Seychelles Independent, new paper on the stands |05 September 2014

Since last week, a new weekly newspaper has hit the local stands.

Seychelles Independent is published by a new publication company called Au Cap publications and is edited by the former editor of the Seychelles Weekly, Ralph Volcere.

Our reporter met Mr Volcere this week and he explained to us that he has left his former newspaper to create a new one in order to be able to be more independent in his reporting:

“All papers published in Seychelles have an affiliation of some kind, either to government, political parties or businesses. We needed a really independent paper. I felt I could do it for the people of Seychelles by offering them independent reporting. As you see, our motto reads ‘Obligation to the people of Seychelles takes precedence over loyalty to an individual’”.

As Mr Volcere has since a very young age been involved in politics, rising up to the ranks of leader of the Democratic Party (DP) and the Seselwa United Party (SUP), will he be able to maintain this independence? This is how he defended his position.

“The most burning issue on my heart is Seychelles. Seychelles is not our personal belonging, but we have to protect it economically, socially as well as physically for next generation of Seychellois. As the Seychelles Weekly editor there were certain things I could not speak about. In this political position you cannot shoot at your own men or score in your own goal. There is an unwritten rule that a battle against something wrong cannot be fought at one end and let to spread at the other. This is the case for opposition papers which cannot write against certain ills. This cannot be tolerated”.

So what do readers expect to see in the columns of Seychelles Independent?

Mr. Volcere gladly provided the details as he guided us through the paper, revealing the pages: politics, business/economy, legal affairs, miscellaneous and international news.

He adds than the 10-page paper will later move to 1 pages with more advertising:

“We will talk about corruption wherever it may happen; in government, businesses and also in the opposition. It is also important to tackle the problems which exist in the legal industry, with the judiciary as well as legal practitioners. There is a premise that nobody can go after the lawyers as they are untouchable. Legal practitioners must operate in an open, transparent, accountable manner and also provide good service. Society is not only about people but also about what people do. Legal affairs are an important part of a country’s foundation. If they do not function well society will be imbalanced. One of our main tasks is to clean up the legal system. I encourage all persons who have problems with lawyers to contact us,” he said.

The editor who has often faced defamation charges in the past insists that we must not be afraid to say the truth. He at the same time requested for a change in related laws, especially as a new Chief Justice is about to be appointed.

“Things are starting to change. Change may not be happening fast enough but as editors we must all play our role to make good and quick change. I think that freedom of speech has improved as Pure FM and even SBC are talking openly about anything. It is different from the past and we are moving in the right direction. We must acknowledge this fact and at the same time we must not be afraid to say the truth. We must reach a stage where there is no contest for the truth. Also, laws have to be relooked at in order to favour freedom of the press. While the outgoing Chief Justice has done a good job, the new one must take our legislation to the next level,” he said.

Coming back to the newspaper’s name, it surely relays the same independence philosophy. However we were keen to ask its editor the reason for the choice as another printing media had carried such name in the past.

“Yes, this other newspaper belonged to Mr Percy Ah-Mane but it was not registered as a business name. It only had a license to publish as a newspaper. So when he stopped publishing and the license was revoked, anyone could take the name”.

As a word of conclusion which also sounds as a warning, Mr Volcere promises the new born of the Seychelles media family “will be investigating profoundly from both sides”.