A POLITICAL FIRESTORM
IN a highly charged turn of events, President Wavel Ramkalawan convened an unscheduled press conference at Seychelles International Airport, marked by urgency and political drama. Notably, the Seychelles Independent Newspaper (SIN) was excluded from the event.
During the conference, the President sidelined key government figures, aviation experts, and technicians—including the Minister of Transport, Antony Derjacques—and took direct control of what appeared to be a major “damage-control” operation. Critics accuse him of trying to extinguish a fire of his own making, once again attempting to regain control of the story amid a rapidly escalating scandal rooted in his administration.
Observers noted that, yet again, the President seemed to evade full transparency with the Seychellois people—dodging direct questions and sidestepping accountability. Many believe he misled the public during the press conference, downplaying both the urgency and the opacity surrounding the redevelopment negotiations with the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC).
Negotiations with ADAC have reportedly been ongoing since 2021, under the current LDS-led government. These talks have now reached advanced financial structuring stages, to finalise the deal before September 27, 2025—on the main voting day itself! This time line has raised serious concerns among the public.
The project is reportedly based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) originally signed in 2016, outlining a collaboration between ADAC and the Seychelles government to plan and redevelop the airport.
Although touted as a modernisation effort, the details of the deal—financial, operational, and governance-related—remain undisclosed to the public.
Information from a recent meeting between Minister Derjacques and airport staff at ICCS reveals that over 300 employees from the Seychelles Airports Authority (SAA) and the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) may lose their jobs as part of the redeployment plan. While the staff were assured that the government would absorb those affected, the promise has done little to ease anxieties among workers—or the wider public.
Former Tourism Minister Alain St. Ange strongly criticised the President’s handling of the issue:
“At no point was I involved in any negotiation to sell Seychelles International Airport… The aim was not transparency but to create a publicly staged rebuttal.”
St. Ange emphasised that while negotiations were reinitiated in 2021 and have since advanced to the financial phase, no alternative bidders have been disclosed. Nor have details been provided on the project’s scope, funding model, or any potential collateral. He also highlighted the government’s history of making empty promises about job security, referencing the Etihad–Air Seychelles experience as a cautionary tale.
The official State House press release described the July 31 event as a technical site visit involving senior government officials, engineers, and technical teams to assess spatial constraints and infrastructure needs. The President stressed the importance of a sustainable design aligned with Seychelles’ limited financial capacity.
However, independent reports painted a different picture, describing the event as a media-managed rebuttal lacking genuine stakeholder engagement. Many view it as another poorly staged attempt by the President to manage public perception—one that may ultimately backfire as elections near.
In a deeply politicised climate, the July 31 press conference seemed less about infrastructure and more about narrative control. With general elections looming, the rush to finalise this deal has only intensified public skepticism. Amid accusations of broken promises, secretive negotiations, and media exclusion, public trust in the government’s integrity is rapidly eroding.
The future of Seychelles International Airport is now not just about modernisation—it’s about who gets to decide, and at what cost in terms of national influence, autonomy, and trust.
The electorate will have its say on September 27, 2025.
