Category: General

In March this year, the Anglican Diocese of Seychelles celebrated its Golden Jubilee. The diocese was established on March 25, 1973. Prior to that, since the introduction of missionaries of the church in Seychelles in 1813, Seychelles – 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean – belonged to the Diocese of Mauritius.

In a series of Buzz topics, the SNA will bring you interesting facts about the Anglican Diocese of Seychelles.

Our first in this series features are 7 milestones in the life of Anglican Archbishop Emeritus French Chang Him, who was born on May 10, 1938, to a father of Chinese origin — Francis Chang Him – and a Seychellois mother – Amelia Zoe.

Now at the age of 85, Archbishop Chang Him is still active with his pastoral duties and currently serves at the St John Chapel of Glacis in the north of the main island of Mahe.

1.Ordination into priesthood

French Chang-Him was ordained to the priesthood in June 1963. This was after his theological studies at Lichfield Theological College in the United Kingdom. Over the years, he pursued other studies which included Post Ordination Studies at the St Augustine’s College in Canterbury, England, and at the Trinity College at the Toronto University of Canada.

Father French-Chang Him (personal archive) All Rights Reserved

2. 2023 – 60 years of service in the Anglican Diocese of Seychelles

This year marks the 60th anniversary since French Chang-Him gave his life to the service of the Anglican Church and community of Seychelles and the Indian Ocean. Over the years, he served in parishes all over the main islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue as well as for the Anglican community on Cousine and for the leper settlement on Curieuse Island.

Archbishop French Chang-Him addressing families and friends gathered to honour the late Davidson Chang-Him on June 5, 2013. (Le Seychellois/Facebook) Photo License: CC-BY

3. Survivor in a sinking ship incident

August 12, 1975, is a day that marked French Chang-Him. This was the sinking of the Ero, a wooden passenger schooner that capsized and sank, with 22 passengers, between Mahe and Praslin. Chang-Him was one of the passengers and, at the time, the young priest was left stranded at sea, threatened by sharks but recounted how he was protected by the dolphins, until he was rescued.

Painting of the Ero ship sinking – (Seychelles Weekly) Photo License: CC-BY

4. First Seychellois Anglican Bishop and Archbishop of the Anglican Province and Diocese

French Chang-Him served as the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Seychelles from 1979 until his retirement in 2004. He was consecrated by Bishop George Briggs, his predecessor, and Bishop Trevor Huddlestone, a leading anti-apartheid campaigner from South Africa, assisted by three other bishops from Madagascar.

The consecration ceremony in 1979 (personal archive). All Rights Reserved

In 1984, he appointed as of Archbishop of the Indian Ocean Province. Archbishop Chang Him was conferred the title of Archbishop Emeritus by the Indian Ocean Province of the Anglican Church in 2014.

Archbishop French Chang-Him, the first Seychellois archbishop (Anglican Diocese of Seychelles) Photo License: CC-BY

5. OBE from her Queen Elizabeth II

In December 2014, Archbishop Chang-Him was designated an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. This was for his services to reconciliation, human rights, charity, and democratic values, and also for his invaluable service to British nationals in Seychelles, past and present.

Archbishop French Chang-Him (right) receiving the insignia of the OBE from British High Commissioner Lindsay Skoll as his daughter Frances and grand-daughter Shannon look. December 2014. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

6.French Chang Him Road

One year after taking office as the new head of state, President Wavel Ramkalawan announced that 15 streets in the island nation’s capital city of Victoria with names related to the island nation’s June 5, 1977 coup d’état would be renamed.

Thus, Liberation Road – leading from Mont Fleuri to Bel Eau and Bel Air was renamed to become the French Chang Him Road.

Liberation Road was renamed French Chang-Him Road (Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

7.Archbishop French – marking the history of an island nation

Archbishop French, born from humble beginnings, has left his mark on the history of Seychelles. The octogenarian is the first Seychellois Anglican priest, celebrating 60 years of service on June 9, 2023. He became the first Bishop, Archbishop, and Archbishop Emeritus of the Indian Ocean Province of the Anglican Church.

The award of the OBE to Archbishop French was the first award of an order of chivalry in the British and Commonwealth honours systems given to a Seychellois citizen in 35 years.

Archbishop Chang-Him was the first Seychellois in almost 35 years to be designated an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II (Seychelles News Agency).

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Seychelles signed the Alliance Agreement between Tuna Cities for Sustainable Human Development at the Bermeo Tuna World Capital Cities Forum, which was held in Bilbao and Bermeo, Spain, on May 3.

The forum is a global alliance between tuna cities committed to sustainable human development, according to a press statement from the acting Mayor of Victoria.

Mayor Lydia Charlie signed the agreement on behalf of Seychelles’ capital Victoria. She was accompanied by Philip Michaud, the acting chief executive officer of the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA).

Acting Mayor Lydia Charlie and acting SFA CEO Philippe Michaud (Office of the Mayor of Victoria) All Rights Reserved

The twinned cities in the agreement are Manta (Ecuador), Victoria (Seychelles), Pago Pago (American Samoa), Concarneau (France), General Santos (Philippines), Bermeo (Bizkaia, Spain) and Majuro (Marshall Islands).

The forum saw the participation of fishing-related institutions, scientific bodies, specialised UN agencies, and companies in the fisheries sector, among others.

The signed agreement “establishes a framework for cooperation between cities where tuna fishing represents a substantial part of their economy, their society, their environment, their history, their culture and their future,” according to the statement.

They are expected to use tools to avoid, prevent, mitigate and repair the environmental and social impact of this economic activity within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

“Port Victoria is a top port for the transfer of tuna in the Indian Ocean. The Seychelles lies right in the middle of the tuna migration route in the western Indian Ocean. This is a stretch of ocean over three times the size of California, which yields the biggest tuna catch in the Indian Ocean,” the mayor’s office noted.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Bermeo, Aritz Abaroa, stated that “Signing this declaration is a major step towards a collaboration framework between local governments to guarantee the sustainability of this resource… We are worthy of being called Tuna World Capitals. We are aware that there are many cities with close ties to tuna, but by setting up and launching this Alliance, seven of them have already joined us.”

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Ghanaian musician Epixode has thanked music fans for their incredible support and expressed excitement after winning the Best Reggae/Dancehall Song at this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA).

Epixode, after being crowned 2021 Reggae and Dancehall Artiste of the Year, picked up his second award at the VGMAs after his ground-breaking ‘Atia’ single won the Best Reggae/Dancehall Song.

In an interview with GNA Entertainment, Epixode revealed that last year was a tough year for him but added that he was elated to pick up another award on Ghana’s biggest music awards night.

‘It has been a topsy-turvy journey. Last year was a tough one, but we went through, and we are here. The sweat has turned into smiles, and I want to thank every fan who voted for me and supported me in any way.

‘I urge them to keep supporting the brand Epixode, and I thank them for believing in me. My new single ‘Obra’ is out, and we are stepping up on promotions, and hopefully we succeed in projecting the Highlife genre further,’ he said.

Epixode at last Saturday’s VGMAs was one of the top performers on the night, having delivered a stunning performance with audiences admiring his stagecraft.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A-24-year-old painter, Simon Asare has appeared before a Techiman Circuit Court for engaging and trading in unapproved herbal medicine of the 21st Clinic, a private health facility.

Asare posed as a staff of the clinic which specialises in sciatica, and falsified the company’s brand produce and sold unapproved herbal medicines to the unsuspecting public.

He pleaded guilty to producing unregistered drugs and using the brand of a registered company to produce unapproved herbal medicine, and the court presided by Mr Samuel Djanie Kotey imposed a fine of GHC2,400 on him, or in default serve six months in prison.

According to the prosecution, the convict was arrested in Techiman last Sunday, May 7, 2023, in possession of about 30 smaller bottles of herbal drugs labelled ’21st clinic herbal’.

The Prosecution said he has been posing as a staff of the Techiman branch of the clinic, producing and selling the unapproved herbal medicine in the name of the clinic, but luck eluded him when he was arrested upon a tip-off.

The convict, however, threw the courtroom into laughter when he pleaded for clemency, saying ‘My lord, I am very sorry, and I did not know this can land me into trouble. Please temper justice with mercy and I promise this will not happen again’. The court also asked the convict to sign a bond of good behaviour for 12 months.

Source: Ghana News Agency

National Assembly will hold the final global vote in favour of the Draft General Labour Law on May 25.

The information was confirmed Thursday by the first secretary of the Board of the National Assembly, Manuel Lopes Dembo.

The MP said so to the press at the end of the conference of the leaders of the Parliamentary groups, which set the agenda of the 7th Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of the legislative body.

The Draft Law, of the Executive initiative, reintroduces, among others, the employment contract for unlimited period as a rule and the only form of building the legal and labour relations.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

In 2022, the highest number of alleged human rights violations registered by the Seychelles Human Rights Commission (SHRC) against one entity were against the Seychelles Police Force, the commission’s annual report shows.

A total of 10 registered complaints were logged to the commission against the police. Of the total of 117 lodged enquiries last year, 18 contained complaints of possible human rights violations and were registered to be investigated.

The commission recorded an increase of 50 percent in the total enquiries registered compared to 2021. The largest number of enquiries were related to the right to work, followed by right to property, right to liberty and right to a fair and public hearing.

The SHRC presented the 2022 annual report to President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House on Tuesday.

When addressing the press after close to two hours of talks with the President, the SHRC chairperson, Justice Bernardin Renaud, said that “In Seychelles, there is more interaction between the police and the public, followed by immigration and prison. As such the ministry with the most public interaction is that of internal affairs. We have started a conversation and developed a way of working with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and we are now collaborating to overcome such situations so that they are not repeated,” said Renaud.

“We are getting people who are saying that the police has dealt with them in a wrong manner, a case where individuals have been sent back to their country upon arriving in Seychelles seeking for refugee status, there are prisoners who are looking for their right to be pardoned, and talking about the state of the prison,” continued Renaud.

He outlined that the commission took it upon itself last year to visit police stations across the country to see firsthand the state in which people are held in custody.

“Any place that holds a person against their will should be at a level that is humane and respectable. We visited different police stations in the country, and we don’t want to be seen as targeting police stations. We are just saying that these police stations of the 1900s are not what we need today in 2023. The person being held needs to have water and air, and the place needs to be clean. Hygiene in such places is of great importance,” said Renaud.

Touching on the 117 enquiries brought before the commissioners in 2022, he outlined that “some people came to us after looking for recourse from other institutions with no avail.”

“We analysed these and gave guidance and information. Out of the 117, we retained around 10 cases and took them up with the government so that we could resolve the situations,” said Renaud.

Speaking about the priorities of the SHRC for the coming years, he outlined that a programme called the “Mechanics of the Constitution” has been developed, which will allow the press, media, departments, schools, and other institutions to approach the Constitution in another way and become more aware of their rights.

Source: Seychelles News Agency