Seychelles Archives - The African Mirror Test

Jul

22

2022

Archipelagic island nation gives birth to Africa’s first “decacorn”

BUSINESS

AS venture funding begins to slow down in markets outside Africa, a startup in the tiny Indian Ocean island nation, Seychelles raised millions of dollars from foreign investors - pushing its valuation to 10 billion US dollars and delivering Africa’s first ‘decacorn.’ Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin is now the most valuable startup on the continent- with its current valuation exceeding the combined values of Chipper Cash and Opay (with valuations of over 2 billion US dollars each), Wave (1.7 billion US dollars), Andela (1.5 billion US dollars) and Flutterwave (1 billion US dollars). While Seychelles does not feature in the…

Jan

30

2022

By The African Mirror

These are Africa’s governance stars

NEWS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY THREE African countries have defied a turbulent year to top the continent in public sector governance ratings as five more record significant gains on leadership transparency over the last decade. Transparency International in its 2021 Corruption Perceptions index, ranks Seychelles the best performer in Africa with 70 points followed by Cape Verde (58) and Botswana (55) in second and third positions respectively. The three countries managed to keep corruption at bay, despite the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts and terror threats that the report said are some key reasons for poor governance in Africa…

May

23

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID is surging in the world’s most vaccinated country. Why?

COVID-19

THE small archipelago nation of Seychelles, northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, has emerged as the world’s most vaccinated country for COVID-19. C RAINA MACINTYRE, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Around 71% of people have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 62% have been fully vaccinated. Of these, 57% have received the Sinopharm vaccine, and 43% AstraZeneca. Despite this, there has been a recent surge in cases, with 37% of new active cases and 20% of hospital cases being fully vaccinated. The country has had to…

May

12

2021

By The African Mirror

WHO reviewing Seychelles COVID-19 data after fully vaccinated people test positive

COVID-19

THE World Health Organization has announced that it was reviewing coronavirus data from Seychelles after the health ministry said more than a third of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week had been fully vaccinated. Both the ministry and the WHO stressed that the majority of those who tested positive had not been vaccinated or had only received one dose, that no one who had died had been fully vaccinated and that nearly all of those needing treatment for severe or critical cases were unvaccinated. But the WHO said it was closely following the situation in the…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Seychelles may fail to pay wages

COVID-19

SEYCHELLES is struggling to raise funds to pay public workers and the government plans to raise $212 million to plug its budget deficit, the finance minister has said. Seychelles' economy is heavily dependent on tourism and the sector was hit hard in 2020 by COVID-19 that led to travel restrictions worldwide to contain the virus's spread. Finance Minister Naadir Hassan was quoted as saying on the Seychelles News Agency that the government's financial situation was dire. "Since the start of the year the amount of money in the government's coffer, from which it makes all of its expenses, has been…

Jan

11

2021

By The African Mirror

1st African country to roll out vaccine

COVID-19

SEYCHELLES has started vaccinating its population against COVID-19 with doses from China's Sinopharm vaccine, President Wavel Ramkalawan said. Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan Ramkalawan's office said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday that the initial target was for the vaccine to reach 25,000 people and first priority was for healthcare workers. The statement said the Indian Ocean archipelago had received 50,000 doses of the vaccine as a donation from the United Arab Emirates. Ramkalawan's office said he and former president Danny Faure and other senior government officials were vaccinated as part of efforts to bolster confidence among the population…

Oct

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Seychelles opposition wins presidency for first time in 43 years

NEWS

SEYCHELLES elected an opposition candidate as president for the first time since 1977, authorities announced and winner Wavel Ramkalawan reaffirmed a pledge to hike the minimum wage after COVID-19 stifled the tourism-dependent economy. Seychelles State House said in a statement on its website that Ramkalawan and his vice-president Ahmed Afif would be inaugurated on Monday. HE Danny Faure, President, Republic of Seychelles. Picture: Chatham House/Flickr Ramkalawan, a former Anglican priest, defeated President Danny Faure after three decades of unsuccessful runs for the presidency of the East African nation, an Indian Ocean archipelago famed for its natural beauty and rare wildlife.…

Oct

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Voting begins in Seychelles parliamentary and presidential polls

NEWS

VOTING has began in presidential and parliamentary elections in Seychelles, with the economy battered by COVID-19 and President Danny Faure, in power since 2016, facing voters for the first time. The Indian Ocean archipelago nation is expected to see its tourism-dependent economy contract by 14% this year, according to ratings agency Fitch, reversing some fragile progress since the government defaulted on its debt in 2008 and sought an International Monetary Fund bailout. The same party has been in power since 1977. Faure was previously vice president and became president when his predecessor resigned after a constitutional amendment was passed limiting…