The USAF tracking station and Sheikh Kalifa's villas at La Misere

 

SINCE the polluted water supply at La Misere became a national crisis, some comparisons have been made with the USAF Tracking Station located on the same site for 30yrs between 1966 and 1996.

The ex-US tracking station at La Misere.

This was particularly apparent in the speech made by MNA Marie Louise Potter last week, when responding to President Michel's State of the Nation address, in which she said the opposition would have no problems if the developer was American or European instead of an Arab.

The Sheikh's palace under construction at La Misere.

Mrs. Potter sought to portrait critics of the La Misere water disaster as racist and xenophobic, alleging that they never criticized the Americans for the giant golf ball like structures on top of the same mountain.

Firstly, the Americans showed respect for Seychellois in every way, paid for rent of the sites and eventually left it spick and span, along with facilities now used as the Tourism Academy, when the station was relocated to Diego Garcia.

The US paid $2.5 million annual rent for the site. Because of the tracking station, the US government also granted Seychelles another $2.5 million in US commodity aid. That means a total of $ 5 million annually from the tracking station.

The tracking station employed many Seychellois, both at the station and at the mess facilities, located at Souvenir, which is now used as the Seychelles Tourism Academy.

Though the tracking station was a militarily sensitive installation, Seychellois were employed as security guards. The Arab Sheikh is employing Nepalese Gurkhas to guard his La Misere and Barbaron sites, showing his mistrust of Seychellois; besides the leaders whom he needs to court to get everything he wants.

Many Americans, who had families or were married to Seychellois, rented houses and patronized the local shops and restaurants, injecting more revenue into the country.
During their 30-year stay, there was never any water pollution. All residents in the neighbouring area enjoyed two water supplies; the government mains and the river, all free-flowing and very clean. In fact when the Americans moved, the ground was tested for pollution by the Seychelles authorities in a bid to claim damages, but found none.

The issue of the La Misere polluted water is not a xenophobic. Some residents will forever be traumatised by the terrible experience of consuming water contaminated by human excreta.

The disaster was to be expected. As the sites enjoyed diplomatic immunity, the construction work was not monitored at all by Environment, Health and Planning officials. Before the disaster, they had no access to the building site, or were too scared to attempt an inspection.

Now, everybody's scapegoat is ASCON, the contractors. Do they want us to believe that the owner or his representative monitoring progress of work on site could have missed the unsanitary conditions prevailing there among the building workers?

In other words, the developer and by virtue of him the contractor, ASCON had 'Carte blanche” to do as they pleased.

Mr. Eddie Westergreen had since October last year written to Environment Minister Joel Morgan to attract his attention to water pollution by diesel. And he also questioned about toilet facilities for the workers there. Nothing was done.

Mr. Westergreen also alerted the same minister about the pollution hazards to water by defective septic tanks and soak-away. Again, there was no follow-up.
Had Morgan even weighed Mr. Westergreen's arguments a little, such a disaster could have been avoided.

Now President Michel said there was a lack of coordination and communication in his government. That is true, but it is an understatement. Who is going to bear responsibility or is it business as usual and no one held accountable??

Minister Morgan who had been alerted on the pollution hazard, did not give more than a cursory glance at Mr. Westergreen's complaint, before passing it on to the Minister of National Development, where the matter was referred to a junior official and totally ignored.

It is alright for President Michel to declare sympathy with La Misere residents in the “En moman avek Prezidan” TV programme and say that step will be taken to ensure that such disaster does not occur again.
Now President Michel also echoes what this newspaper had said that under the Vienna Convention, diplomatic immunity applies to buildings after occupancy, not mere building sites, which is what Sheikh Khalifa's site is.

Besides better coordination and communication, it is also clear that what this government needs is less arrogance. Had Joel Morgan been less arrogant and stubborn, the disaster could have been averted. Morgan must go!!!

Source: Lenouveauseychellesweekly 3-20-10