President Patrick Herminie on Thursday held his first live press conference since taking office.
The nearly two-hour event was broadcast live on national and private media platforms. Journalists from several media houses were invited to ask questions on issues affecting the country.
One topic raised during the press conference was the media landscape in Seychelles.
President Herminie said the media environment was generally good. However, he criticised the state-funded broadcaster, the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC).
“I believe that SBC as a broadcasting entity needs to be able to represent divergent opinions,” President Herminie said. “Because it’s clear in that institution, there are individuals who are pushing forward their personal and political agenda. And this is not doing any good to this country.”
The president also said he had recently raised concerns with the minister responsible for SBC regarding the conduct of some journalists.
“There are journalists recently I made a complaint to its minister ridiculing a president when a president is making a statement on an issue. It’s these ill-mannered things that we are still seeing happening,” he said.
SBC falls under the portfolio of Vice-President Sebastien Pillay.
Recently, the government announced proposed amendments to the SBC Act. However, SBC chief executive Berard Dupres said there had been no consultation with the corporation’s board or management team regarding the proposed reforms.
In a statement to SBC, Vice-President Pillay said extensive consultation could sometimes lead to what he described as “paralysis by analysis”. He added that debate on the proposed bill should be limited to the National Assembly.