VICTORIA, Seychelles — The United Seychelles (US) party on Saturday protested against the government’s handling of the December 7 explosion at CCCL, calling on decision makers to speedily provide answers about the circumstances behind the incident. Party leaders and officials were joined by supporters at the Cascade district administration, in making the request for an independent inquiry and for the government to speedily support affected families with financial aid. The protest was the first major opposition action on the file since the explosion.
Party President Dr Patrick Herminie questioned who granted CCCL permission to stock explosives on its property, and why the company had not been held accountable. He also asked whether all four containers of explosives belonged to CCCL, or whether one of the containers had expired and belonged to another governmental organisation. The opposition says the government is protecting CCCL, and is calling for an independent inquiry into the explosion, alleging that CCCL’s foreign employees have been placed under house arrest while others are being deported, as a means of preventing them from revealing any information about the blast.
A significant number of families in areas surrounding the blast, namely Petit Paris and Cascade, have been left displaced as their homes suffered the impacts of the unprecedented blast. The opposition says it is concerned that affected citizens are innocent parties who had no role in the calamity. A number of affected inhabitants of Cascade are yet to receive the R50,000 assistance pledged by the government for repairs, and many are yet to be visited for the damages to be assessed.
Dr Herminie called on the government to repair all affected properties, and said that the R50,000 was not sufficient to replace all that had been lost as a result of the incident. Two Cascade residents, Louise Tamboo and Celine Emile, also spoke about the difficulties they continue to face. Mrs Tamboo said the sliding door at her mother’s house was damaged in the explosion and that the cost of repairing it greatly surpasses the R50,000 financial assistance. Mrs Emile said that her daughter’s home, an extension to the existing family house, had been badly damaged in the blast.
President Wavel Ramkalawan announced during a recent press conference that there are some 700 applications for financial assistance. Addressing the subject of children who are still living in dedicated shelters established to aid families, he described the situation as being badly managed, and said that the government was not doing what it should be doing. The opposition is expected to step up its calls for an independent inquiry in the coming weeks, as more residents come forward to share their experiences.
