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Tavarisch_Mike
28th February 2012, 18:39
Lets talk about the Seychelles that have been ruled by the socialist party peoples progressive front, since the coup in 1977 (just one year after theire independence). Then a one party state was established and they adapted a centraly planned economy. in the 90s, when the USSR collapsed, they all of a sudden opened up for a multi party system.

Since you never hear anything from the Seychelles in media, could that mean that they have reached socialism without telling the rest of us?! Oo




Tourism, agriculture and fishing, and industry are the 3 main sectors of the Seychelles economy. The current structure of the country's economy was formed during the 1970s and 1980s and underwent drastic changes in the 1990s. Despite government efforts to encourage agricultural and industrial development, tourism remains the

dominant sector in the country's economy. It provides most of the country's revenue and employment, and it maintains a positive image of the archipelago as an exotic and desirable destination.
France acquired the uninhabited islands in 1756 and populated them with French settlers and slaves from the African continent. In 1814, after the Napoleonic wars in Europe, Great Britain established its control over the Seychelles, administering them from Mauritius. The islands were important to British trade routes, due to their strategic location halfway between the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) and the Indian subcontinent. This strategic importance diminished somewhat after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. In 1903 the Seychelles became a Crown Colony, but its extremely limited resources and remote location isolated the country from the major events of the 20th century.

Since the 1970s, 2 factors have impacted the economic and social life of the Seychelles: mass-market international tourism—an international airport opened in 1971—and independence in 1976, which ushered in a period of centralized planning. A government led by France Albert Rene introduced state control over major sectors of the economy, and the first centralized 5-year plan was introduced in 1985, modeled after the socialist economies of Eastern Europe. This plan created around 30 parastatals (state-controlled enterprises) covering all sectors of economic activities. With the demise of the Soviet Union and of state socialism in the early 1990s, the Seychelles government initiated elements of a free-market economy under the guidance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Most state enterprises, with the exception of public utilities and transport, were privatized , and the government attempted to increase foreign investments by developing the country as an international "offshore" financial-services center. The economic development program in the 1980s and 1990s increasingly relied on external borrowing, although the country managed to reduce its total external debt from US$474 million in 1979 to US$166 million in 1989. In 1999 the external public debt was estimated by the IMF at US$188.5 million (31 percent of the GDP), compared with US$153 million (26 percent of the GDP) in 1997. These figures are very high for a small country of 79,000 people, leading to fiscal and external imbalances and to the growing burden of external debt servicing.



Read more: Seychelles Overview of economy, Information about Overview of economy in Seychelles http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/Seychelles-OVERVIEW-OF-ECONOMY.html#ixzz1nherJbJW

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/Seychelles-OVERVIEW-OF-ECONOMY.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seychelles





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Prometeo liberado
28th February 2012, 21:14
I was just looking into them the other and had a lot of questions. Can't wait to see the responses. Good topic. My biggest concern is that with IMF and World Bank loans and financial guidence, capital flight rears its ugly head.

Tim Cornelis
28th February 2012, 21:35
"could that mean that they have reached socialism without telling the rest of us?!"

How could they be socialist if they don't even have a state-controlled economy anymore? Or are you talking past tense?

Grenzer
28th February 2012, 22:32
Seems like an interesting place, but state ownership of the means of production does not, has not, and never will constitute socialism on its own. While still on this subject, neither does a planned economy.

During the latter half of the twentieth century, many new regimes formed describing themselves as Marxist-Leninist; and many others as "African Socialist"(a self described third way ideology) To the best of my knowledge, no regimes of either type exist in Africa today. It's also important to keep in mind that many parties with the name of "Socialist" began as social-democratic parties, and from there most have veered even further to the right; so the label alone does not tell us much. The article was interesting though, so thanks for that.

While on the subject of Africa, I'm surprised there are no fans of Thomas Sankara on this board. I don't agree with his politics, but you do have to respect how he had the guts to go up against the IMF.

Ostrinski
28th February 2012, 22:50
A lot of people respect Sankara on here, he's just not talked about a lot.

Susurrus
28th February 2012, 22:54
It'd be pretty clever to just secretly establish socialism and prepare for the rest of the world to be ready.

Tavarisch_Mike
29th February 2012, 01:19
"could that mean that they have reached socialism without telling the rest of us?!"

How could they be socialist if they don't even have a state-controlled economy anymore? Or are you talking past tense?


Ey, it was kind of joke...