On the Seychelles 2008 Economic Reform Program

I must have missed something in the 4k-word and much-anticipated, Presidential Address on the Seychelles 2008 Reform Program.
Either that or I am much thicker than 2 madrier bodamyen to fully grasp what the much touted and feared reform is all about.
For my own benefit, I need to summarise the Reform Program as outlined by what could pass as an early State of the Nation Address, the President made on the night of 31st October.
Once the usual rhetorical veneer is removed, it would seem that the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union, some bilateral partners and certain friendly countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have contributed to put together a Reform package for Seychelles, which the president finds as

1.the logical extention and application of his April 2004 Presidential vision for the nation:
To build upon (unspecified) ‘socio-economic acquis’, based on the principle of social justice which puts the people at the centre of development
For the public sector to be at the service of the people and the private sector to be the fountain of economic prosperity
For solid democracy, marked by transparency and good governance, to prevail and spiritual and moral values social well-being to flourish
For every citizen to enjoy the rights and discharge the responsibilities and every able-bodied person to work, enjoy the fruits their labour and contribute to national development
For the (2004) economic difficulties to be overcome and the country integrate fully in the world economy in such a way that it can continue to enjoy a good quality of life.

2. an unfortunate spin-off from the world financial and economic crisis and rising cost of living, which presented Seychelles with challenges requiring new strategies and approaches to modernise the national economy

3. allowing:
Increases of salaries by an average 15-16%; social security (retirement benefits) by around 15%; welfare benefits by 20%; minimum wage by 6.89% (from 14.50 /hr to 15.50/hr);
Reduction of the public service work force by 12.5% ;
Expenditure control by public service departments: slow down or shelve a number of national projects, manage their budgets efficiently and in transparency ,do away with abuse and wastage, promote good governance, transparency and openness; Unspecified means by which 8000 positions in the private sector will be localised;
Introduction of 15% General Service Tax on tenancies and 10% tax on interests earned through savings account .
The floating of the national currency, hoping that this will : open a number of new business opportunities, including possibilities for more exchange bureaux, boost Seychellois’ confidence in the capacity of the country to attract foreign exchange, allow a more equitable distribution of currency throughout the economy and ensure stability
The removal of all foreign exchange controls
The hope for the restructuring of the US$800M national debt
Once and for all, to put order where necessary and doing away with wastage and abuse.
A culture of hard work where :every able-bodied Seychellois works, tolerance is not mistaken for laissez-faire attitudes, privileges are not arrogated as rights, where compassion does not degenerate into abuse.
An opportunity to stop blaming the past, to turn a new leaf and work to modernise Seychelles;
Implementation of a modern taxation system that is uniform and simple;
An audit of the biggest companies operating in Seychelles to allow for points of references to ascertain true and correct declarations of revenue and improve on revenue collection;
The removal of subsidies on certain (unspecified) basic commodities and services; The re-adaptation (by as yet unspecified means) of the education system to better meet emerging needs and respond to the challenges of our economy;
To provide SCRs R25,000 to each primary and secondary school to help the most needy children ;
The reorganisation (by means unspecified) of the national health care services to increase our resources and to better utilise the available infrastructure to enable the public to benefit from a higher standard of care.

That’s it!

The Presidential Address seemed to have been more mired in rhetoric than in heeding its own calls for Good Governance , Accountability and Transparency.
It was not forthcoming on the most vital information regarding the type and modality of fund assistance the country sought from the IMF for the Reform Program to address what the IMF called the “problem of acute balance of payments and public debt crisis, (….) which jeopardizes living standards and economic development. “
(Source: http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2008/pr08267.htm)

Economic Reform and Political Popularity are not good bedfellows. Dishing out money while preaching austerity just does not seem to rhyme.

I fail to see the IMF jumping on the Seychelles 2008 Macroeconomic Reform Program without specific agreements of economic restructuring.
The measures announced, other than floating the rupee, do not seem to add up to a rat’s piss worth on economic restructuring. They could be achieved without the IMF’s involvement.
For the IMF, the World Bank, the EU and the African Development Bank, to come over together in a concerted effort and bail out the country, there must have been specific agreements, with firm, fresh financial input.

Similar agreements most certainly have been reached with the still rather opaque “bilateral partners and certain friendly countries”.

What are these agreements and what do they entail for the country and future generations further down the road?
These are, in my view, the real questions that beg to be answered.

The President would have done better to come clean and closer to transparency by providing facts about the commitments taken rather than attempting to distract the nation from the realities gathering on the national socio-economic horizons.

For example, why even bother to raise the subject of abuse and wastage in the context of the economic reform program? His predecessor proclaimed and ostensibly waged his war on these beastly things nearly every year since 1977!
If 25 years down the road we still have to fight abuse and wastage in the public service, then clearly the conclusion seems to be that the country was not waging the right war and has missed its target completely. Perhaps we failed to understand that abuse and wastage of public assets derive from the culture of “mwan ki la” and cronyism where, at least for the nomenclature, priviledges were indeed synonymous with rights and went far beyond the usual scope of issues such as executives who uses GoS vehicles for private purposes.!!

Why did the president have to go further and insult our intelligence in seeking to dull local public opinion about the quality of grass in other pastures!
“ Poverty is being felt everywhere, including in America and in Europe. Recently, we saw on our television screens people queuing up in Australia for certain commodities. “
His speech-writer must be reminded that poverty in so-called rich countries has been around since before JC did his thing! This neither justifies nor makes it acceptable. Poverty being merely a socio economic reality where, because of the accepted (selected) wisdom that direct national policies, some survive better than others. The rich and the poor…get it?
There really was no need to add colour to the presidential address by throwing out this bone of dubious worth. What are we supposed to say? Oh good!!! We are not so badly off, after all!!??

While on petty issues, does anyone take note that cost of fuel and living in some countries have dropped since the last few months? In France, it went down by at least 17% (SP95 from 1.49€/L in July to 1.24€ in November) and (according to recent news reports) living costs barely nudged beyond 6% in the EU. Some basic commodity costs at retail outlets seem even to be dropping!

Pointing these out is not so much to contradict the President, as to offer a different angle in viewing the same reality resulting from the recent global speculation that both drove fuel costs through the ceiling and partly ushered in the current global confidence crises in international finances, investment and economies.
In my view, what the country needed to hear was more on specific programs that the Government would put in place to facilitate the creation of wealth. If the country is bankrupt or was near to it, a few million faces of Benjamin Franklin, however welcome they may be, will be unlikely to provide us with a long enduring recovery!

Like in any other country, a President, by advisers, professionals and technicians interposés, has his fingers on the national socio economic pulse and realities. Whether or not he is able to correctly interpret what he feels and has the capacity to offer a proper diagnosis and treatment course, remains to be seen.

In the meantime his patient will probably groan and suffer some more and may do better to seek a second opinion!