A Nation on the Edge Seychelles Can’t Afford to Pretend Anymore |19 July 2025

Maarco Francis

Let us step outside the photo ops, the handshakes, and the polished speeches and take a sober look at what’s really happening in Seychelles. Earlier this week, President Wavel Ramkalawan declared that poverty “no longer exists.” That “no one is going hungry," and that people are “better off.”

These statements may play well on international stages, but they fall flat in living rooms across Mahé, Praslin and La Digue where groceries are measured in sacrifices and electricity bills are paid with borrowed dignity.

The Numbers Behind the Narrative

According to national data, over 30 percent of households in Seychelles earned less than R9,000 per month as of 2020.  A figure that has not kept pace with the cost of living in the years since. Although inflation has stabilised at 1.7 percent in 2025, prices of basic goods and services remain high. Earlier food price increases, some as high as 50 percent between 2021 and 2024, have not been reversed, particularly on staples like rice, canned fish, and cooking oil.

Around 25 percent of our population now living in extreme poverty, based on national benchmarks and we estimate that a further 45 percent are either in poverty or teetering on its edge, barely surviving from one paycheck to the next.

The staggering volume of applications submitted to the Agency for Social Protection, especially by young people, as reported in their own data, exposes a stark and growing reality. A deepening despair spreading across our nation. With few options left, many are turning to social support as their only lifeline.

So when the government proclaims an end to poverty, it is not just inaccurate. It is cruel.

Behind every “development milestone” celebrated at press briefings is a public worker whose paycheck has not kept up with rent. A mother working two jobs while feeding her family from borrowing from neighbours, family or friends. A university graduate being told they are over-qualified for certain jobs but are not offered alternatives. These are not exceptional stories. They are simply not televised.

Since the LDS government took office, basic living costs have quietly outpaced wages:

Electricity tariffs, while not skyrocketing, rose alongside global oil prices and squeezed low-income households.

Housing expenses continue to rise, especially near key commercial and employment zones.

Youth unemployment, particularly among women and graduates in non-tourism sectors, remains a persistent issue.

And yet, official communication is riddled with self-congratulation, missing the central truth.  People are not thriving.  They are merely surviving.

At Seychelles United Movement (SUM), we do not believe leadership is about avoiding hard truths. It is about facing them with courage, and crafting solutions that restore dignity.

That means:

Fairer wages tied to real cost-of-living indicators

Food price stabilisation and public sector wage reform

Targeted support for micro-entrepreneurs and carers

Strengthened social safety nets for the elderly and vulnerable

Listening before legislating

We are not here to sugar-coat the facts. We are here to fix them.

What is at stake

This is not a call for sympathy. It is a call for sanity. For policy rooted in reality and leadership that values the Seychellois worker as more than a line item. Because when leaders stop listening, people stop believing. And when people stop believing, democracy begins to hollow. Seychelles does not need another headline. It needs a government that sees its people. Not just in photos. But in policies.

It’s time to stop pretending.

Sponsored articly by Maarco Francis

Leader of the Seychelles United Movement

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Seychelles NATION Newspaper