He was speaking after paying a visit to several Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation sites, accompanied by SBC chairman Denis Rose.

While the building housing the television station at Hermitage was not specifically designed for that purpose, it can cope in the medium term, he said, but the radio station at Union Vale is in a difficult situation and all avenues have to be explored to relocate it.

He described the radio station as being in very poor condition and said it is important that the government seeks funding for new equipment.

Mr Michel said he has taken steps to plan infrastructure that will house the SBC’s radio and television stations, and possibly other media as well, but it will be a long-term project.

He congratulated the new managing director of the SBC, Antoine Onezime, for his initiatives, which he said are motivating the staff to be more productive, happy to be part of the corporation and prepared to work to take it to new heights.

The President expressed great appreciation for their hard work and devotion even though they are working under difficult and challenging conditions.

“I have been impressed by the great interest in developing the SBC and I am very interested by the concept of SBC Learning, a new programme that gives an opportunity to young Seychellois to be trained as journalists and producers, and to old staff members the chance to be retrained and improve their performance,” he said.

During the visits, staff members of both radio and television spoke to Mr Michel about their need for more modern equipment and for new recruits to cope with the growing demand for local programmes and news coverage.

Mr Michel took the chance to talk live on the AM radio programme Seychelles Matin, where he said he had come to see for himself the work being done.

During the brief time he was on air, he congratulated the radio team for their hard and exemplary work and said very often people are not aware of the effort that goes on behind the scenes before listeners and viewers can enjoy their favourite programmes.

He hoped his visit will encourage the hardworking team and serve to recognise their efforts.
Mr Michel also had a chance to listen to one of his favourite songs by Patrick Victor, Premye Sesel Touzour Sesel.

At the radio station Mr Michel met old workers with whom he worked from 1977 onwards as Minister for Information.

He said he used to come down every evening from his office at Mont Fleuri to a small office in the prefabricated building behind the radio studios at Union Vale, where he helped to write and correct articles and news items.

Earlier yesterday, Mr Michel started his visit at the St Louis Hill External Station, which houses the SBC transmitters for radio and television.

There, guided by Mr Onezime and engineer Jean-Paul Gamatis, he was briefed on the operations of the station, its facilities, what it needs in terms of more modern equipment and the challenges it faces, which include replacing equipment damaged by lightning.

President Michel’s visit to the various SBC sites and studios are highlighted in our selection of accompanying photos.