RECENTLY, ‘REGAR’ announced in an article that the Mahé Beach Hotel has once again changed ownership – with the new owner being SAGAR Hotels and Resorts of the United Arab Emirates. The question arises as to whether the SAGAR Group has obtained a clear legal title to that property because we understand that a few weeks ago, an eminent Religious Leader arrived in Seychelles claiming that he has been vested with the all rights in that Hotel in order for him to develop an educational campus in Nazareth where Jews, Christians and Muslims learns side by side with the object of promoting peace and reconciliation.

We understand that the claim of this high profile Middle-East Religious Leader is currently under consideration by the Government of Seychelles.

The Mahé Beach Hotel development was conceived in London before Seychelles became an independent Nation when Mr James R. Mancham, then Prime Minister, met with Mr John Houlders – the Chief Executive of Houlder Brothers Ltd – a leading ship company in U.K. and invited him to invest in Seychelles. Built by Laxmanbhai & Co. (Pty) Ltd, the Mahé Beach Hotel was inaugurated by Prime Minister Mancham in 1975.

In fact, the Hotel hosted the gala evening reception on the first night that Seychelles became a sovereign Nation in June 1976. Come the coup of June 1977, the Government lost no time to compulsorily acquire this pro-perty. At one time, it was owned and managed by COSPROH. At another time, it had fallen within the manage-ment of the Sheraton Group of Com-panies. Another time, the Hotel was supposed to have been bought by the Swiss Group African Safaris Ltd. Over recent years, Berjaya Group bought and managed it before SAGAR Group allegedly bought it. The saga of the Mahé Beach is as puzzling as what went on during the Second Republic!