Teacher shortage continues to plague state schools

www.today.sc
Saturday 6 February 2016
Newsline
n News
n Sports
n Business
n Life
n Building the
nation’s pool of young
professionals
(page 2)
Education
Teacher shortage continues
to plague state schools
T
n St Michel and
Lightstars to contest
final
(page 4)
n EU helps Seychelles
with sustainable development and climate
change adaptation (page 7)
SR 10/-
Disgruntled parents accuse the ministry of Education of bad planning.
hree weeks into the new
school term for state
schools and already reports of teacher shortage are being made. TODAY has received
numerous calls from frustrated
parents who claim that their concerns are being ignored by the
ministry of Education.
Although the issue of teacher
shortage is not new to Seychelles
and has always been acknowledged by the ministry of Education in the past, parents say they
were hopeful the matter will be
addressed this year once and for
all, after the ministry of Education announced it was recruiting
teachers from Botswana to resolve the problem.
But this has not happened and
the Botswana teachers have not
arrived yet, to the parents’ dismay. They are now accusing the
ministry of Education of bad
Continued on page 2
The problem is said to be more acute in primary schools.
Sports fishing
Oceana Fisheries tournament postponed
SCR130 000 in prize money will be up for grabs in the competition which will now be held on 27 February.
O
n
A chat with…
Marcus Volcy
(page 11)
The Oceana fishing team. The company will now hold its own
fishing tournament on Saturday 27 February.
ceana Fisheries is furthering its involvement in sports
fishing by organising a tournament on Saturday 27 with the
help of the Seychelles Sports Fishing Club (SSFC). The competition,
which was initially supposed to
take place today, will be open to all
teams. The winners will be declared
based on their catches of both trolling and bottom fishing.
Oceana Fisheries will be dishing out some 25 prizes amounting to SCR130 000. There are six
categories for trolling and 14 for
bottom fishing with the winner in
each category receiving SCR3 000.
The best team will receive SCR 40
000, whilst the runner-up, best in
trolling, best in bottom fishing and
best overall catch will pocket SCR
10 000 each.
Based at the Old Port in Victoria,
the company specialises in fish processing for both the export and local markets. Last year, the company
ventured into sports fishing when it
organised the Regatta fishing competition. Oceana Fisheries even has
its own fishing team which participates in tournaments organized by
the Seychelles Sports Fishing Club.
12.85
13.50
12.80
13.35
14.20
14.90
14.30
14.95
18.70
19.65
18.65
19.60
p2
Saturday 6 February 2016
Letter to the Editor
Disclaimer
The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of this newspaper
Forgotten pedestrians ...
Dear Editor,
I
’m sure everyone welcomes
the new Bois de Rose hypermarket, but have the planners forgotten about pedestrians?
Is this place only for car access?
Hundreds of people walk past the
site everyday and their only way in
is walking in the road at the main
gate along with all the cars. Did
someone really plan this?
Surely better to have a pedes-
trian gate at either side of the site,
and footpaths directing pedestrians THROUGH the complex
rather than around it?
This will increase “footfall” past
the shops and ultimately increase
business for all the shops in there.
It will also be a lot safer for pedestrians! A win/ win situation....
The other place where pedestrians have been forgotten is the
international airport.
Again any pedestrian want-
ing to access or exit the south
of the airport has to walk in the
road where all the transports are
leaving the airport. People step
off the curb at the taxi rank and
the next pavement is outside the
airport gates.... How dangerous
is this! The planners only think
of cars.....please someone look at
this before there is a serious accident ....
Andrew Gee, artist & designer
Air Seychelles/UniSey
Building the nation’s pool of
young professionals
23 graduates are just back from what they describe as an “enriching and impressive
trip” in Abu Dhabi. The objective of this trip was to showcase the career prospects
at Air Seychelles.
By PA
2
3 high-performing graduates from various courses
offered by the University of
Seychelles came back yesterday
after a two-day educational-trip
in Abu Dhabi, fully funded by Air
Seychelles.
The national aviation company’s chief executive officer (CEO)
Roy Kinnear who was at the airport yesterday to welcome the
graduates back, explained that the
trip forms part of Air Seychelles’
strategy to identify and invest in
young professionals, who can later join the aviation company and
continue to strengthen the business.
Other than the tour of the city
itself, on the first day of the trip,
the 23 students visited the Etihad Airways headquarters where
they were taken on a behind-thescenes tour of the company’s Innovation Centre, a research facil-
Teacher shortage continues to
plague state schools
Continued from page 1
planning as now teachers currently employed with the ministry, have to cope with the extra
load of school work to make up
for teacher shortage.
One parent from Beau Vallon
secondary school told TODAY
that the school was short of at
least five teachers in various subjects including languages and
social sciences. “My son tells me
that some classes have not had
a teacher since the beginning of
term”. Another parent, whose
son is in Secondary 2, said that
his son’s class was without teachers for the first week of school
term and that “in order to keep
them occupied, students were
asked to help with manual work
around the school like carrying
books and furniture from one
classroom to another”.
Another school that is being plagued by a teacher shortage, is English River secondary,
where TODAY learned that at
least three English teachers are
following overseas training and
that they have not yet been replaced.
“Their classes have been imposed on us meaning extra pressure and workload for us staff ”,
said a disgruntled teacher who
contacted TODAY. “Further to
that, I for instance, do not specialise in the English language
and the management refuses
to see things from our point of
view”.
It seems that the teacher shortage is not restricted to secondary schools only, as TODAY was
also contacted by parents whose
children attend the La Rosiere
crèche, where they said that the
first year pupils have been with-
out a permanent teacher and assistant teacher since the beginning of the school term. “I am
aware that teachers from other
classes come in every now and
then to check up on them but as
far as I know they are not being
taught anything”, one parent told
TODAY. She has now contacted
the ministry of Education and
was told that someone would be
in touch with her soon but was
still awaiting feedback by the
time she called us last week.
A ministry official who spoke
to TODAY under the condition
of anonymity, said that primary
schools around the country need
at least a dozen teachers.
TODAY contacted the Principal Secretary for Education,
Merida Delcy on Monday for
clarification on this alarming issue, but at the time of going to
press, had still not received any
comments.
The ministry of Education has
always faced a teacher shortage
and last year, government announced that it will be recruiting
from Botswana.
The two countries signed an
agreement in September 2015
for the ongoing training of Seychellois teachers in the country’s
university. For the last three
years, teachers have been following up to three-year specialized studies in various subjects
like Mathematics, Science, Geography and English in order to
upgrade from a local diploma in
secondary teaching to a Bachelor
Degree in Education.
The last batch to leave Seychelles was in January this year,
and consisted of 20 teachers.
According to the agreement
signed with the Seychelles government, in return, the country
was to receive some 35 teachers
from Botswana as replacements.
This was initially confirmed for
December but later changed to
end of January. To date, no new
teachers from Botswana have
started work in the secondary
schools and according to a ministry official, they have been told
this will now happen shortly.
However it seems that the replacement teachers from Botswana will only serve to resolve
the secondary schools problem
but not that of primary schools.
The ministry of Education has
over the years come up with measures to retain teachers. These
include the introduction of new
schemes of service with attractive salary packages and allowing those who had left the profession to work on a part-time
basis. This was welcomed by former teachers and this newspaper has learnt that some former
teachers are now employed on a
part-time basis although we cannot confirm how many.
Recently, the ministry of
Education launched a new programme called “Teacher Aspiring Programme”, aimed at attracting more young people into
the profession.
Launched in October, the
programme which is part of the
Education Medium-Term Strategic Plan (2012-2017), hopes to
attract students from Secondary
3 to Secondary 5, School of Advanced Level Studies and other
professional centres to take up
teaching as a profession and
hopefully resolve the teacher
shortage once and for all.
ity dedicated to the development
of the next-generation products
and services. They also visited
the company’s Training Academy, where Air Seychelles’ cabin
and flight crew undergo safety
and service training as well as the
Network Operations Department,
which is responsible for the daily
management of aircrafts.
In addition to learning about
aviation, the group also went on
a city tour with Hala Abu Dhabi,
the award-winning destination
management division of Etihad
Airways, where graduates got a
chance to see the city’s main attractions as well as experience its
culture.
The students returned to Seychelles yesterday morning onboard an Air Seychelles flight and
were greeted at the airport by Air
Seychelles’ CEO Roy Kinnear and
the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Seychelles, Professor
Dennis Hardy.
They were taken to the VIP
lounge for a short debriefing,
where they shared their experience and impressions of the tour
with the guests and media.
Speaking on behalf of her colleagues, Samita Didon, who has
just completed her Bachelor of
Science in Business Management,
described the trip as “an experience of a lifetime”. Ms Didon said
that the whole trip was enriching
and “we explored various landmark, including a mosque where
we had to dress in the traditional
attire before we could enter, a Palace and a traditional village which
showcased life in the old days.
The city is so impressive, with its
many buildings”.
Two of her colleagues, Michelle
Francoise and Richie Course also
shared their experience with TODAY. Michelle, who is studying
for an advanced Diploma with the
Association of Chartered Certified
Accounts (ACCA), said that she
enjoyed the whole trip but was
most impressed with the desert
safari, “where we took in the scenery and then stopped at a camp
for barbecue and also looked at
different paintings”.
For his part, Richie who is
studying for a degree in Computer
Information System (CIS), said he
was grateful to Air Seychelles, Etihad Airways and the University of
Seychelles for having given them
the chance to go on such an educational tour. Although he is yet
to decide whether he would like
to join the airline industry, Richie
said he “will definitely go for it if
the opportunity arises”.
When addressing the graduates, Air Seychelles’ CEO, Roy
Kinnear, said that the company
places a strong emphasis on future planning at Air Seychelles
“and part of that strategy involves
identifying and investing in our
country’s young professionals who
can continue to strengthen the
business in the years to come”.
He said that trip was an opportunity for them to get a first-hand
look at the aviation industry, learn
about the partnership with Etihad
Airways and also find out more
about career prospects at Air Seychelles.
For his part Professor Dennis
Hardy, the Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Seychelles thanked
Air Seychelles for what he described as a wonderful partnership. “We consider Air Seychelles
to be a valuable and like-minded
partner, and look forward to our
future collaboration so that we
can continue to build the nation’s
pool of young professionals”, said
Professor Hardy.
The graduates were accompanied on the trip by Sheryl Barra
and Elsie Hurst, who recently
completed the Graduate Management Development Programme,
an internship programme where
members are rotated through key
Etihad Airways departments before taking up management level
roles in Air Seychelles.
The graduates arrived on Friday morning and were greeted by CEO
Roy Kinnear and Vice Chancellor Dennis Hardy.
p3
Saturday 6 February 2016
Independence Day
Sri Lanka turns 68
Sri Lankans living and working in Seychelles honoured their motherland in a
ceremony at the residence of the High Commissioner on Thursday.
By CM
S
ri Lankans working and living in Seychelles came together on Thursday morning
at the residence of the Sri Lankan
High Commissioner in Carana to
celebrate the 68th anniversary of
the independence of their country.
Independence was granted in 1948
by the British. Sri Lankans in Seychelles have been celebrating the
event in years past thanks to the efforts of the Sri Lankan Association
but this year was the first time that
it was celebrated at the residence
of their High Commissioner, Tikiri
Herath Gunathilake.
The events on the day started
with guests witnessing the hoisting of Sri Lanka’s national flag by
Tikiri Herath Gunathilake,
High Commission of Sri Lanka
to Seychelles, hoisting the flag.
the High Commissioner, followed
by two minutes of silence to honour the military lives lost over the
years through terrorist activities,
the High Commissioner explained.
This point was reiterated in the
message for the occasion by the
President of Sri Lanka Maithripala
Sirisena as he said that “we recognise our bounden duty to give all
honour and respect to the members of the Security Forces who
made great sacrifices to protect our
sovereignty and territorial integrity
in the battle against terrorism”.
The guests then came together to
sing their national anthem before
being invited inside the residence
to hear representatives of the four
main faiths practiced by Sri Lankans, namely the Hindu, Buddhist,
Muslim and Christian, utter blessings onto those present and their
motherland.
Sri Lankans living in Seychelles
can look forward to more efforts in
strengthening bilateral corporation
between Seychelles and Sri Lanka,
said the High Commissioner. Presently, there is much happening
between the two countries in various sectors such as tourism – most
notably medical tourism, the maritime sector, sports and renewable
energy, he said.
The High Commissioner explained that he has been here for
four months and is hence taking
the time to understand the local
context. He however said that he
would very much like to offer cooperation with the University of Sey-
Awaiting the blessing ceremony to begin.
Not the oignon
Fury as France changes 2,000 spellings
and ditches circumflex
#JeSuisCirconflexe campaigners fight back against decision by the Academie Française to “fix anomalies” and scrap the circumflex accent.
F
rench linguistic purists have
voiced online anger at the loss
of one of their favourite accents – the pointy little circumflex
hat (ˆ) that sits on top of certain
vowels.
A change in the spelling of some
2,000 French words will come into
effect in new primary school textbooks being released for the start
of the school year in September, the
education ministry and publishers
have announced.
The circumflex accent will become
optional for many words, as will other spelling changes that have purists
rubbing their eyes – such as onion,
which can now be spelled “ognon” as
well as the traditional “oignon”.
The changes, which have caused
uproar on French Twitter, were first
approved by the prestigious guardians of the French language, the
Académie Française, in 1990.
Since then both versions have
been accepted, but the new spellings only began appearing in official
documents in the past few years.
The 2015 official bulletin on new
school teaching curricula refers to
the 1990 changes as the gold standard for teaching spelling.
“What is new is a more explicit
reference” to the reformed spelling
in official material, said Sylvie Marce
of the textbook publisher Belin.
Some publishers had already made
the changes.
The changes were made to fix
spelling anomalies and inconsistencies, according to a website devoted
to the recommended spelling.
It adds hyphens, takes them away,
tweaks spellings and removes the
circumflex from the ‘i’ and the ‘u’
where the accent makes no change
to accent or meaning.
The circumflex is “one of the main
causes of errors and its usage is random”, said the website.
But many are not convinced.
“I will continue to use the circumflex, and to judge those who don’t,”
wrote one Twitter user.
The hashtag #JeSuisCirconflexe
(I am circumflex) – a nod to the Je
Suis Charlie phrase that swept social
media after the attack on Charlie
Hebdo in January last year – went
viral in France.
In other changes, “week-end” becomes “weekend” as in English, but
the word “leader” takes on a more
French spelling of “leadeur” in the
recommended spelling.
“This has been the official spelling
in the Republic for 25 years. What is
surprising is that we are surprised,”
said Michel Lussault, president of
the school curriculum board.
“There were strange spelling
anomalies linked to historic shifts so
the Académie really made sure these
changes were understandable,” he
said.
It was not an upheaval, he added,
more a “clean-up”.
When making the new spelling
recommendations in 1990, the then
“perpetual secretary” of the Academie Française Maurice Druon wrote
that “language is a living thing”, adding: “Work should begin again in 30
years, if not earlier.”
10 spellings that will change
Oignon becomes ognon (onion)
Nénuphar becomes nénufar (waterlily)
S’entraîner becomes s’entrainer
(to train)
Maîtresse becomes maitresse
(mistress or female teacher)
Coût becomes cout (cost)
Paraître becomes paraitre (to appear)
Week-end becomes weekend
(weekend)
Mille-pattes becomes millepattes
(centipedes)
Porte-monnaie becomes portemonnaie (wallet)
Des après-midi becomes des
après-midis (afternoons)
Source: TF1
Take your hat off: French school books will drop the circumflex from
September.
chelles, the National Archives and
the National Library.
Dubbed the pearl of the Indian
Ocean, Sri Lanka has had less than
two years of formal diplomatic relations at residential ambassadorial level with Seychelles, but Sri
Lankans have been coming to live
and work here for almost 30 years
and for many, “it is a home away
from home”. They occupy positions
in government and private sectors,
from engineers, teachers, doctors to
bankers. Sudheera Nanayakkara,
the head of department (HOD) for
languages at Beau Vallon Secondary School said that she is proud
to be a Sri Lankan and that the day
presented them with “the only occasion (where) we get to wear our
traditional costumes, practice our
values and cultural activities”. Of
her country, she said “we still talk
about the wonders in Sri Lanka.
We have beautiful waterfalls, the
jungles and so many tourist attractions”. She acknowledged that they
were far from home but that they
are comfortable and “can freely
celebrate our independence day”,
and thanks James Michel for this.
“I give my gratitude to the President of Seychelles because he has
made everything possible for the
Sri Lankan working force,” she
concluded.
The High Commissioner also
read the complete message from
the President of Sri Lanka, who
spoke about the progress made “towards safeguarding the freedom,
sovereignty, territorial integrity of
the nation and strengthening national reconciliation and economic
and political rights o all our citizens”.
He said that the day was celebrated to commemorate “the dawn
of freedom“ for their country with
them taking clear steps to “firmly
establish democracy and good governance, the rule of law and a truly
meaningful parliamentary system,
which will “create a socio-political
environment for all citizens to live
securely without fear”. He then
went on to comment on the “new
drive for development, of which
much remains to be done” and
their “foreign policy of middle path,
with a commitment to justice and
humanity,” which according to the
President has “won us friends in
the international community who
are ready to help us in our march
towards prosperity”.
p4
Saturday 6 February 2016
Football
St Michel and Lightstars to contest final
The Barclays League champions St Michel will face Praslin outfit Lightstars today in the final of the pre-season tournament.
By AH
S
t Michel have enjoyed a
good run in this tournament which has been specially organized to help our two
African participants to be in the
best of shape.
This tournament provided them
with three test matches which is
an added bonus at this time of the
season when most teams have not
yet started their pre-season.
St Michel have registered three
victories in as many matches so
far and have scored 14 goals which
is quite encouraging.
The team’s coaching staff will
be pleased that their Malagasy
striker Jocelyn Fenosoa is showing good form after a dip late last
year when it was rumoured that
he would be leaving this Eastern
club. Despite the absence of 2015
footballer of the year, Karl Hall,
who is in England on sabbatical
leave, their strike force with Leroy
Corallie and Leeroy Mathiot has
been quite lethal.
Hall is yet to return to the country which means St Michel have
not included him in the squad for
the African club competition in
which they will meet St George of
Ethiopia next weekend in Addis
Ababa.
Basil Bertin (No 8) has signed for the Eastern side St Michel.
Brief
Annual General Meetings
being held today:
Handball Federation 9am at Palais des Sports.
Seychelles Athletics Federation – 9am at the ministry of Education, Mont
Fleuri.
Bodybuilding
Association - 9am at NSC Training
Room at Stad Popiler.
Other events:
Football - St Michel v.
Lightstars at Stad Linite at
4.30pm
Athletics - final cross
country races at Roche Caiman Fitness Trail at 3pm
Hall is believed to be contemplating his future as there are unconfirmed reports that he might
take a break from the sport for
a six-month period. However St
Michel have bolstered their squad
with the signing of Northern Dynamo midfielder Basil Bertin who
is not expected to feature this
Saturday as well as in the African
competition. Another player who
is likely to join them is second
division South Olympic and former St Francis’ goalkeeper Andrea Libanotis as well as Darwind
Rostte who is returning to his former club after a brief spell with
cote D’Or.
St Michel need cover in the
goalkeeping area where Gino
Melanie his been erratic. Neither
has the defence looked too solid
with Malagasy Leonard Besabotsy yet to prove that he is the real
deal. He will face a strong challenge from Jones Larue who has
returned to action after a one year
break.
Nonetheless the St Michel manager, Andrew Jean-Louis, told
TODAY Sports that they will be
aiming to maintain their unbeaten
run and win this tournament. “We
are going into this final to help
take the team’s physical condition,
tactics and technique to a higher
level but we will also go all out to
win as we always do well in such
competitions, even when there are
foreign teams participating. We
also want to start the season on a
good note and are quite confident
in our chances in this final,” the St
Michel manager claimed.
As for Lightstars, they have also
shown that they can score goals
but were lacking in stamina in
their last match against St Michel
where they lost 4-2. Coach James
Barra wants an improved performance from his protégés before
their first taste of African football
next weekend against South African’s Bidvest Wits at home at the
Amitie playing field.
“I want a better showing, more
focused from the players. Last
week we did not play too badly but
gave away sloppy goals due to individual errors so we have worked
on both our defence and attack
and expect to be better physically,”
coach Barra related to TODAY
Sports.
The final will take place at
4.30pm at the Unity Stadium. At
2 pm, the national selection will
do battle with Plaisance.
The Praslin outfit Lightstars must try to overcome a heavy defeat to boost their morale.
Volleyball
Chairman’s resignation tops federation’s agenda
The SVF is awaiting two important reports before confirming whether AGM will take place next Saturday.
By AH
T
he chairman of the Seychelles Volleyball Federation (SVF), Hughes
Hoareau, sent a letter to the federation, the NSC and SOCGA,
informing them that he is resigning from the post with immediate effect. As a result, the executive committee met to discuss the
way ahead especially given that
the association’s AGM is supposed to take place on Saturday
13 February.
The federation’s vice-chairman, Bernard Denis, has now assumed the post of interim chairman. He said that the main thing
now is to see if they will go ahead
with the AGM next Saturday.
In fact, the executive committee will meet again next week to
take a final decision in this is-
sue. “First of all, we have to get
the financial report which is a
must for the AGM, and second
we need the president’s report
as he has been in the post for a
year. We need to know if we will
be getting these two important
documents on time for the AGM
because without them we cannot hold the meeting. We should
know by early next week if we will
get them otherwise we’ll have no
choice but to postpone the AGM.
We are trying our best to make
sure that the meeting takes place
as scheduled,” Mr. Denis told TODAY Sports.
He also remarked that Mr.
Hoareau has not given any specific reasons for his resignation
but added that the other members on the executive committee
are very positive and are trying to
make sure that things remain on
schedule and the volleyball season starts on time. “Some of our
ongoing programmes, such as the
African dream project and youth
development, are continuing as
planned. Our main focus for the
coming week is to make sure that
the audited financial report and
chairman’s report are ready for
the AGM next Saturday,” he revealed.
As for the vacant chairman’s
position, Mr. Denis said that this
will be decided by the federation’s
members during the AGM and
he has indicated that he won’t
be standing for the post. “We are
trying our best to ensure that the
volleyball season starts on time at
the beginning of March. Soon we
Seychelles Volleyball Federation will be looking for a new head
after Chairman Hughes Hoareau (right) tendered his resignation
with immediate effect.
will announce the deadline for
teams to register their players, so
that come March the first match
will serve off,” he concluded.
p5
Saturday 6 February, 2016
NBA roundup
Jose Mourinho ‘agrees to
take over at Manchester
United’
F
ormer Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has reportedly signed an
agreement to take over as Manchester United manager. Mourinho
has been linked with the Old Trafford
post ever since his exit from Chelsea
in December, with incumbent boss
Louis van Gaal’s future still uncertain.
Manchester City’s announcement that
Pep Guardiola will be their new manager at the end of the season has piled
further pressure on United to respond
with a statement of their own. Spanish newspaper El Confidencial now
reports that Mourinho has already
agreed to take over the reins at the 20time champions of England when Van
Gaal leaves the club. The report goes
on to state that Mourinho would take
over during the season should Van
Gaal be sacked, or in June if United
keep faith with the Dutchman until
the end of the current campaign.
Report: Massimiliano
Allegri agrees four-year
deal with Chelsea
J
uventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has reportedly agreed a
deal with Chelsea to become the
club’s next manager. The Blues are still
searching for a permanent successor
to Jose Mourinho having appointed
Guus Hiddink only until the end of
the current campaign. The likes of
Diego Simeone, Antonio Conte, Jorge
Sampaoli and outgoing Manchester
City manager Manuel Pellegrini have
all been linked with the role, but Italian website Calciomercato reports
that Allegri has now agreed a fouryear deal. The report goes on to state
that Allegri was Roman Abramovich’s
first choice and has already been presented with a pre-contract from the
Premier League outfit.
Kobe’s 27 lead Lakers to victory
L
Corey Brewer had a season-high 24 points, including two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to lead Houston past Phoenix.
os Angeles Lakers guard Kobe
Bryant turned back the clock
once again on Thursday night.
Bryant hit a couple of vintage
Kobe maneuvers but perhaps none
more than a late 3-point dagger as
the Lakers defeated the New Orleans
Pelicans 99-96 in front of a sold-out
Smoothie King Center.
After pair of dunks by Pelicans forwards Ryan Anderson and Anthony
Davis – and Anderson dunking on
Bryant – the 6-foot-6 20-year veteran calmly came down the court
and drained a 3-pointer with 58.4
seconds left which drew some of the
loudest cheers of the night.
He finished with 27 points and
a season-high 12 rebounds against
New Orleans. Bryant was coming
off of a 38-point, seven 3-pointer
performance against the Minnesota
Timberwolves on Tuesday night and
he’s now averaging 29.3 points per
game in his last three games.
“I’m puzzled by it as well,” Bryant
said. “I don’t know what to tell you.
I’ve just been working and trying to
get my legs. It’s hard, dude. Twenty
years and all these injuries, it’s tough.
I’m just trying to stay with it and
work. Run every day, lift, stretch. It
feels like I have some consistency
to my legs.” To see what else Bryant
had to say about his performance –
including joking about Anderson’s
dunk – check out the video above.
Raptors 110, Trail Blazers 103
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Kyle Lowry
and DeMar DeRozan combined for
59 points as Toronto beat Portland.
Lowry scored 30 points with eight
assists while DeRozan added 29
points for the Raptors (34-16), who
won for the 13th time in their last 14
outings. Jonas Valanciunas chipped
in 14 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto, which won for only the second
time in the last 13 trips to Portland
and first since December 2006.
Damian Lillard collected 27 points
and 11 assists while CJ McCollum
had 21 points for the Trail Blazers
(24-27), who lost for only the third
time in 12 games. Allen Crabbe added 17 points off the Portland bench.
Rockets 111, Suns 105
PHOENIX -- Corey Brewer had a
season-high 24 points, including two
3-pointers in the final two minutes,
and Trevor Ariza had 20 points to
lead Houston past Phoenix.
Brewer hit back-to-back threes
from the left corner, the second on a
third-chance possession with 1:10 remaining to give the Rockets (27-25)
a 108-101 lead. Archie Goodwin had
22 points for the Suns (14-37), who
have lost six in a row, 12 of 13 and 21
of their last 23.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) goes to the basket between New Orleans Pelicans guard
Jrue Holiday (11), forward Dante Cunningham (44) and center Omer Asik (3) in the first half of an NBA
basketball game in New Orleans, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016.
Boxing
Amir Khan confirmed to fight Canelo
Álvarez in Las Vegas showdown
A
Bolton fighter to meet Mexican on 7 May for WBC middleweight title
mir Khan has confirmed he
will fight the Mexican Saúl
“Canelo” Álvarez for the
WBC middleweight title on 7 May
in Las Vegas.
The 29-year-old from Bolton
will move up to a catchweight
of 155lbs to fight Álvarez, who
has only been beaten once in his
48-fight career: on a majority decision by Floyd Mayweather in
September 2013.
Khan confirmed the fight on
Tuesday through his Twitter account. He wrote: “Delighted to announce i will be fighting @Canelo
May 7th Cinco De Mayo, Las Vegas for the 155lbs @WBCBoxing
title!”
The fight, which will be promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden
Boy Promotions, will be Álvarez’s
first defence of the title he won in
November against Miguel Cotto.
“As the middleweight champion of
the world, I will take on the best
fighters in the sport and on Cinco
De Mayo weekend, I look forward
to making the first defence of
my titles,” he said in a statement.
“Amir was a decorated amateur, a
two-time world champion and is
in the prime of his career. Fans are
in for a great fight on 7 May.”
Khan added: “I know Canelo
fights the best and wouldn’t pass
up the opportunity to face me like
others have. My goal is to always
fight the biggest names and the
best fighters, that is why I’m excited for this fight. Also, I would like
to thank my team and Golden Boy
Promotions for this opportunity. I
know I have the speed and ability
to beat him and will give my fans
what they deserve on 7 May.”
Andre Berto, Brandon Ríos and
Jo Jo Dan had all been tipped as
possible warm-up opponents for
Khan before a summer showdown
with Danny García or Kell Brook,
the respective WBC and IBF welterweight champions. Khan is
García’s mandatory challenger and
the WBC had ordered the American – who had a fourth-round
knockout victory over the Bolton
fighter in July 2012 – to face him
by June or lose his belt.
But Khan’s camp were also
said to be interested in a lucrative
Battle of Britain showdown with
Brook and negotiations with Eddie Hearn’s promotions company
Matchroom Boxing had reportedly
taken place.
Last month Khan sent a flurry
of tweets accusing the IBF welterweight champion Brook of avoiding a fight with him and claimed
Brook’s team had demanded an
unreasonable cut of the revenues
from any potential meeting. Brook
and his promoter, Eddie Hearn,
responded to the outburst with a
public offer of a world title fight.
But with the Sheffield fighter set
to make the third defence of his
IBF welterweight title against
the mandatory challenger, Kevin
Bizier, in Sheffield on 26 March,
Khan has turned his attention
to Álvarez, the 25-year-old WBC
middleweight champion.
In his last fight the Mexican secured a unanimous points victory
over Cotto and many regard him as
the next superstar of boxing when
Mayweather decides to hang up
his gloves.
Álvarez carries a big punching
reputation and has won 46 of his
48 fights – he had a draw against
Jorge Juárez in only his fifth contest – by way of 32 knockouts.
De La Hoya posted on his official Twitter account: “Proud to announce on May 7th, 2016 @canelo
will return to the ring to face @
amirkingkhan.”
“We are delighted to be able to
make this massive fight,” added
Khan’s father, Shah. “I would like
to thank everyone involved who
made this happen including Golden Boy Promotions, Al Haymon
and all of Team Khan. It’s going to
be a great fight on 7 May.”
Khan punches Algieri (right) on his way to winning their welterweight bout at the Barclays Center in 2015.
Pistons 111, Knicks 105
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Reggie
Jackson scored 21 points, including
a pair of 3-pointers to save Detroit’s
victory after it blew a 27-point lead.
Jackson also made three free
throws in the closing seconds as
the Pistons (27-24) outscored New
York 16-8 in the final 1:47. Arron
Afflalo scored 19 of his 24 points
after halftime as the Knicks roared
back from a 60-36 halftime deficit.
Robin Lopez had 26 points and 16
rebounds to lead New York (23-29),
which has lost seven of its last eight
p6
Saturday 6 February, 2016
Tyson Fury: ‘Summer
date likely for Wladimir
Klitschko rematch’
Formula 1
Michael Schumacher: news of F1 legend’s
health not good, says former Ferrari boss
W
orld heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has
suggested that an agreement for the date and venue of his
rematch with Wladimir Klitschko
is “nowhere near” completion.
Fury is contractually obligated
to grant Klitschko a rematch after
claiming the WBA, WBO and IBF
titles from the Ukrainian in November, and reports had suggested
that the second showdown would
take place in Munich on May 7.
However, as well as ruling a lucrative offer to stage the fight on a
cruise ship, Fury has indicated that
the bout is more likely to take place
in the summer.
The 27-year-old told Sky Sports
News: “The cruise ship fight has
been totally blown out of the water,
so to speak.
We had an offer to fight on a
cruise ship with no TV, no newspapers - just 120 VIPs. It was a good
offer, but I don’t think we’re going
to go with it.
“A fight of this magnitude needs
to be seen by the world, not 120
rich people. It would be quite selfish of those guys to have it all to
themselves.
“I think the rematch is going to
happen obviously. It’s just a matter
of where and when. The possibility of it being in the Middle East is
still alive, but, as far as I am concerned, we are nowhere near.
I think it will be a summer date,
hopefully in the UK, and I’m looking forward to getting back in the
gym and getting ready.”
The rematch will only involve
the WBA and WBO belts after Fury was stripped of the IBF
crown for failing to fulfil his mandatory duties.
T
he condition of the multiple
Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher
was the subject of fresh concern on
Thursday evening following a remark from his old Ferrari boss Luca
di Montezemolo, who said: “I have
news and unfortunately it is not
good.”
The former Ferrari president, who
said he was “always checking up on
the driver”, was speaking to journalists in Milan, and added: “Michael
was a great driver, and we experienced a long time together in both
our personal and professional lives.
But life is really strange. He was the
most successful driver of Ferrari and
in his career he had only one accident, in 1999. But unfortunately a
fall in a ski accident has broken him.”
The news about Schumacher has
not been good for more than two
years. On 29 December 2013 he suffered severe head injuries in a freak
skiing accident in France. He had
been enjoying a holiday with his
wife, Corinna, and children Mick
and Gina Maria, in a villa owned by
the family in Mirabel. He underwent
emergency surgery after being airlifted from the mountain and spent
months in a coma in hospital before
being transferred to his home by
Lake Geneva in September 2014.
There, he received intensive treatment from a team of therapists but
there have been no encouraging of-
Luca di Montezemolo hints seven-time F1 champion has suffered setback
ficial bulletins and it was widely believed that the German was becoming increasingly frail as he lost more
and more weight.
There was some good news last
month, with reports in the German
magazine Bunte that he was walking
again and moving his arm. A “friend”
of the driver said: “Michael is very
thin. But he can once again walk a
little with the help of his therapists.
He manages to make a couple of
steps. And he can also raise an arm.”
But an angry Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s manager, denied this.
She said: “Unfortunately, we are
forced by a recent press report to
clarify that the assertion that Michael could move again is not true.
Such speculation is irresponsible,
because given the seriousness of his
injuries, his privacy is very important
for Michael. Unfortunately they also
give false hopes to many involved
people.”
A more accurate assessment, it
seemed, came from the FIA president and former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt during November’s
Mexican Grand Prix. Todt said: “I
Michael Schumacher is still receiving intensive treatment at his home in Switzerland.
see Michael very often and Michael
is still fighting. Michael is a close
friend, his family is very close to me
and I am very close to them as well.
We must keep him fighting with the
family.” Todt’s worried words were in
keeping with the general air of pessimism that has pervaded the world of
Formula One for the past two years.
Philippe Streiff, a friend of the driver,
said in November 2014 that the former champion could not speak. He
added: “It’s very difficult. Like me,
he is in a wheelchair, paralysed. He
has memory problems and speech
problems.”
Schumacher’s records may never
be broken. He won the world title
on seven occasions and also won
more races, 91, than any other driver. He won his first championship
with Benetton in 1994, retaining his
crown the following year. But it was
with Ferrari that his driving assumed
legendary status.
He won five successive titles before retiring in 2006. He was totally
dominant in 2004, when he won 12
of the first 13 races. He finished with
13 wins, beating his record of 11 set
in 2002.
He returned to Formula One in
2010, when he drove for Mercedes
alongside Nico Rosberg. But in his
three seasons with the Silver Arrows
he could not recapture old glories,
with a best finish of third at the 2012
European Grand Prix in Valencia.
Saturday 6 February, 2016
p7
Sustainable development
EU helps Seychelles with sustainable
development and climate change adaptation
The head of the European Union delegation was in Seychelles to sign two agreements
worth almost SCR53 million.
U
nder the first agreement, government has
received 2.2 million euros
(SCR32.7 million) in support of
the implementation of its sustainable development agenda. These
funds will support the government
in formulating new projects and
attracting new financing for development in the sectors of trade and
investment, peace and security,
climate change, and regional economic integration for the next five
years. The agreement was signed
by the Minister of and Foreign Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan,
and head of the European Union
(EU) delegation, Marjaana Sall, in
the presence of French ambassador for Seychelles, Lionel MajestéLarrouy, who acted as a witness.
Under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) National
Indicative Programme (NIP) developing countries in Africa and
the Caribbean receive financial
support for national development
strategies with the aim of creating
a close collaboration between the
EU and its partner countries to
reflect the government’s own policies and needs, as well as ensuring
support for national priorities.
During the ceremony at the ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday morning, Minister Joel Morgan said that the programme will
provide targeted and focused expertise that will allow government
to gear up and have access to more
innovative forms of financing for
its development objectives. He
further stated that the EU funding
will also help in attracting new investments supported by European
financing institutions including
blending, which is a mix of grants
and loans, for infrastructure projects in support of the country’s regional integration.
Marjaana Sall stated that the EU
is “committed to working together
with the Seychelles on climate
change, tourism, peace and security, maritime security, the economy,
and the development of human
rights for all three main islands”.
Seychelles’ sustainable development agenda places great emphasis specifically on the fight against
climate change, poverty, education - including early childhood
development and higher education - as well as gender equality. As
Seychelles has now become a high
income country, the partnership
with the European Union will be
on shared values and issues of mutual interest.
Under the second agreement
which will be implemented by
the United Nations Development
Programme (UN), the country
has received SCR20.2 million as
part of the EU-funded Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA+)
programme that was signed by
government in December 2014.
The funds will be used to address
recurrent flooding on La Digue
by financing a range of studies,
scientific surveys, and construction to alleviate the problem. The
agreement was signed by Mrs Sall
and the Resident Coordinator
and United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) Resident
Representative, Simon Springett
in the presence of the Minister of
Environment Didier Dogley.
The EU’s Global Climate Change
Alliance Programme (GCCA+)
seeks to address the negative effects of climate change such as
recurring flooding on La Digue.
The activities funded by the EU
Signing between Minister Joel Morgan and EU Ambassador Marjaana Sall at the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
will consist of studies and scientific surveys, and construction of
drains and bridges on five identified outlets. The objective is to put
in place adequate infrastructure to
allow water to flow to the sea and
hence prevent flooding upstream.
The project will then be implemented by the UNDP.
The devastating floods of 2013
demonstrated the high vulnerability of several areas on La Digue.
These zones are particularly prone
to flooding for several reasons.
First of all, because of the topography of the land in these low-lying,
flat zones and secondly because of
inadequate drainage systems that
can allow the water to find its way
to the sea. With the rise in both
the frequency and the volume of
precipitation as a result of climatic
change – the flooding of these
zones have now become recurrent.
Besides health hazards caused by
flooding, the local population also
suffered from economic losses re-
sulting from affected crop cultivations. At the same time, floods can
also have serious impact on tourism, which is the main economic
activity on La Digue Island. Minister Dogley made reference to the
agreement produced in Paris last
December at the Climate Change
Conference, which binds nations
across the globe to work towards
limiting emissions to relatively
safe levels, and limit the damages
that result from climate change”:
“Although finance will be provided to developing nations, small
island developing states like Seychelles are concerned that the
money provided will not be nearly
enough. Nevertheless the new EU
GCCA+ project will contribute immensely in building climate- resilience within our communities”,
he said.
For her part, Mrs Sall reiterated the Minister’s statement:
“The launch of this climate
change mitigation project on
La Digue is an excellent illustration of how decisions taken
in the Paris COP 21 Conference
are being turned into concrete
actions. Through this project,
the EU reiterates its commitment to support Government
in the implementation of its
National Climate Change Strategy.”
The GCCA+, which in 2014,
replaced its predecessor the
GCCA, has maintained its focus on countries and communities most vulnerable to climate
change, especially those in
small island developing states
(SIDS). The GCCA programme,
which was for a total envelope
of 3, 000, 000 euros has helped
the government between 2010
and 2014 in mainstreaming
climate change in national development policies, and in the
development of a solid institutional and legal framework for
the energy sector.
Saturday 6 February, 2016
p8
Manufacturing
Painting a legacy
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Penlac, its CEO, Yakub Gafoor, reminisces about the company’s accomplishments, past and present, and looks forward to a future where
its dedicated workforce bring it to new heights with the help of technology.
Short history
Penlac was first established in
1985 as a joint venture between
the government of Seychelles
and an established Mauritian
paint manufacturing company,
Mauvilac Industries Ltd. Back
then, government’s main aims
were to encourage foreign investment in local industry and
to create local employment. In
the case of Penlac, the development of a local paint manufacturing industry resulted in
import-substitution activities
that generated value-added
products locally while reducing the pressure on the balance
of payments and the country’s
increasingly vulnerable and
scarce foreign exchange reserves at the time through the
importation of raw materials
that cost much less than the
finished goods importation.
Some people may well remember that such joint venture projects saw the creation
of a governmental department
of Trade & Industry in the mid
or late 1980s to encourage foreign direct investment in partnership with local Seychellois
entrepreneurs. The Department of Trade & Industry was
headed by then Principal Secretary, Selwyn Gendron, assisted by his Director of Trade &
Industry, Radley Weber, at the
time. In fact in 1990, Mr. Weber oversaw the establishment
of Kreol’Or Ltd as an initial
joint venture enterprise between government and Claudio
Izzi of Fondi, Italy. The company was privatised only recently and incidentally, Gafoor
Yakub, now of Penlac and Chaka Brothers, was the first appointed chairman of Kreol’Or
Ltd while Claudio Izzi has
always been the managing director or CEO. Today, 21 years
later, Kreol’Or has grown into
a successful enterprise with
retail outlets on Mahe, Praslin
and La Digue.
In terms of Penlac’s history,
two of the first persons to be
brought over by Mauvilac from
Mauritius in 1985 to join Penlac
were José Thomas and Francis
Perrin. Another eight Seychellois from Tropicolor Ltd also
joined the Penlac workforce
at around the same time. Back
then, Tropicolor was probably
the first ever Seychelles-based
paint manufacturing company
with a small sales team being
Penlac’s CEO Yakub Gafoor.
directed by George Seeger. But
the company somehow never
developed any further.
As for the first two recruits
from Mauritius, José Thomas
was recruited as a “colour mixing” supervisor charged with
the responsibility of training
his local Seychellois counterparts in the field of colour
matching. Francis Perrin was
tasked with the role of organising the daily production processes. José Thomas ended up
staying well beyond the first
ten years (1985-1995) of the
Penlac company being run as a
joint venture operation whereas Francis Perrin did not stay
for more than six years, and
returned to Mauritius. José
continued to work with the
new private owners of Penlac
and their appointed general
manager, Nicholas Pothin, who
was promoted from within the
company to the post of GM
until his recent retirement in
April 2012. Today, 31 years later, José Thomas, a naturalised
Seychellois, is now heading the
production operations as manager with particular oversight
over the Colour Mixing team at
Penlac.
In brief, Penlac was sold off
by government and the owners of Mauvilac in 1995 via an
open public tender after failing to generate any reasonable
net profits for ten consecutive
years. The tender was won by
Yakub M Adam, better known
as Yakub Chaka, who bought
over the company. The management contract which the
company had with the Maurel brothers of Mauvilac was
terminated in October 1995
and Mr. Chaka appointed a
new GM, Nicholas Pothin, in
November 1995. At the time
of management changeover,
workers’ compensation for
length of service and other
benefits were resolved in an
amicable
and
satisfactory
manner.
Yakub Chaka retained majority shareholding in Penlac and
invited the former chairman
of Penlac, Eddy Belle, to stay
on as a director and nominal
shareholder serving on the
Board. Mr. Chaka also invited
a couple of business partners
to serve on the Board as minority shareholders, namely Tropicolor Ltd and Amalgamated
Tobacco Company Ltd.
Saturday 6 February, 2016
Current achievements
From end-1995, the company operations were streamlined by Mr. Pothin and Penlac started generating some
net returns, albeit modest. In
1986, the company managed
to alter its sources of supply of
raw materials which improved
the quality of its finished products, resulting in a better level
of profitability.
However, as many people will
remember, the tight foreign exchange payments situation of
the 1990s and mid-2000s presented the management with
some challenging and hard
times in the procurement of
raw materials at the time. But
the company never gave up.
To generate an extra stream
of income, in May 1998, Penlac bought over the property
adjoining its company premises previously occupied by
SeySteel and rented out the
front part of the premises. In
recent years, the new Penlac
management, headed by Ken
Desaubin, acting under the
direction of his CEO, Gafoor
Yakub, son of Yakub Chaka,
constructed a special hazardous materials store at the back
of that adjoining property,
away from the main factory for
health and safety reasons.
The company has achieved a
lot in terms of product delivery
and building on its brand recognition in the midst of fierce
competition from several paint
importers. Much of it is because of the efforts of its sales
and marketing manager, Nixon
Albert, and the sales and pro-
duction teams. In addition to
attending to the specific needs
of individual customers, they
provide free technical advice
and support, both before and
after sales service. So far, Penlac has 26 distributors of its
products spread over Mahé,
Praslin and La Digue and requests are still coming in from
more wholesale and retail outlets to distribute Penlac products in the districts.
As a manufacturing concern,
this private company has never
enjoyed any fiscal or financial
incentives from the government. The high quality of its
products, most of which are
eco-friendly, and its sound
sales are proof enough of its
ability to weather the storms
and grow further. The workers’
and management’s dedication
are evident when at certain
busy times of the year they have
occasionally taken the initiative upon themselves, with the
consent of their CEO, Gafoor
Yakub, for them to work after
normal hours or over a weekend or two to meet the increasing demand for Penlac paint
products.
Apart from launching its own
website a few years ago, Penlac has enhanced its product
base by developing durable,
weather resistant anti-fungus
paint, emulsion primers and a
variety of tints, including tinted varnishes for both interior
and exterior use. Tinting is an
economical way of producing a
virtually unlimited number of
paint colours to meet the exact
needs of each individual customer, large or small. The vari-
p9
ous colours of tints available in
100ml bottles at Penlac can be
added to white emulsion paint
in different degrees to create
different shades of colours in an
instant to suit the clients’ exact
choices or preferences.
Future plans
The company has only just
upgraded its automotive paints
unit by introducing a “state of
the art” spectrophotometer for
maximum performance, speed
and accuracy in colour measurement. Once properly calibrated,
the spectrophotometer acts as
the reference instrument in colour management. It is a highly
useful instrument which is applied in various industries, including the automotive paint
industry. Penlac’s CEO regards
this equipment as superior for
Penlac’s future automotive paint
business because of the meter’s
absolute speed, accuracy and
stability when conducting diagnoses especially on dark or
highly chromatic colours.
In the period ahead, subject
to planning permission, the
company is looking to expand
its factory to create more space
to meet the consistent demand
for its products and also to gain
extra storage for its non-hazardous raw materials and finished
products as it has confidence
in the Seychelles economy. In
the foreseeable future, Penlac
is hoping to procure new industrial equipment in the form of a
high-speed disperser and new
laboratory equipment for conducting appropriate lab tests
while always maintaining its
high quality controls.
Advertorial
Ethiopian Airlines and Seychelles
ready to mark Chinese New Year
O
Ethiopian Airlines seeks to be the home away from home of its passengers.
n February 7 2016, Ethiopian Airlines will be ready
with a special welcoming
arrangement for Chinese nationals travelling to Seychelles. The
welcoming ceremony is part of
the programme held on January
25 at Addis Ababa airport for all
Chinese travelers on the occasion
of the Chinese New Year, under
the theme “Ethiopian Airlines
takes you home”. The aim is to
make travelers feel at home during their travel time.
On this important date, the
traditional dancers will pepper
the event at the airport’s arrival
lounge and will extend their Seychellois hospitality to the visitors
during their stay in the country.
The managing director (MD) of
Ethiopian international service
Mr Esayas Woldemariam explained that “this is to showcase
that Addis Ababa is the most Chinese-friendly transit hub as well
as the fact that Ethiopian Airlines
is becoming the most Chinese-
friendly airline in Africa. All this
shows that Seychelles is home
away from home too, and Ethiopian Airlines is their own airline.”
Four journalists are traveling
on this flight to share the warm
welcoming atmosphere and their
holiday experience in the paradise
land.
Ethiopian flies to four destinations in China – Beijing, Hong
Kong, Guangzhou and Shanghai
– with a total of over 28 flights a
week to the Asian country.
Saturday 6 February, 2016
p10
p11
Saturday 6 February, 2016
Marcus Volcy
“I would like to leave this world incognito”
He claims that he never forgets anything, much to his chagrin. Marcus Volcy is the founder of the Compassion foundation and currently works in the HR department at Constance
Lemuria on Praslin. In this interview, he speaks of his belief in Karma and his abhorrence of people who think nothing of hurting others.
Marcus at the staff party at Lemuria in 2015.
What’s your ideal holiday
destination?
I have already been to countries
like Mauritius, Kenya and China
(two or three provinces and also
Hong Kong). But I will choose
the Maldives as a place I would
like to go on holidays one day.
What’s the last book you
read?
The last book I read was the
book “Extravagant Worship” by
Darlene Zschech, a prominent
World Worship Leader.
How do you unwind?
Definitely with a good dose of
Darlene Zschech and also the
Hillsong Worship Team Albums.
On some occasions, I will listen
to instrumental music as well.
Can you cook?
I am not much of a cook but I
can do a grilled fish, mixed salad
with smoked fish included.
bert Rene as he is wise, hardworking and intelligent. Then
there is Queen Elizabeth II. She
is very courageous and with the
blessing from the People of England, she is still reigning.
Are you more of a cat or a dog
person?
Neither. But I would not mind
keeping a Koala around.
Do you have any hobbies?
I enjoy listening to gospel
music… Hillsong and Darlene
Zschech during my past time
and also beach jogging/running
which I rarely do nowadays.
What’s your favourite place in
Seychelles?
I would consider that to be
Anse La Mouche beach.
Marcus would love a koala as a pet!
Marcus loves listening to music.
What would you say are your
main qualities?
I think I am a good listener and
I can give advice as and when
people ask me. I consider myself
to be a patient and tolerant person who can endure a lot.
Which living person do you
most admire, and why?
I have two. One will definitely
be former President France Al-
What annoys you the most
about people?
It annoys me when people
hurt someone and think it is
okay to do it and sometimes
they even get away with it.
What is the trait you most
deplore in yourself ?
Forget. I never forget.
What did you dream of becoming when you were growing up?
Growing up with the family
working at the Ex Plantation
Club Hotel, I wanted to one
day become its General Manager. But destiny offered me
something else with charity
included.
In the film of your life, who
would you choose to play
you?
I think I will choose my friend
Michel Pierre, he is someone
who knows exactly what to do.
What era would you like to
have lived in?
I am enjoying the present era
and looking forward to the future.
What is the worst job you’ve
done?
All my jobs have been alright. I
have never done a job that I did
not like doing.
If your house was on fire,
what’s the one possession you
would save?
I would make sure that I take
my Bible.
If you could invite three people, dead or alive, to dinner,
who would they be?
I would definitely invite my
mum, my sister Hannah and the
late Raymonde.
How would you like to be remembered?
I think I would want to leave
this world incognito.
What’s your favourite TV series?
Definitely Revenge. I like
watching series where there is
pay back, retaliation, retribution.
Do you have children?
Not officially (laughs...)
What’s your favourite song?
My favourite song would be
My Highest Hope by Darlene
Zschech and also Testify to
Love by Wynonna Judd.
What goes around comes around, he believes. And so he helps Santa...
Which words or phrases do
you most overuse?
Karma – what goes around
comes around.
Darlene Zschech a favourite of Marcus.
p12
Saturday 6 February, 2016
Lifeline
Bill Cosby: US judge allows
sex assault case against
actor
Celebrity Profile:
Zac Efron (1987–)
Zac Efron is a Hollywood heartthrob who appears in films and on television, most notably in the High School Musical films.
Source: Biography.com
US prosecutors can proceed
with a sexual assault charge
against comedian Bill Cosby, a
judge has ruled.
Mr Cosby is accused of drugging and fondling a former
Temple University employee in
2004.
On Wednesday, a judge in
Pennsylvania rejected arguments made by his lawyers that
a previous ruling in 2005 made
him immune from prosecution.
Dozens of women have said
the actor assaulted them but the
former TV star says the encounters were consensual.
The next step in this case
will be a hearing to determine
whether there is enough evidence for the actor to stand trial.
Star Wars: The Force
Awakens scoops top visual
effects awards
Early life
Actor and singer Zachary David
Alexander Efron was born on October 18, 1987, in San Luis Obispo,
California. A bona fide teen idol,
double-threat Efron has drawn
comparisons to a young Cary Grant
for his charm and sex appeal. His
father David, an electrical engineer,
and mother Starla, an administrative assistant, met while working at
the same nuclear power plant. The
couple relocated to Arroyo Grande,
California, a town roughly 200
miles north of Los Angeles, to raise
Zac and his younger brother, Dylan.
Early acting career
At 11, a piano teacher recognized
Efron’s burgeoning talent and persuaded him to pursue theatrical
roles at the Pacific Conservatory of
the Performing Arts. He auditioned
for—and was subsequently cast
in—a small part in a long-running
production of Gypsy. The role ignited his passion for acting, and his
continued performances in other
local productions earned him a
contract with a talent agent. Soon,
Efron was making regular trips to
Los Angeles for auditions while
attending Arroyo Grande High
School.
In 2002, he made his first television appearance on the shortlived series Firefly. In 2003, Efron
landed guest roles on ER and the
pilot for The Big Wide World of
Carl Laemke. The following year,
he could be seen in the film The
Guardian, as well as the pilot for
Triple Play and the made-for-television movie Miracle Run.
Efron also starred as Cameron
Bale, a series regular, on The WB’s
Summerland (2004-05). Although
the series was cancelled in July
2005, Efron was still a regular media presence, with guest roles on
NCIS (2003-), Disney’s The Suite
Life of Zack and Cody (2005-08)
and CSI: Miami (2002-12). He also
landed a leading role in his first
feature film, The Derby Stallion
(2005).
“High School Musical”
In 2005, Efron landed another
the lead role in a small, low-budget
film for the Disney Channel called
High School Musical. While on the
set of the film, he met co-star Vanessa Hudgens, and the two began
dating off-set. The movie debuted
in January 2006, and although it
was intended to be the usual Disney
fare, it unexpectedly struck a chord
with adoring audiences.
Eventually recognized as one
of the most successful made-fortelevision movies ever, the movie
produced unprecedented ratings,
a best-selling soundtrack and loyal
fans. Offers for acting roles and
record deals followed, but Efron
TODAY in History
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has taken home the most
trophies at the Visual Effects
Society Awards in Los Angeles,
with The Revenant collecting
three.
The latest episode of the scifi franchise won the top honour
of outstanding visual effects in a
photoreal feature.
It also scooped awards for
outstanding models, created environments and virtual cinematography.
The Good Dinosaur won the
most awards in the animated
feature competition.
David Bowie Sheffield
tribute mural ridiculed on
social media
A David Bowie tribute mural
created by a Sheffield graffiti
artist has been ridiculed by some
social media users.
A 7ft (2.1m) painting by Trik
featuring Bowie in the persona
of his character Aladdin Sane
has appeared on a street corner
in the city centre.
One Twitter contributor remarked, “How did you find an
artist with no idea what Bowie
looked like?”, while another
asked, “Who is that a picture
of?”
Trik said he found it all “fun”,
but he might now paint over the
picture. The 25-year-old selftaught artist said: “I’m looking
at the reaction right now. It’s not
very nice to see people talking
about me as an artist.
February 6th is the 37th day of the year
1937: Of Mice and Men
is published
1952: Elizabeth
becomes queen
declined. He chose instead to take
time off to focus and graduate from
high school.
Controversy later erupted when
sources disclosed that Efron wasn’t
actually responsible for voicing his
High School Musical songs, and
that Canadian singer-songwriter
Drew Seeley was the actual voice
behind the role. As a result, Efron
made it a contractual point to ensure that his voice appeared unaided on songs for High School
Musical 2, which became the mostwatched event in cable television
history in 2007.
Big screen success
In addition to High School Musical 2, Efron also appeared in the
big-screen remake of John Waters’
Hairspray (1988) in 2007. Director
Adam Shankman nearly passed
on Efron for the role of golden boy
Link Larkin—reportedly, Shankman initially felt Efron was “too
Disney”—but he later reconsidered. Appearing alongside John
Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifah,
Efron once again thrilled fans and
helped the film earn nearly $119
million domestically. Additionally, he was featured on the cover of
Rolling Stone, which dubbed him
“The New American Heartthrob.”
In an effort to avoid typecasting,
Efron decided to make a departure from musicals. However, to
honor his fans, he agreed to appear
in High School Musical 3 (2008),
the final installment of the trilogy. Since then, he has performed
the lead role in Richard Linklat-
er’s drama Me and Orson Welles
(2008) and hosted Saturday Night
Live in 2009, to positive reviews.
While filming the light-hearted
comedy 17 Again (2009), Efron
had a near-fatal experience on the
set. Efron was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy while shooting the role-reversal
film with co-stars Matthew Perry
and Leslie Mann. He returned
to the set a mere two days after
surgery to resume shooting. He
followed the film with consistent
roles that were geared towards a
younger audience, including Charlie St. Cloud (2010) and The Lorax
(2012).
Mature roles
In 2012, Efron began to play
more mature roles, finally shedding his Disney image. That year,
he took on the lead role yet again in
the film The Lucky One, opposite
Taylor Schilling. Efron played a soldier stationed in Iraq who believes
that a photo he finds of a woman
he doesn’t know, played by Schilling, is the reason that he’s been
able to survive. Although the film
didn’t receive favorable reviews,
Efron was recognized for his attempt at leaving his squeaky clean
image behind. In 2014, he played
an infuriating frat boy opposite
new suburban dad Seth Rogen in
the comedy Neighbors.
Film
Revenant defies Grandpa at UK
box office
Oscar-tipped film The Revenant has held on to the top spot in the UK box office chart
for a third week.
Source: BBC.com
T
On this day, John Steinbeck’s
novella Of Mice and Men, the
story of the bond between two
migrant workers, was published.
He adapted the book into a threeact play, which was produced the
same year.
The story brought national
attention to Steinbeck’s work,
which had started to catch on
in 1935 with the publication of
his first successful novel, Tortilla
Flat. The book was a critical and
financial success, as were such
subsequent books as In Dubious
Battle (1935) and Of Mice and
Men (1937), both of which offered
social commentaries on injustices
of various types.
In 1939, Steinbeck won the
Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of
Wrath, a novel tracing a fictional Oklahoma family as they lose
their family farm in the Depression and move to California seeking a better life.
His work after World War II,
including Cannery Row and The
Pearl, continued to offer social
criticism but became more sentimental. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in 1962 and died in New
York in 1968.
On this day in 1952, after a
long illness, King George VI of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland died in his sleep at the royal
estate at Sandringham.
Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of the king’s two daughters
and next in line to succeed him,
was in Kenya at the time of her
father’s death; she was crowned
Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June
1953, at age 27.
From the start of her reign,
Elizabeth understood the value of public relations and allowed her 1953 coronation to
be televised, despite objections
from Prime Minister Winston
Churchill and others who felt it
would cheapen the ceremony.
Elizabeth, the 40th British
monarch since William the Conqueror, has worked hard at her
royal duties and become a popular figure around the world. In
2013, she celebrated 60 years on
the throne, and is the second longest reigning monarch of Great
Britain after Queen Victoria.
he film, starring Leonardo
DiCaprio as a frontiersman
fighting for survival after
being attacked by a bear, took
£2.28m.
The Revenant’s total after
17 days on UK release is now
£16.09m.
Hot on its heels was the Robert
De Niro comedy Dirty Grandpa,
which came in at number two
with £2.05m, despite having received a critical mauling.
De Niro’s film, which also stars
Zac Efron, also made £605,000
in previews.
It sees the Raging Bull star playing a grandfather who convinces
his snobbish grandson to take
him to Florida in order to fulfil a
romantic ambition.
A review on Variety saying Dirty
Grandpa was “a brutally unfunny
stab at ribald comedy” was fairly
typical of the critics’ opinion.
But a trailer campaign that included a near-naked, drug smoking, bronzed Efron seemed to do
the trick with the audience.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
continued its strong performance
at number three in the chart after
seven weeks.
The film made a further £1.3m,
bringing its total UK takings to
£119.4m so far. The film is now
the UK’s most successful film to
date.
At number four was action comedy Ride Along 2, starring Ice
Cube, making £1.3m in its second
The Revenant had strong competition from the critically panned
comedy Dirty Grandpa starring Robert De Niro and Zac Efron.
week.
Meanwhile, Spotlight - which
is in the running for six Academy Awards - made a seemingly
disappointing arrival in the UK,
coming into the chart at number
five.
Telling the true story of the
Boston Globe’s investigation into
widespread child abuse within
the Catholic Church in 2002,
it took £1.06m. Despite a weak
box office, Spotlight was released
in only 241 cinemas. Distributor eOne kept its opening week
on a tight rein but will expand
its roll-out this Friday to around
370 cinemas. The Big Short, also
up for five Oscars, performed respectably in the sixth slot on the
chart. The satire, starring Steve
Carrell, Christian Bale and Ryan
Gosling about the global financial crisis, made £959,765 in its
second week. Daddy’s Home, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, was in eighth place in its
sixth week having made £601,301.
Rocky Spin-Off Creed was in ninth
place in its third week, making a
further £581,943. Meanwhile two
new releases filled out the top 10:
Capture the Flag came in at seven
while a live performance of Turandot by the Metropolitan Opera in
New York entered at number 10.
p13
Saturday 6 February, 2016
Charity
It’s Christmas again!
Male diocesan group Zezi Vre Zonm hosts special event for students of School for the
Exceptional Child.
R
ecently the diocesan
group Zezi Vre Zonm
hosted a special day
for children with disabilities
from the School for the Exceptional Child (SEC). This
special day had originally
been planned as a Christmas
activity and was meant to
have been held at the Paradis des Enfants but it had
to be cancelled twice due to
political activities in the vicinity of the playground and
bad weather.
The event was indeed a
party for the pupils at the
school who went all out to
make the most of it and enjoy themselves to the maximum. Every child on the day
received a present and enjoyed the sumptuous lunch
prepared in their honour.
The entertainment would
not have been complete
without the music supplied
by a disc jockey but the highlight were the live performances by popular local artists Philip Toussaint, Joseph
Sinon and Sandra. The majority of the children proved
themselves to be avid music
lovers who did not hesitate
to join in the performances
and show off their musical
talents. No party is complete
without some face painting and this was supplied by
Rosabelle Noël.
The chairperson of Zezi
Vre Zonm, Wilven Alcindor,
said that the association
is gearing up to make this
event for children with disabilities an annual Christmas event. Clifford Mondon,
who initiated and coordinated the event on behalf
of Zezi Vre Zonm, revealed
that “this is only one among
several projects lined up for
the SEC. Other projects on
the drawing board include
an upgrade of the existing
SEC playground and the
construction of new sports
and leisure facilities for the
school”.
On behalf of the children,
SEC head teacher, Heidi
Francourt, thanked Zezi Vre
Zonm for their thoughtfulness and all the sponsors,
musicians and other contributors for their kindness
and generosity. She wished
everyone success in their
undertakings, in the hope
that the projects in the pipeline for the school will materialise, for the good of the
less able children and other
members of the community.
Also present on that day
were Seychelles’ Ambassador
for Women and Children,
Dr. Erna Athanasius, priests
Pierre Majela and Landry
Maketa, other members of
the Zezi Vre Zonm group,
parents and staff members of
the SEC.
The event was sponsored by
Kempinski Resort, the STC,
SAP Construction, Dan Imports, Hannemann Holiday
Residence, Silhouette Cruises, Ocean Air Travel, Angel
Fish, Elegant Yachting, Slide
Up Moda, Mahé Design and
Build, Shark’s Ice Cream and
Eden Plaza. Their representatives also attended and
presented the children with
gifts. In addition to the Zezi
Vre Zonm group, other individuals who also contributed
generously towards the event
were Ronny Dufresne, France
Bonte, Feddy Poris and Alise
Nourrice. The group’s chairperson expressed his gratitude and said that they were
very touched and encouraged
by the positive response from
the sponsors and musicians.
The next such event is
planned for December this
year, said Zezi Vre Zonm.
Saturday 6 February, 2016
Guest house at Sans Soucis looking for
Chambermaid and Breakfast Cook. Also
a therapist in massage ready to learn new
protocol. Reference requested.
1 Bedsitter available immediately. Fully
furnished, with air condition. Please call
2534237
A range of Coastal Hire construction and
maintenance equipment for sale!
Compactors, generators, breakers, drills,
sanders, pressure cleaners etc.
Contact Craig 2642935 or Cliff 2717759
if interested. Coastal Hire, Providence.
PRODUCTS FROM AMERICA
We are a US based company and we can supply quality products direct from America to
your destination in a timely manner. Ranging
from Oil Refinery Parts, Power Tools, Electronics, Consumer Items and more.
House and Land for sale
House for sale on a beautiful flat piece of
land (1449sqm) at Souyave Estate Praslin.
Ideal for Staff Accommodation or private
dwelling house in a quiet neighborhood.
Next to the main road and within walking
distance to Cote D’Or beach.
Contact:
Email: info@qpsusa.net
Web: www.qpsusa.net
For more information call
4373532/4373443 or
email mejelect@Seychelles.net
Kia Picanto Model 2012. 3 years old.
Lemon Grass Colour. Low milleague. One
Lady driver. Manual transmission. Full
option. Regularly serviced. Road license
Oct 2016. Tel: 2718329/ 2517449
21 Jan – 19 Feb
There will rarely be a better
time to start moving in a new
direction. Not only is the sun
highlighting your sign but
the approaching new moon
is encouraging you to leave
old ways behind and explore
uncharted territory. You are
blessed with the spirit of adventure.
20 Feb – 20 March
You will have plenty to say for
yourself today and over the
weekend – but make sure
you can back up whatever
claims you make with solid
facts and figures. Your rivals
and enemies will be looking
for ways to catch you out.
Don’t make it easy for them.
23 July – 22 Aug
Feeling the effects of today’s
energies, Leo? Take heart
if this is the case, because
the end of the tunnel isn’t
as far away as it seems. Do
your best to take things
one step at a time and see
about making some plans
for a little fun this evening.
21 March – 20 April
What you wish for in life is
what you ultimately get but
that can be both positive and
negative. If you believe something good will happen it
most likely will, but if you believe something bad will happen that too will occur. Think
only upbeat thoughts today.
24 Sept – 23 Oct
Don’t judge someone if
he or she has a different
lifestyle than what you
consider to be OK, Libra.
You probably lean toward the traditional, yet
not everyone feels this
way about relationships,
working, or lifestyle.
21 April – 21 May
You are losing patience
rather quickly today. You feel
a tremendous strain that is
urging you to do anything
but stay still. Be careful.
The energy of the stars may
cause you to act irrationally
when really, you need to
calm down and be patient.
24 Oct – 22 Nov
Friends seeking advice or
a shoulder to cry on could
be plentiful today, Scorpio.
You’re one of best people to
give them the support and
care they need. Just be sure
that you don’t give so much
to others that you don’t have
anything left for yourself.
22 May – 21 June
The only thing that is holding you back is your reluctance to hurt other people’s
feelings. It’s good that you
should think of them first
but you also need to think
of your own needs and desires. It’s not all about you,
but it mostly is!
23 Nov – 21 Dec
It may be best to get out
and spend some time by
yourself today. You would
both benefit from time to
think and reflect on what
has transpired recently,
and what this means to
you both.
22 June – 22 July
An enhanced feeling of determination could motivate
you today, Cancer. Finish
the things that aren’t complete and make some plans
for this evening. Don’t hesitate to take on something
that feels complicated or big.
22 Dec – 20 Jan
Cosmic activity in the area of
your chart that governs what
you own and what you earn
will bring money matters into
sharper focus over the next
few days and you will become
aware that certain people
have been taking advantage
of you. Cut them adrift.
23 Aug – 23 Sept
Even the most live wire
of Virgos may start to feel
jaded today and the reason
is that you are doing too
much. Cosmic activity in
the well-being area of your
chart means it is time to slow
down. Don’t do more, do less
– but do it 10 times better.
For Sale at Cote D’ Or Praslin Souyave
Estate.
Cosy two bedroom house with garage situated on 1514sqm flat land suitable for hotel
management staff accommodation or
private dwelling house on a private estate.
For further information please contact
Ivy Orr (Mrs.) on 251 24 25.
Down
1. Toadfish
2. Portent
3. Scarce
4. Definite article
5. A salted herring
6. Famous
7. A grandson of Adam
8. What we breathe
9. Fantasy
10. Consequence
11. A member of a wedding party
12. A flat-bottomed boat
13. Velocity
18. A former Portuguese colony
23. Lion sound
24. Genus of holly
25. Plait
26. A style of jazz singing
27. Cloak-like garment
28. Corrections
29. Mix
31. Style of music
33. Initial wager
34. Suppose (archaic)
36. Gambler
37. Terse
39. Sudden impact
40. Ragout
42. Preoccupy
43. Paradise
44. Bobbins
45. Consent
46. System of beliefs
48. Trudge
49. Eat dinner
50. Memo
51. Blue dye
54. Earned run average
55. Drain of strength
Yesterday’s solution
Across
1. Separate by kind or type
5. Done to bread dough
10. Decreases
14. Nursemaid
15. A region of western Asia Minor
16. Lash
17. Autocratic
19. Inferno
20. 1
21. Monkeys
22. Drag the bottom of a river or
lake
24. Frozen
25. Continue
26. A variable quantity (mathematics)
29. Sheep sounds
30. Carving in relief
31. Make dim or indistinct
32. Mouth
35. Highest point
36. Shine
37. Walking stick
38. One more than nine
39. Excursion
40. A series of connected rooms
41. Condemned
43. Not soften
44. Wanders
46. An ancestor to the Briton
47. Excretes
48. Baby carriage
49. Double-helix molecules
52. Sea eagle
53. The “Boob Tube”
56. Permits
57. Wear away
58. Against
59. Dried hemp leaves
60. A radioactive gaseous element
61. Skin an orange
1. A rock which is foliated is: Layered; Sparkly; Holed; or Cracked?
2. A Brazil nut is technically a: Fruit; Seed; Fungus; or Leaf?
Published by TODAY Publishers (Seychelles)
Limited, P.O. Box 999, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
Printed by “The Print House (Pty) Ltd.”, Providence
Industrial Estate,
Mahé, Seychelles.
Tel: +248 4290 999/950/951
Fax: +248 4325999
info@today.sc
3. Heidelbergensis is an early form of: Rose; Cow; Cabbage; or Human?
4. Which corporation has developed and made the World Cup (soccer) footballs since
1966? Adidas; Nike; Mitre; or Dunlop?
5. Brackish refers to water that is: Fresh; Warm; Salty; or Frozen?
6. Which corporation launched the Surface Pro 2 laptop/tablet hybrid in 2013?
Grand Anse, Praslin
Tel: +248 4237 441
Fax: +248 4237 442
7. What creature is the Freddo chocolate bar: Fox; Frog; Fish; or Ferret?
8. What is a filamentous biomaterial in the dermis comprising medulla, cortex, and cuticle?
Editor - Deepa Bhookhun
deepa.bhookhun@today.sc
9. Who is the patron saint of miners, mathematicians, architects and military engineers: Vincent; Christopher; Barbara; or Kylie
10. How many points are on the maple leaf of the Canadian flag?
Quick Quiz Answers: 1. Layered 2. Seed 3. Human 4. Adidas 5. Salty 6. Microsoft 7. Frog
8. Hair 9. Barbara 10. Eleven
Eau Du Cap (Pty) Ltd is looking for
1 Accounts Supervisor.
Responsible for sales, marketing,
credit control, stock limitation,
financial analysis. Candidate must be
willing to work long hours. Salary
negotiable depending on qualifications and experience. Send CV
email: omegacar@seychelles.net or
send to PO Box 1365
How To Play
The objective is to fill the blank squares with the correct numbers
•Every row of 9 must include all digits 1 to 9 in any order
•Every column of 9 must include all digits 1 to 9 in any order
•Every 3 x 3 sub-grid must include all digits 1 to 9 in any order
Fill the other empty cells with numbers between 1 and 9
A number should appear only once on each row, column and 3 x 3 region
Business Development Manager - Veronica Maria
veronica.maria@today.sc
ISSN: 1659-7265
Saturday 6 February, 2016
p15