The Land of opportunities - come Home Seychellois

[The Sechelles Heritage Trust]

Global Press Release

SEYCHELLES

THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES

COME HOME SEYCHELLOIS

 

 

This is a Global Press Release issued to all news agencies across the world and placed on the Internet including Facebook. The aim is to reach Seychellois (natives of Seychelles) in Canada, UK, USA, Australia, wherever Seychellois are in the world, calling on overseas Seychellois to come back home and take advantage of the opportunities that exist currently in Seychelles.

Come home Seychellois and let us build our country, Seychelles is a gold mine waiting to be mined, cultivated and explored for our benefits and those of our future generations. Whether you were born in Seychelles or overseas it doesn’t matter the current immigration law states that if you were born overseas prior to 1979 and your father is a citizen of Seychelles then you have automatic rights to Seychellois Citizenship. If you were born overseas after 1979 and either your father or your mother is a citizen of Seychelles then you have automatic rights to Seychellois citizenship. If you left Seychelles for political reasons then please reconsider your position because today Seychelles is politically stable. Seychelles is by no means politically perfect but then neither is UK, USA, Europe or anywhere else in the world for that matter. We have peacefully transited from dictatorship to democracy, we may have made a mess of it but so have many countries. A Coalition Government in Australia, UK and other countries means that the people are saying that no one political party has all the answers and no one party can be trusted with the changes taking place all over the world.

The beauty in Seychelles is we have made the change without killing each other. What happened in the old days belong in the past and no amount of hate and resentment is going to change the past. It is up to us today to create a better future for us and for our children and for our children’s children. When you hate it is not the other person who is suffering, you are suffering while the other person is going about his/her life happily.

Come home Seychellois and let us bury the hatchet and look forward to a brighter future, we have been blessed with a group of beautiful islands, we have fish in the sea and our soil is very furtile. Seychelles is truly a paradise on earth and we have found a way to live in peace and harmony despite the fact that the colour of our skin can vary from see-through pink to pitch black, not to mention the variety of different shades in between. Our culture has evolved from Europeans, Chinese, Indians, Arabs and Africans which gives us our Creole food, a unique blend of cuisines of different origins. Seychelles is the world’s biggest melting pot of people united by one desire, which is mutual respect for each other and the barrier between master and slave has been banished into the history books. Our multi-coloured culture is the envy of the world which is something for all Seychellois to nurture and protect. It is therefore of paramount importance that we now come together to create our future.

I returned to Seychelles 5 years ago to retire after spending 45 years working in UK, USA Japan and Europe, visit www.academyofhighperformance.sc but I cannot retire because there is so much to do to elevate Seychelles into the modern world and although I have met with some resistance, sabotage and jealousy from a few negative Seychellois, there is a general feeling that the time has come for
Seychellois to use their talents to propel Seychelles into its rightful place on the world stage. Some people in Seychelles cannot bear the thought that we can succeed because to them failure is a way of life, something for them to moan about and satisfy their negative minds. This small group of people will never stop me from taking my country forward and I ask you to be part of the progress.

The majority of Seychellois living in Seychelles now believe that the days when we live from one donation to another must come to an end. We are tired of picking up crumbs from other nation’s table and it makes me sick to my stomach when I see on TV our children singing “thank you, thank you” for a few lousy plastic cheap toys and I ask myself “what the hell is the matter with us”? People tell me they are proud to be Seychellois especially when they’ve had a few drinks. What are we proud of? What have we achieved? There is not one single major project created by Seychellois? All the major projects from Eden Island to 5 star hotels have been created by foreigners who take our money back home with them and Seychellois get the menial jobs.

Come home Seychellois and let us work together with the good Seychellois who are here and let us build our future because otherwise other nationalities will continue to come here and take our land and money while we are sleeping, or could not care less or plain bloody lazy or drunk with envy and jealousy that we cannot see reality.

Seychelles is full of talents but over the years of dictatorship people have been frightened to express themselves or even think ahead. People hardly complain in Seychelles because they fear retribution and victimisation, instead they talk amongst themselves. Seychellois who have gone and worked overseas or born overseas know that you don’t get anywhere in life if you don’t complain in the proper manner. Yet we have some brilliant Seychellois minds who suffer in silence.

Come home Seychellois because Seychelles needs you, we have a great deal of local talents but it is not enough. Let us pool together the local know-how and experience with the know-how and experience you have acquired working overseas. Together we can be a very powerful force sufficient to lift Seychelles into the modern world.

Europeans still refer to us as a “Third World” country or as a “Banana Republic” which is not surprising when you consider that we have done very little to elevate our country to a higher standard. We keep saying that Seychelles is part of Africa when in fact we are a sovereign country, we sent our men to fight and die with the British in North Africa and elsewhere so we would remain independent and free, so where is the relationship with Africa? It is our weakness that makes us want to feel part of a larger continent and Africa happens to be the nearest one to us. Seychelles was discovered by Europeans not Africans. If you tell me that Seychelles was once part of the big continent called Gondwana or even Pangaea, now you are talking sense although it happened some 200 million years ago. We always seem to take the easy way out and for some reason we also do not believe in each other which is a strange phenomenon but true.

It is time for Seychellois everywhere to reconsider our position in this world and where do we want to go, do we want to propel ourselves forward or do we want to wait for others to put Seychelles on the world stage then we come along and we enjoy the spoils or like some people they wait for the Government to do it. Some Seychellois have the wrong idea about the Government, they believe that once they elect a government then the politicians will do magic and create a world of plenty for us while we wait and wait but nothing happens. This is when foreigners come in and take advantage of our ill-perceived mindset. John F. Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” very wise and true words.

Let me go through some opportunities which lay ahead of us that we can make them happen and it is not very difficult to do so.

1.   The Monorail Project – this is being planned and the first leg will be completed in July 2015. Trains will run from Anse Etoile/Ile Aurore to Ile Perseverance to the City of Victoria then on to Roche Caiman, Perseverance and Airport.  Then on to Anse Aux Pins and by 2017 the Monorail will reach our second City of Anse Royale. There is no alternative because the roads are so congested and cannot be expanded cost effectively.

 

2.   Technology Park – also in the planning stage and this is where we will move Seychelles a step up in the technology environment.  Do you know how clever our young generation is with computers? You will be amazed and the Technology Park will provide them with the platform they need to excel in new Technologies. This will keep some of them away from drugs.

 

3.   Research & Development – there are a number of areas of Research & Development that young Seychellois can show the world that we have some good brains in Seychelles despite the fact that our islands are small in size.  R & D in new forms of renewable energy sources beyond wind and solar  is a clear possibility, nano-electronics using light waves, opto-bio chemical products not yet developed, particle based Medicare products the way forward to treat many illnesses and so many new technologies, which I cannot reveal at the moment.

 

4.   Seychellois Mutual Investment Fund (SEYVEST) - This is a public investment fund for Seychellois to invest in the various new projects coming up.  The first one being the Monorail then the Technology Park. Seychellois must have a stake in our development. This will be an opportunity for parents to invest in the future of their children as well as themselves.

 

5.   The Seychelles Stock Exchange – this will take us into the new financial era with our own Stock Exchange where we can trade across the world and at the same time buy and sell shares as it should be in the New Seychelles. Shares of the Monorail will be traded on the Seychelles Stock Exchange.

 

6.   Financial Dealer Rooms and Banking Halls – The new fibre optic link means Seychelles can be and will be the Financial Hub for the Indian Ocean region because of our unique geographic position. This is well ahead in the planning stage and this will bring us more revenue than off-shore business. With off-shore business we only earn administrative fees because off-shore companies are not allowed to invest in Seychelles, this is not enough, we can do better.

 

7.   Media and Film Production – We need a new TV station and we need a new Radio Station to serve the people of Seychelles and beyond. SBC has passed its sell-by date.  The programmes SBC transmitted on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve can only be described as pathetic. People come here to make films and we only get a few rupees to carry their cameras and equipment when we should be making the films ourselves.  They come and use our beautiful islands and sell the films they make in Seychelles for millions of dollars and we get a few lousy rupees. How come?

 

8.   Telecommunications opportunities – There are 3 telecommunications companies in Seychelles, Cable & Wireless from UK, Airtel from India and Intelvision run by Seychellois Indians and each has a foreign CEO.  Cable & Wireless has been in Seychelles for over 100 years and yet we have not had a Seychellois CEO. Why? I have asked a senior executive in Cable & Wireless and I have been told because no Seychellois has come up to their standard. Can you believe that? Intelvision’s Cable TV service is very poor and their Customer Service is atrocious, we need new telecommunications services run properly to a high standard by Seychellois.

 

9.   “Made in Seychelles” - Smart Technology production that requires minimal space but high intellectuals and as a “Freeport” we will take advantage of the JIT concept of smart production to rival the Far East. We will produce low volume but high quality smart products.

 

10. Judiciary opportunities – we have many lawyers but few are good at their job, they have no concept of Customer Service and Seychellois judges are clearly in short supply. Why can’t we have Seychellois judges? Our laws are based on English Law and Napoleon Law so where is the problem, is the problem of our own making?

 

11. Educational opportunities - we need good teachers to take our education system a stage higher because so far we have had one study after another to improve our education system but not much has happened. We are still teaching our young using the old methods and in class rooms not fit for learning, there is lack of discipline, teachers blame parents and parents blame the Government in a vicious circle that gets us nowhere. This is the cradle of our future and we have yet to get it right, we need help urgently but not from foreigners.

 

12. Mechanics and plumbers - we need good mechanics, there are many garages but few can repair modern electronic controlled cars, we need more plumbers especially those who turn up to do the job.

 

13. Doctors & nurses - we need doctors, nurses and other health workers because our health system is deteriorating fast, it is on the verge of collapse and we need more Seychellois doctors. The Victoria Hospital is our legacy and we can enhance it and bring it up to a high standard but there is no justification to change its name, none whatsoever.

 

14. Banking opportunities - the banks are sitting on a pile of money while Seychellois Entrepreneurs are struggling to do business. Even the banks are frightened to lend money.  A young man or woman at the age of 25 cannot get a 25 year mortgage which means that by the age of 50, which is very young, they would have paid their mortgage.  Banks offer only 20 years on mortgages. This is a crying shame and a sick joke being played on our young people by the banks. The banks must serve our needs better or else make room for others.

 

15. Oil Industry opportunities - without any survey it is clear that Seychelles, being part of the old continent of Gondwana, must have carbon deposits from the trees and vegetation that sank and rotted away over time and that means oil and gas deposits must exist.  Any survey is merely to find out where is the best pressure point to extract the oil and gas. Come to protect and exploit our natural resources before others do so behind our backs.

 

16. Property development opportunities – Seychelles is very much under-developed.  There is space and land for Seychellois to borrow the money from the banks and develop our land. We need more Seychellois builders and developers to rise to these opportunities.

Let us wake up and let us make Seychelles a better place, there are many opportunities; otherwise our paradise will not be ours for much longer. You can keep your dual nationality and you can keep your home overseas for your children’s future and create another future in Seychelles for them should they decide to come and live in Seychelles. It is no good waiting for others to do it, let us do it together with the Seychellois who have stayed behind and endured the misery of the one-party state and are now ready to move forward despite the fact that there are some who would like to keep the status quo because it suits the position they have managed to achieve somehow.

Let all Seychellois unite and leave the baggage of the past behind and let us move forward as one nation under a President that our people has elected as our leader.  Every 5 years we have the choice to change our President. The people have spoken so we have to respect the people’s wish whether you believe it was carried out fairly or not. President Michel is the bridge between dictatorship and democracy whether we like it or not and it is not an easy job and I personally believe that he is doing his best under the circumstances and whether his best is good enough for you and me that is a personal matter. It is very easy to stand outside and criticise and it is easier to criticise than to do the job. Constructive criticism is healthy and productive so let us keep it that way. In any case why do we depend on the President to make all the changes, we can make some of the changes if we really want to do so therefore let us make the changes and stop talking about them and wish others will bring about the changes we aspire.

It is no good blaming the President for everything that goes wrong or for things that do not get done. The President is not being properly advised and some of his Generals and Foot soldiers are not delivering the service we need and he has no one else to replace them with which is why Overseas Seychellois must return home. The President finds himself appointing the same executives on so many Boards and Committees that it is beyond human capacity for these executives to do a good job because there is not enough time to serve all these posts. Seychellois are not superhuman, no way.

Come home Seychellois and buy your piece of land while you can still afford it. Foreigners are buying up Seychelles at an alarming rate; it is no good complaining about it we have to out-smart them because in a free democracy market forces dictate who owns property. According to the 2011 census Seychelles’ current population is 88,133 including registered expatriates and diplomats.  There are in excess of 40,000 Seychellois overseas plus their dependents. Clearly not everyone can come back or is willing to come back but do give the idea your serious consideration.

Today in Seychelles there are more jobs than there are Seychellois and in many cases the Ministry responsible for issuing Work Permits do not carry out adequate checks to find out whether Seychellois cannot really do the jobs where GOP are being sought. Seychellois always seems to get the low paid jobs such as cleaning and removing the rubbish.  I have experienced this at first hand in many hotels and foreign owned establishments. This is not acceptable, it is demeaning to Seychellois.

Of course we treat our President with respect and we support him but it doesn’t mean that he is right every time. No one is right every time, we all make mistakes and the strange phenomenon in Seychelles is Seychellois wait for an announcement from the President otherwise they do not move. Again we are putting an unnecessary load on the President because we fail to do things ourselves, some Government officials sit on things they are supposed to deal with and one has to write to the President to get things moving.  This clearly is not good enough which is another reason why we need Overseas Seychellois to return and take up some of these senior positions in Government.

In every country of the world people are going back to their homeland and roots to rescue or protect the inheritance of their children and grand children. People are returning home to contribute towards the removal and termination of unfair political systems that is crippling some countries and people are crying out that enough is enough. Wealth and power cannot continue to be enjoyed by a handful of people while the rest of the population goes hungry. Look at the opulence and life style of Gaddafi and his sons, the palaces of Saddham Hussein, the handing over of the reins of a country from father to son, all this belong to the bygone days and cannot continue. The day of reckoning has begun.

Look at Nigeria one of the richest oil country in Africa and yet the people and the small children are suffering and dying of malnutrition, can you believe this? Why because the wealth has been purloined away in Numbered Swiss Bank Accounts by their leaders and officials.

Come home Seychellois and let us exploit these opportunities because right now our existence depends on tourism which is very volatile and dangerous, we need smart industries, we need to use our fertile soil in a more productive way, we need to elevate Seychelles into the modern world for our children’s sake.  Look at the big picture, the world is changing in front of your very eyes.

People of the world must unite and force the Swiss Banks to return all the stolen money back their country of origin.  The Swiss Banks are still hoarding money, gold stolen by Hitler and others during the Second World War and they are getting fat on it. People steal money and deposit the money in Numbered Swiss Bank Accounts and then they die or disappear or misplace the number so they cannot reclaim the stolen money therefore the Banks live very happily on some poor country’s stolen money. This is immoral and every Government must put pressure on the Swiss Banks.

I also appeal to the second generation of Seychellois home and overseas, Seychelles needs you to be our next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs, study well and make good use of your time, time is precious soon you will be old and you will wonder where did you go wrong and where has time gone? To the young Seychellois overseas I ask you to consider your future well, you could work all your life in UK or Australia or the US but at the end of the day you will still be a small fish in a big pond whereas in Seychelles you could be a big fish in a small pond and you will enjoy a better life.

Come home Seychellois and together we will make Seychelles the true Pearl of the Indian Ocean and then we will be proud to be Seychellois.

For more information contact:

Barry Laine  FCIM, FInst SMM, MCMI, MBSCH

“The Wishing Well”,

Anse Des genets,

Mahe,

Seychelles

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

www.academyofhighperformance.sc