Standing by the Private Sector

My commitment to the private sector as the engine of economic growth is 100%. I am proud that the SNP has been in the forefront of economic liberalisation and it is a commitment that we will pursue in Government.

Nowadays, we hear quite often the phrase ‘the private sector is the motor of the economy.’ It’s good that the ruling party has come round to this point of view - until a couple of years back, it was not the case.

However, there is still a gulf between theory and practice. Take for example the Chamber of Commerce. This organisation has for years been a strong voice for the private sector. Recently, with interference from both politics and government, it has lost its role, with the result that it is no longer a useful voice but goes along with everything that the government says.

The Chamber of Commerce is one organisation that the SNP considers very important in building the right economic climate. It needs to be a body that is properly set up with full-time workers focussing on various areas of trade, commerce, business opportunities and investment. The country needs a private professional body that challenges, proposes and takes initiatives. In a sense, we need an organisation that is as active as the STB in tourism.

A strong Chamber of Commerce should be one of the principal representations on an Economic Council that will meet and discuss with Government to map out economic growth.

One place where a great gulf exists is simply in mapping out the road ahead. At present, there is no single body where the private sector and Government meet to create and exchange ideas, weigh options, and reach a consensus on where we need to go. Everything of this sort is still firmly under Government control and that is a major weakness. There is no sharing of a plan for development.

I firmly believe that we can have a strong and vibrant economy, looking forward to the future. But we must map the road ahead together as a country. One political party cannot do it right if it does it alone.

At the moment, President Michel is keeping it to himself, to the extent of arguing that economic growth needs continuity, meaning that he has to stay in power. ‘Don’t rock the boat’, he said at the investment forum this week.

A change of Government in a democratic country is not rocking the boat. Mr. Michel is obviously not making any allowances for democracy.

For Seychelles, a change of Government now is exactly what is required. It will strengthen and confirm our democratic system. It will be a display of real stability. Investors and businessmen need the demonstration of political stability which an orderly change of Government can bring.

We have always advocated that economic development is protected and advanced by democratic progress. The strengthening of democratic institutions removes favouritism, unfair competition and poor standards. A bad judiciary will not protect investment just as unfair laws will not protect workers. The SNP will continue to strive for the best for the private sector and the country.

We will continue to encourage clean, serious and law abiding investors, both local and foreign to develop partnerships and bring in their investment while ensuring that the Seychelles private sector emerges as the real force in our country’s economic development. I believe this can happen. Let the real stability come on the 21st May 2011.

Believe Before You Preach

What do the current leaders of our country still believe in? They have gone full circle on most of the things they declared were sacred in their policies. So, in what direction do they want to lead Seychelles? Multi-party politics was declared an obstacle to development in 1977, and so all political parties, except René’s, were declared illegal. Private schools, doctors, dentists, lawyers, newspapers etc… were banned. A few years ago, all of these sprung up again, and they were declared a sign of development and progress. The list is really long. I am certain that each one of us can easily think of at least two such examples. The plain truth is simple: Mr. René, Mr. Michel, and their political party have fooled the people.  They have lied to us, and many members of our society have fallen in their traps.

Last week we got another example of how we have been led astray. Gilbert Pool, the mastermind of Expo 2020, declared that the Kreol language was basically useless and that English was the language we all needed to master. I will not enter into a linguistic debate, but I will express my personal exasperation at hearing such a statement.

Many people felt very strongly against the teaching and promotion of the Kreol language in the schools. They had valid reasons, just as there were valid reasons why it should have a place in the curriculum. But people were not given any say. Our leaders decided first one way, then another. Today, we are still struggling for the right balance. Kreol obviously does not meet all our educational needs but, on the other hand, there has been some great work done in the mother tongue, one being the translation of the New Testament. Many people are literate in Kreol and this has become an important means of written communication to so many. Now, Gilbert Pool tells us it’s all useless. I take great offence at Mr. Pool’s denigrating views on Kreol. After all, it is our mother tongue.

What has really upset many people, including myself, is the fact that this statement came from Mr. René’s former right-hand man, the one who coined every election slogan for the reds, and who has just come out of the woodwork to try and save Mr. Michel from election defeat. If this is the truth coming out of the loyal servant’s mouth, then it indicates how Mr. René’s policy all along was to close the doors of the Seychellois through the promotion of Kreol. Unfortunately for him and his friends, we are a much stronger people, and indeed we can master English, French and the sciences to ensure that we move on. Rather than twist our language policy again, I am calling on the Seychellois people to allow our schools to have the resources that they need  to educate. 

If they tried to fool us with the Kreol language, to the extent of setting up a Kreol Institute, declaring Victoria as the Kreol capital of the world, teaching Kreol, etc… then we ought to seriously consider all the lies that our people have been fed with since 1977.

We all know the limits of the Kreol language. It is not an a scientific or technical or international language. But to downgrade it the way Pool did was simply too much. Maybe it was his farewell act and he wanted to tell our people that they have been taken on a long ride for too long and to get out of their sleep.

Today the time has come to question seriously what the current leaders of this country believe in. Unfortunately we will discover that we are dealing with a group of opportunists. Instead of dealing with present day difficulties and opportunities, they take us on a 2020 dream. Truth and reality remain their biggest hurdles. We ought to be worried and this is another reason why we have to take the future seriously.

During the last eight weeks of their rule, they should stop feeding our people with lies. May they start believing first and preaching afterward.