Investment: Waterfall saga in Port Gloud

This comes after four years of legal battles to regain control of the country. This time, it is about a Seychellois family's project that is more of a tourist attraction. The tranquil place, where the calm is tempered by the soothing sounds of the waterfall, is now home to incomplete infrastructures that mar its landscape. This is the case after the previous investor abandoned the project in 2014. He fled the country and left with a lengthy court case without the presence of the defendant (ex parte).

There was no formal tender for the project as it was the investor who approached the church and showed interest in the place.

Little was revealed about the completion of this project, but TODAY spoke to the former project manager of the mission, Gerard Pragassen. The actual project leader of the mission, Mr Serge Lowhon, was very reluctant to talk to us about it.

In the past, the Port Glaud waterfall was managed by a Seychellois living nearby. In agreement with the church, he was supposed to maintain the path and remit the entrance fees paid by the tourist.
When the Mission Limited Company approached the Catholic Church to develop the area into a more commercially viable venture, the project was accepted under certain conditions, all of which were agreed before the notaries. According to Mr Pragassen, the investor has agreed to maintain the road, build a restaurant as well as some offices

"The Catholic Church agreed, but under certain conditions. One was that they had to pay a rental fee of R5000 every month. The other was that they had to give the church a certain percentage of their profits when the business started operating," Pragassen explained.

The company was run by Mr Igor Liktovich as managing director. Shortly after the construction work started, the church received complaints from his Russian colleagues, alleged shareholders of the company.

"These people complained that he took their money and did not follow up on the development. It started well but in the end he did not pay his rental fees including a conditionally increased rental fee after two years," he explained further.

In 2014, the church decided to take the case to court. Igor fled the country, although he was represented by lawyer Pesi Padiwalla in the early stages of the trial.