a delivered speech in downtown Victoria on November 4, he was arrested on charges of "unlawful assembly" and remains detained. This is not the first time Vocere has been detained for criticizing the government. In October 2008, Vocere's printing press was shut down by the Seychelles government and he traveled to Mauritius to print his opposition paper. According to the GOM, the Mauritians detained Vocere at the airport because of a tip from the Seychelles authorities that he was smuggling heroine into Mauritius. No heroin was found and the GOM released him without any charge. 16. (C) When asked about possible corruption on a local television program on September 4, Guy Adams, the head of Seychelles Petroleum Company -- one of the largest and most profitable companies in the nation -- said that his company had not been properly audited in 20 years. This would have made it easy, he declared, to siphon off millions of dollars if had wanted to do so. ----------------------------------- CHANG-LENG: CHARACTER OF CORRUPTION ----------------------------------- 17. (SBU) While corruption allegations surround many SPPF partisans and associates, no figure has received as much negative attention for the current crisis as former Central Bank Governor, Francis Chang-Leng. Admittedly, there were many reports in local press accusing Chang-Leng of corruption before the recent loan defaults, but even if there were truth to the claims none was substantiated beyond normal Seychelles gossip. Among the many allegations against Chang-Leng, one promulgated by many sources is that he spent 8 million SRs of Seychellois taxpayer rupees to treat a select group of female employees that he calls his "Strategic Team" to overseas trips with him. 18. (C) While in recent meetings with ECONOFF, Chang-Leng dismissed the Seychelles load default as an "irregularity," local press reported that Chang-Leng unilaterally issued the government debt that caused the default and that it was months before the Ministry of Finance or President knew about it. Press reports also suggested that the Lehman Brothers' representative who bought the risky debt had close ties with Chang-Leng and alleged that some money issued had been pocketed by Chang-Leng. In an October 30 meeting, Ralph Vocere said that he has been accumulating corruption evidence against Chang-Leng, but was waiting for the right time to



release it. Vocere believes Chang-Leng's recent streak of independence and his recent vacating of his CBS post leaves him vulnerable for the attack, which will force President Michel's hand to investigate the claims. Even with hard facts of corruption, the general take from many Post contacts is that a conviction of Chang-Leng will be difficult due to "a weak judiciary." --------- JUDICIARY --------- 19. (C) Another suspicious situation is the liquidation and subsequent sell-off of The Plantation Club, formerly the second largest hotel in Seychelles. On August 5, Judge Andrew Ranjan Perera ordered the liquidation and helped the GOS -- who only held an eight percent share -- shutdown the hotel. The next day, Perera was made Chief Justice. Local media reported that Perera was appointed Chief Justice as a reward for his judgment in SPPF's favor. This raised concerns of the local private sector community and the opposition press. The perception and allegations of government corruption grew when the hotel was eventually sold off to the lowest bidder out of three, European Hotels and Resorts Limited, a newly formed group of hotel investors with ties to the SPPF establishment and a Saudi businessman, Sheikh Abdul Mohsin bin Abdulmalik Al-Shaikh, who has, according to the previous owner, threatened to force the former owner, a U.S. Citizen, out of business since 2006. European Hotels and Resorts Limited's directors, lawyers, and bankers have direct links to the Saudi businessman. 20. (C) According to many sources, including the former Plantation Club owner and SCCI members, the Plantation Club ruling is only one of many corrupt rulings by the weak Seychelles judiciary. The constitution states that the judiciary is independent; Embassy contacts, such as Seychellois lawyer Frank Elizabeth, say that this is not the case. For example, most court judges are either naturalized citizens or citizens of other Commonwealth countries, such as Tanzania, Uganda, and Sri Lanka. There is only one Supreme Court judge, one appeals court judge, and two magistrate court judges who are citizens by birth. Initially, recruiting foreign judges and magistrates made up for the lack of professionals in the years following independence, but today Post contacts report that the foreigners are put in these positions because they are more malleable. Allegations abound that the government also uses a patronage system to yield influence over the judiciary. For example, Former Chief Justice Vivekanand Alleaar, a Mauritian citizen who resigned in January 2008 after numerous allegations of corruption, is rumored to have received prime real estate for a development project from the SPPF and funding for his son's education in England for his loyalty to the party. ------- Comment ------- 21. (C) For all of the speculation and shadowy figures in Seychelles, it is hard to get any concrete evidence to point at any one person. The plethora of circumstantial evidence, however, does support that there is significant corruption in the system. Post believes that corruption is the critical reason why a country as wealthy as Seychelles (900 million USD GDP) has suffered so many persistent economic problems. The current IMF economic reforms coupled with the global



financial crisis are sure to have drastic social implications in the Seychelles. Although sharp inflation, and job loss may cause social unrest, it could also lead to Seychellois finally confronting the corruption behind the system that put them in this mess. CABRERA



APPENDIX 4 Joint Statement by Presidential Candidates Wavel Ramkalawan, Phillipe Boullé and Ralph Volcere on Campaign Violations and Illegitimacy of results

‘We, candidates in the presidential election held on 19-21 May 2011, condemn the violations of the law and the Electoral Code of Conduct which have occurred during the electoral process.

We consider the process to have been seriously flawed owing to abuses by the Parti Lepep and deficiencies on the part of the Election authority, and we therefore unconditionally reject the result.

We feel that the whole democratic structure of the country was compromised by the manner in which the elections were conducted and the results they produced.

We comment here on three main areas.

a. Vote buying and funding

b. Use of state resources by the Parti Lepep

c. Inability of the Electoral Commissioner to stop abuses and violations

Vote buying and funding

There has been a systematic use of money to influence the vote by the Parti Lepep which has included the gifts of large amounts of construction materials, other goods and cash disbursements which have occurred before and during the campaign period. These practices became even more widespread and intense during the cooling-off period and on polling day when many illegal assembly points were operated where money was given in return for voting for the Parti Lepep or not voting for another candidate. The use of money to buy votes had a direct bearing on the outcome of the elections.

The Parti Lepep massively outfunded other candidates in the campaign. So long as money is disproportionately used by one candidate over the others, any result has to be seen as determined by financial considerations.

Use of state resources

The state-funded media, Seychelles Nation and SBC, were monopolised throughout the campaign by the government, giving a clear advantage to the incumbent candidate. Both media showed a clear reluctance to be fair and missed no opportunity to give coverage to the President and government initiatives in clear breach of their constitutional and legal obligations. Reporting calculated to influence the outcome of elections continued up to polling day.



The incumbent candidate conducted his campaign from State House using Government resources, including the Presidential Standard for campaign broadcasts. On polling day itself, Government resources were used on behalf of Parti Lepep, such as the use of the clinic at Glacis and an ambulance to transport voters to the polling station.

Inability of the Electoral Commissioner to stop abuses

The Electoral Commissioner was unable or unwilling to deal with campaign abuses and violations which were reported. The police was likewise unwilling or ineffective in dealing with complaints.

The most common violations during the campaign period were in relation to campaign posters and boards but most serious were the operation of assembly stations and checkpoints on polling day which were used to influence voters. Numerous instances of interference with voters were reported in various districts but there was no effective action to correct the situation. The widespread abuses were allowed to be conducted with impunity giving the Parti Lepep candidate an unfair advantage in the process.

Conclusion

These abuses and violations have made the 2011 Presidential Election a sham. Unless they can be corrected with clear laws and regulations, in particular regarding the use of money or other material incentives and effective control by an independent election authority and the police, elections are meaningless.

We therefore reject the result of the election as announced by the Electoral Commissioner and call on the Election Observers, the Churches and Religious Organisations, Civil Society and the people of Seychelles to join us in condemning this affront to the democratic process and the abuses of an incumbent president to retain power by the use of his privileges and state institutions under his control and the exploitation of the weak and the poor through financial means.

..................... .................... ...................

Wavel Ramkalawan Philippe Boullé Ralph Volcere

Sey Nat Party Ind Candidate N D Party

May 23, 2011’

Source - The Seychelles Weekly www.seychellesweekly.com/May%2023,2011/top_press_release_opposition.html



APPENDIX 5 Map of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles


fear and loathing in paradise

Documents

international

white south

fish aggregating

sooty tern

sooty tern

implementing

france albert

powerful vested