Seychelles aviation breaking news – Minister responds to allegation over TransAero saga

MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT RESPONDS TO TRANSAERO SAGA

Predictably has the Hon. Joel Morgan, in one of his current capacities also Minister for Transport – besides holding the portfolios of Home Affairs, Environment and Energy – responded to public statements made by the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association earlier in the week.

The minister pointed out in his statement that the initial request by TransAero for traffic rights had proposed to operate flights between Moscow, via Seychelles to Mauritius, applying for fifth freedom rights to uplift traffic for the sectors from Mahe to Port Louis.

Consequently TransAero was informed that the existing BASA, short for Bilateral Air Services Agreement, currently in place between the Seychelles and the Russian Federation, only foresaw third and fourth freedom access for their respective national or designated carriers and as such the request in the form submitted could not be approved.

However, the minister also pointed out that under the guidance of government the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority proposed to TransAero to commence discussions with national carrier Air Seychelles to find common ground how to cooperate, a suggestion TransAero reportedly declined to entertain.

TransAero was then offered a second alternative, to operated flights from Moscow to Seychelles and then on to Mauritius WITHOUT traffic rights on that sector, but this too was reportedly rejected by TransAero at the time as was the proposal to fly solely between Moscow and Mahe.

In an exclusive interview earlier this year, published in eTN’s Executive Talk, Minister Morgan discussed with this correspondent the difficult question of fifth freedom rights and explained at the time that Air Seychelles, as a national airline and a strategic asset of the government of Seychelles, needed to be considered every time such requests were made to government, as the long term future of Air Seychelles was in the national interest, without however impeding air access to the archipelago by other airlines wishing to fly to Mahe. At the time the minister cited the forthcoming 25 frequencies operated by three Gulf based airlines, Emirates – due to fly double daily before the end of the year – Qatar Airways with daily flights and Ethihad, due to commence an initial 4 flights a week from November 2011. Air Seychelles does not fly to any of these airline’s hubs and as such government had granted the applications to operate more flights, doubling them compared to a year ago. The minister at the time also made it clear that even such airlines could not take it for granted to receive fifth freedom rights when operating into the Seychelles, as each and every case would need to be considered with all merits taken into account, but also the potential impact on routes already flown by Air Seychelles or being potentially new routes in particular to the African continent.

It was also learned from other sources that the demand that the transport ministry be brought under the direct control of President Michel, who already holds the tourism portfolio, was most unlikely to be considered as ‘the partly political nature of that particular demand’ – that is how a source from Victoria put it to  this correspondent – was just too apparent.

Watch this space for the latest news from the Indian Ocean and East Africa’s aviation scene where things are happening and breaking news swiftly reported. 

 

Seychelles news update – Memorial service for shark attack victims taking place in Praslin

MEMORIAL SERVICE AT 2 PM TODAY ON PRASLIN BEACH

The Anse Lazio beach, world famous as one of the best shorelines in the world, will today at 2 pm local time see a memorial service unfold, to pay tribute to the victims of two recent shark attacks.

Both a Catholic priest as well as a Lutheran reverend will jointly hold the religious service right at the beach, only metres away from the spots where one of the attacks took place.

Representatives from the Seychelles government, the Seychelles Tourism Board, the hotels where the victims stayed and a large number of Seychellois but also foreign tourists staying on Praslin are participating in the service and will offer prayers for the victims’ families and friends.

Again, may the souls of the two victims rest in eternal peace and sincere condolences to the families and friends of Nicola Virolle from France and Ian Redmond from Britain.

Kenya aviation news update – ‘The Pride of Africa’ makes Kenyans proud

PRIDE OF AFRICA MAKES KENYANS PROUD

Kenya Airways, with the widely recognized tag line ‘The Pride of Africa’ is indeed making Kenyans proud, as the latest survey undertaken by the Nation Media Group shows.

Nearly a third of those polled have Kenya Airways their ‘thumbs up’ while runner up Safaricom ended up with a 20 percent vote, and Equity Bank coming a respectable third with just over 16 percent of the votes cast. One of the main factors was the bold display of the national colours integrated into the aircraft livery, which impressed those participating in the survey, and the fact that Kenya Airways was carrying Kenya’s flag across the entire continent and beyond. Also taken into consideration was the long term strategy and vision of Kenya Airways to cover Africa and connect it to the world via Nairobi, in the process bringing a range of added benefits to Kenya and boosting tourism and trade.

According to a regular aviation source however the ‘… main reason for this recognition is the way KQ re-entered the domestic market with a bang last year. They are offering competitive fares, beating the low cost airlines and private airlines at their own game now. Up to 10 flights a day to Mombasa, three times a day to Kisumu, daily to Malindi and several times daily via Nairobi to everywhere in East Africa, that is what really matters to most travelers and the readers of the Nation and Business Daily appreciated that too. That in my humble opinion was the formula which made KQ win this survey’.

Well done KQ – and continued happy landings!

 

Seychelles tourism news update – Widow of shark victim speaks out in favour of Seychelles

SEYCHELLES NOT TO BLAME FOR SHARK ATTACK SAYS WIDOW

Gemma Redmond, the grieving British bride who lost her husband in a shark attack in the Seychelles has upon her return home to Britain spoken to BBC Radio and said in a live broadcast:

“The last thing I would want is for any of these events to affect the Seychellois people, their livelihoods and the tourism in the area. It’s a beautiful place, people must come. It’s a one-off accident and I know that everybody is doing everything they can to ensure that the islands are safe”.

 Gemma Redmond, 27,  who is now back to London accompanied by her parents spoke to BBC Radio about her stay in the Seychelles and the snorkeling day at Anse Lazio at Praslin Island where her husband, Ian, 30, was attacked by a shark.

Gemma has reinforced the claim being made by Seychelles Authorities when she said they had gone to the Seychelles partly because they had thought the islands were free from dangerous animals. The Seychelles have stated over and over again that their last recorded fatal shark attack before these two back to back ones was in 1963. Mrs Redmond said on BBC that she hoped the attack on her own husband would not stop people from visiting the area and that local people had been “so kind”. She said: “The last thing I would want is for any of these events to affect the Seychelles Island people, their livelihoods and the tourism in the area.”It’s a beautiful area, people must come. “It’s a one-off accident and I know that everybody is doing everything they can to ensure that the islands are safe – the restaurants on the beaches and the places on the beaches and the hotels shouldn’t be affected by it.”

Ian Redmond lost his life 10 days after his wedding to Gemma Houghton at St Michael’s Church in Dalton, Lancashire, near the bride’s family home.

The Seychelles Government officials have issued a ban on swimming in certain areas close to the two back to back shark attacks until the killer shark is captured. The Seychelles Authorities are still trying to determine what species of shark killed Mr Redmond, and have enlisted the help of South African Shark experts who are expected to arrive in the country this Saturday. The island’s Coast Guards, the Fishing Authority, the Maritime Safety Department and the Department of Environment in their efforts to ensure normality returns to Anse Lazio and it neighboring beaches as soon as possible.

It is also understood that a wide search for the shark had been underway, since the first attack and re-enforce after the second fatal attack in the space of two weeks, and that a small armada of fishing boats, research vessels but even pleasure craft are out and about to seek out the shark and destroy it. The effort is supported by regular aerial surveying and monitoring but in view of the wide waters around Praslin and La Digue islands it is a major task for those participating.

Meanwhile it was also reported that Alain St.Ange, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board has been the main link person of the Seychelles, engaging with the media across the world and he has made it a point to thank the press for their objective and compassionate reporting. “We have always said that the press personality is part of a noble profession. Most of the reporting of the two recent freak shark accidents have been factual and for that we say thank you to the press. It must never be forgotten that we have two grieving families and that we owe them respect and compassion at all times” Alain St.Ange said.

Tanzania conservation breaking news – All trade in and exports of wildlife suspended

NOW GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS ANIMAL EXPORTS

Stung by criticism in parliament over the allegedly illegal export of a range of wildlife and birds aboard a Qatar air force cargo plane last year has the Tanzanian government in a knee jerk reaction banned ALL exports of wildlife and birds for at least a year.

The time will be used to establish monitoring mechanisms and plug the often glaring loopholes in regulations, monitoring and enforcement. In the process were three senior wildlife officials suspended from duty, led by the Director of Wildlife who was sent on forced leave alongside two other of his senior staff.

However, the mood amongst the opposition, and outside parliament amongst the conservation fraternity is combative as the following comments show: ‘For us there was clear complicity in the illegal shipment of our wildlife by the Qatari plane. How can a whole foreign air force aircraft come to Tanzania and openly load game including giraffes and take off without top officials colluding. That is where the police should investigate to establish the godfathers of this operation. Suspending some officials is a smoke screen, they are sacrificial lambs in this game. CITES made a big report last year ahead of Doha and all there is to know about how lax our enforcement is, how easy it is to transit through Tanzania, is written there. Government has been found out and is now panicking a lot. How come that these three officials were promoted right after the deal with Qatar went through. Promotions in Tanzania must be sanctioned at that level from high up, so who is covering for whom now. Also is government record about conservation now very muddied. Our officials have lost credibility, in particular the tourism minister who called UNESCO names and makes one U-turn after the next. Should he not resign? He was deputy minister for tourism in last government and is an accomplice by the office he held then or the failure to prevent it happening. The former minister was sacked by her voters who did not even nominate her for the CCM candidature in the last elections but that was not enough. Let police investigate this whole affair who made sure that these animals were sent by truck to the airport and then openly loaded and the aircraft given permission to take off. Where are the animals now? In Qatar, where there is terrible heat and desert only?’

Other sources from Arusha also echoed the same sentiment that the suspension of officials was a mere smoke screen to divert attention from the real culprits.

Tanzania oh Tanzania, where does it end these days?

Kenya hospitality news – KTDC finally told to sell key hotel shares

KENYA AGREES TO SELL SHARES IN INTERCONTINENTAL, HILTON AND MOUNTAIN LODGE

News broke overnight that the Kenyan government had finally agreed to sell their stakes in the holding companies owning the InterContinental Hotel in Nairobi, the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi and the Mountain Lodge, presently co-owned and managed by Serena Hotels.

It is understood that the share holding in the respective owning companies by the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation is significant, and expected to earn government a handsome premium.

The ‘holding company’ for the InterContinental Hotel, Kenya Hotel Properties, is co-owned by KTDC to the tune of 33.8 percent, while Hilton’s holding company, International Hotels is co-owned with a 40.7 percent share. KTDC also holds just over 39 percent in Mountain Lodge. All the respective shares are due to be sold on a ‘first right of refusal’ basis to the other shareholders in the respective companies and no ‘outside’ investors are likely to get a chance to grab hold of those stakes.

However, no decision has been made on a range of other properties owned by KTDC,  most notably the Kenya Safari Lodges, which comprises three attractive properties, the Mombasa Beach Hotel and the Voi and Ngulia Safari lodges in Tsavo East and Tsavo West respectively.

Watch this space for upcoming announcements when the transactions have been made. 

 

Uganda conservation news – Now it is ‘war’ over Mabira …

MABIRA SAGA HEADING FOR CONFRONTATION

President Museveni was reported to be in a defiant mood earlier in the week when he met a delegation from city traders and business, who had asked for meeting him to discuss a long list of grievances, over licenses, unfair competition by foreign nationals posing as ‘investors’ while engaging in retail trade and the falling shilling value, amongst other issues. Also on the agenda was apparently the Mabira saga, but the president was in no mood for compromise when promising ‘to go to war’ over the forest to make sure that an Indian tycoon was to get the free land they had asked for.

Clearly in a belligerent mood the president then poured more oil into the fire when reportedly saying that the beneficiary, the Mehta Group, did not mind at all the sentiments of Ugandans and would take the land when given it for free in the face of public opinion.

This triggered a wide range of sentiments, not only against the Mehta Group which once again now faces a consumer boycott call for all their products, not just their sugar, while also fueling anti Asian and anti investor sentiments. Wrote a regular conservation source overnight: ‘It is very irresponsible of the president to talk of ‘war’. We know his background and recall the use of security forces to suppress  the 2007 Save Mabira demonstration and more recently peaceful political protest. Is this what the NRM fought for when they chased away the dictators in 1986? Are we not getting a new dictatorship into place now where foreigners can at will demand our prized assets like Mabira and get away with it? Suppose I bring an investor and he wants to be given free land and free this and that? I am suggesting that there are vested interests at work here, and maybe some payback due for favours given and taken before, who knows. I have long supported the president on many issues but here we part company. His reference first to terrorism and now to war over Mabira is not acceptable by any standards. We shall now lobby World Bank to demand that the offset agreed with government, which includes Mabira, be totally respected. We shall also involve global organizations and friendly governments. We are inspired by the way you triggered the Save the Serengeti movement last year. That fight is not over by far but a lot of progress was made. Now we have our own test case in Uganda with Mabira. The worst part is, that the kingdom offer is being snubbed by Mehta with the backing of government to prevent Buganda to get more income, at least that is the way it is perceived. The connection is clear here. Mehta has land on offer but is too greedy to pay for leases and rent and rather sees a quarter of Mabira destroyed to enrich their empire more. The president is plain wrong to support such greed at the expense of a national water tower. He should listen to the people and not do such things in isolation. And finally, NRM should be aware that the opposition will thankfully jump on this bandwagon and join hands with everyone opposed to the Mabira give away to make political capital out of it. The opposition is not very popular but government is doing a lot to drive voters into the arms of the opposition by making such bad decisions.’

Meanwhile has parliament demanded yesterday that a substantive executive director be immediately appointed for the National Forest Authority which has been under an Acting Executive Director for some time. Conservation sources link the two issues claiming that a weakened NFA could not stand in the way of political dictates and directives and that the appointment of a new chief was being delayed to make sure NFA would not stand in the way of cutting down over 7.000 hectares of prime rain forest to make way for Mehta’s new sugar fields.

Watch this space as this saga rages on and both sides dig in deep to defend their positions.