Le Seychellois (Hebdo)
Le Seychellois Hebdo is a weekly newspaper published in the Seychelles since September 2011.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
READ LE SEYCHELLOIS HEBDO THIS WEEK
Seychelles Most Wanted, Call to boycott the Beau Vallon service station, Gaps and challenges found by UN experts in the protection of the child here, "Connection of jailed smuggler to be investigated" - MoE and Le Rocher residents petitioned authority and many many more stories. On the Expose page we take a closer lot at the Meteorological Service on the occasion of the organisation World Day. We also catch up with Mrs. Lyvette Hermitte, the mother of Ricky Hermitte who was murdered at Kan Tobruk in 2006. Buy your copy early or subscribe online.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Why is the Police not talking to LSH?
In September 2012, this
newspaper emailed the police requesting that LSH is added to their email list so that we can receive all press
communiqués from the police.
The last time we
received a press release from the police was on the 30th of June
2012. Our email was never acknowledged and we continued not to receive any
communication from the institution which claims to serve without fear or
favour.
Then in January this
year, LSH followed up on the request
we initially sent four months prior. Only this time around we also copied the
email to the Chief Press Secretary in the Office of
the President, Srdjana Janosevic.
Again we expressed our
interest in covering and following police stories, especially to post them as
‘breaking news’ on our Facebook page. We also informed the police Public
Relation Officer, Jean Toussaint that we wanted to introduce a ‘Police File’
section in the newspaper in 2013 and would therefore; appreciate if we received
regular updates about the organization.
Once again our request
went unanswered.
Whilst the Government’s
financed media are being used to pump out propaganda by trying to convince the
public that crime is falling and our streets are safer than before, LSH wanted to establish a relationship
with the police whereby we could report on their successes, but also have
access to officers to substantiate any claims the public made.
LSH
is well aware of the pressure the force is under from the Government to hit
“public confidence” targets and reduce the “fear of crime”. But that does not
mean we should allow the police to take control of the newspaper, through one
sided reports and failing in our journalistic duties to ask questions that
matter.
The police should
realize that gone are the days when the state financed media was the only means
of communicating broadly. The need is ever present to vary the audiences
exposure in a wide range of media is vital.
Meanwhile we are still waiting
for a press communiqué from the police.
Thursday, 14 March 2013
READ LE SEYCHELLOIS HEBDO THIS WEEK
PL MNA
gets 2 petrol stations, Intelvision in trouble (is to appear before the
Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA) to show cause as to why their cable
TV license should not be revoked), 9 year-old taken to court for sword
playing, 14 year-old released on account of time spent on remand and
many many more stories. On the Expose page we take a closer look at the
National Action Plan on Human Rights, a first of its kind in Seychelles.
We also catch up with Marie Clarisse, the Chairperson of Lardwaz to
mark the World Poetry Day on 21st March. Buy your copy early or
Subscribe online.
Friday, 8 March 2013
Budgetary transparency: Political willingness is all that’s needed
Suddenly the ruling
socialist regime of President Michel has discovered a new buzz word, ‘National
Security.’ The country has seen its fair share of odd Government’s manoeuvres
to hide information from the public, but few are as bizarre as using the excuse
of national security.
This week I attended
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) press conference where the organisation’s
Chief of Mission, Carol Baker, the Minister of Finance, Pierre Laporte and the
Governor of the Central Bank, Caroline Abel, were in attendance to answer the
local media questions.
I specifically wanted
to know what the Government was doing to disclose all relevant information
about the national budget since the IMF is urging them to show more budget
transparency?
Minister Laporte
replied by saying: “We must
understand that all governments in all countries have certain information which
they cannot reveal. But I can give you my commitment that as the years go by we
are trying to see how we can operate in a more transparent manner and we will
see if the law permits us to give more budgetary information which will not
necessarily put the country’s security at risk.”
His answer leaves open
questions about how serious the Michel Administration is in promoting budget
transparency. Budget transparency is a precondition for public participation
in budget processes. The process is defined as the full disclosure of all
relevant fiscal information in a timely and systematic manner.
To date only Members of
the National Assembly and key officials from the Ministry of Finance have
access to the budget document which is marked as ‘confidential’. Should the
allocations of taxpayers’ money be subjected to full public disclosure? A budget document for example should be left
at the National Library for all interested parties to consult at their own
leisure.
The combination of Budget transparency, public participation in budget processes and
media scrutiny has the potential to combat corruption, foster public
accountability of government agencies and contribute to judicious use of public
funds. Local civil society movements should also start agitating for improved transparency in the budget
processes.
No law or any buzz
words like ‘national security’ should bar the media or the public from getting
access to what is rightfully owned by the public. What we need is the rejection
of secrecy as a means of control and simple political willingness in making it
happen. It is time we have an honest Government
instead of one which is finding every excuses to hide the truth.
Thursday, 7 March 2013
READ LE SEYCHELLOIS HEBDO THIS WEEK
"We are
not the policeman" says the IMF as the mission here admits doing nothing
to curb corruption in Seychelles' public sector, Seychelles ranked 51st
most corrupt country in the world, Seychelles first in African Travel
and Tourism competitiveness, over 50 annual secondary school drop outs:
Pointe Larue School fared badly and many, many more stories. On the
Expose page we take a special look at the messages to mark International
Women's Day. On our back page interview we bring you a special report
on the Minister of Finance's declarations during this week's IMF press
conference. Buy your copy early or subscribe online.
Friday, 1 March 2013
MNA praises Opposition papers’ work
The ruling party
politicians often rail against the Opposition newspapers, but in general we
know for a fact that they are very up to date with our weekly publication. They
read it, take notice of what we publish and often take actions to rectify
concerns we raised.
The latest
manifestation of this Opposition press love-in involves Le Seychellois Hebdo
and the Seychelles Weekly newspapers.
On Tuesday’s State of
the Nation Address (SONA), Parti Lepep’s Plaisance MNA, Roma Aglae, spoke of
the vital role the Opposition press play to report on the other side of the
country’s actualities.
Ms Aglae admitted that
if it was not for the Opposition press, the Government and the public would not
know about a lot of things that is happening the country.
Her remark although a
rare admission of the truth certainly made a valuable point with regards to the
roles the newspapers play as a vehicles for social change.
Whilst her other
colleagues were not as appreciative, such as the Leader of the Government
Business, who took time to counteract LSH article about the President’s
gratuity and others who opposed our views on the crisis in the health sector
amongst other current affairs.
Since the return of
multiparty politics, newspapers like Regar, Seychelles Weekly, the Independent
and now LSH have been an important source of information particularly news that
the authority does not want the community to know about. They have broken
stories that have shocked the nation and exposed several corrupt and unethical
practices. Some reports have been so embarrassing to the Government that they
have resorted to bullying tactics including hefty lawsuits and direct threats
on the lives of particular individuals.
Although the changing
technological environment may bring about increasing competition for the weekly
Opposition newspapers in terms of immediacy of news from the new media, we are
keen on embracing the changes and shall continue to strive to report on what
really matters to the Seychellois public.
Friday, 22 February 2013
FOI, Seychelles needs that too
I got
asked a question recently from a Seychellois living abroad about the Freedom of
Information (FOI) concept in Seychelles. The person wanted to know why I don’t
use FOI as a
journalistic tool to scrutinize the government and ensure more transparency in LSH’s reporting.
FOI is a system to control access to
official documents and a means by which journalists, and citizens, can
scrutinise and publicise the work of governments.
It is a modern concept that most
democratic and liberal societies are putting into law. To date, over 90
countries around the globe have enacted some form of FOI legislation. Sweden’s Freedom
of the Press Act of 1766 is
the oldest in the world.
Amongst the 53 African states only
four have some form of FOI legislation – South Africa (2000), Zimbabwe (2002),
Uganda (2008) and Nigeria (2011). Is that surprising in any way? FOI laws deal
with official documents of an agency or a minister, and sometimes
government-owned corporations and certain contractors, but have only limited
range over Parliaments, law enforcement agencies and the courts. FOI is a human right and
countries that are opposing its enactment are in violation of international
human rights law. The delaying tactics in enacting the FOI Act serves to show
the world that these governments are failing in their duties to promote
openness.
So in answer to
my friend’s question, Seychelles is far from even discussing openly the idea of
introducing the concept of FOI. Over here the culture of managing the flow of information to
the media and the public at large prevails. The free media is not invited to
any government official press briefings as a means of ensuring that the
community hears their preferred message above all others. But am happy that he
has raised the point and that we can know start a public dialogue on the issue.
Every local organisation
concerned with FOI, government accountability, the right to disseminate information
and also the pursuit of transparency should come together and agitate for this
much needed piece of legislation. Today our population is interested in several
areas of government such as sale of state land, economic management, key infrastructure projects, the management of major
sports and events, security clearance procedures, the management of major funds
like the Children’s Fund and any systemic corruption which we can only start to
comprehend fully with the help of FOI.
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