President Michel’s book – an inspiring story |28 August 2010
On April 14, 2004, President James Alix Michel took the reins of power in the idyllic Indian
It is a statement that has resonated with him all along, though one wonders why a president would use such a seemingly simple yet far-reaching promise as his clarion call. To fully grasp why President Michel – who is a former trade unionist, teacher and journalist – would use such a statement to define his presidency, one needs to dredge through the history of Seychelles.
All becomes clear in his first book, A Man of the People. This 215-page full-colour book is not just a collection of speeches by President Michel but a glimpse of what he has stood for over the last six years.
James Alix Michel was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He came from an extremely poor background of having to walk barefoot and lacking the basics yet rose to be president. His is an inspiring tale of persistence and dogged determination. As he took over as the third president of Seychelles he insisted: “I have my own vision and I have my own style of government.”
It is not difficult to see why he stubbornly stuck to this message. After all, he had been a minister (actually the longest-serving minister) in the Seychelles government since 1977. Add to this a chequered and abrasive career as a party mandarin in the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF) for the last 36 years. With such a record it is easy to understand why critics would expect nothing but the same old tradition.
Mr Michel took office twice, first when President Rene retired in 2004 and secondly when he was elected in August 2006.
On winning the Seychelles presidential elections of 2006, he promised to increase democratic space, restore Seychellois pride, liberalise the country’s economy, establish the island’s first ever university and lobby the global community on the plight of island nations.
To many this was a tall order. To Mr Michel, these are what his presidency was all about. In the six years he has been at the helm, he has stuck it out as his own man, confounding both foes and friends alike.
Many expected him to continue revelling in the hardline stance that his predecessor was well-known for, but Mr Michel has turned out to be an accommodating politician giving the opposition a free hand in the country’s affairs and letting the economy flourish with minimum governmental control.
Of the promises that he made when he took over, the establishment of the first University of Seychelles in 2009, the floating of the Seychelles rupee, the revitalisation of Seychelles’ economy in 2008 and his persistent lobbying of the international community on the risks posed by climate change, sea-level rise and global economic recession to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are the four that stand out.
I experienced all these at first hand. The floating of the Seychelles rupee was one major achievement as it ensured the complete collapse of a booming black market. A couple of years back it was pretty difficult to trade in forex in Seychelles, leading to a strong black market economy. I know this as I was a partaker of the fruits of the black market until Mr Michel’s bold move to free the rupee.
In 2006, when the 30th anniversary of independence was celebrated, Mr Michel asked his countrymen:
“Which country believes in people-centred development that values the welfare of all its citizens, from the newborn to the elderly, that cares deeply about social justice? Which country gives its citizens the opportunity to own their own homes and to own shares in businesses; to share in the country’s wealth? Which country ensures that development takes into account the natural environment, for the benefit of its people and humanity? Which is the country of 83,000 people that has a national airline and a fleet of tankers plying the seven seas? Which country promotes the Creole culture that excludes no one, that brings people together and creates unity in diversity? As the song goes, which other but Seychelles.”
Acknowledging his country’s seafaring fishing tradition and its role as an island state, Mr Michel’s government has laid emphasis on this and plays a crucial role in the Global Island Partnership (Glispa).
At its first meeting way back in 2007 (two years before the Copenhagen climate talks) he pointed out: “The effects of climate change are being felt already in small island states. When you live on an island, climate change is a reality that you wake up to face every day. The fisherman sees it every day as he takes to the sea. Every child sees it when returning to his favourite beach to play. But it is perhaps much harder to see from the aisle of a supermarket in the western hemisphere.”
Small wonder that in 2009 he won Unesco’s Gold Medal for the Five Continents in recognition of his devotion to educating the global community on the vulnerabilities of SIDS.
Turning rhetoric into action is the pillar of this book. Seychelles has plenty of lessons to offer the mainland continent, especially her thriving and extremely successful social welfare system, which has seen this country appearing in the coveted list of middle-income countries.
While critics are bound to term the book as excellent PR in time for the forthcoming elections in 2011, the reality is that A Man of the People is a review of who Mr Michel is and an invaluable historical collection for Africa – perhaps the only book by a sitting president this year. The 215 pages, fully illustrated by 170 pictures, form a holistic portrayal of his six-year leadership.
Wanjohi Kabukuru, Nairobi