End of an era: After 10 years of operation, Seychelles News Agency to go offline on Jan. 1, 2025

The closed doors of the Seychelles News Agency head office at Unity House in the capital Victoria (Seychelles News Agency)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Following the decision of the Seychellois government and the National Information Services Agency (NISA), as of December 19, 2024, the Seychelles News Agency (SNA) will cease its daily journalistic operations. 

The website www.seychellesnewsagency.com will no longer function as of January 1, 2025. 

On October 4, the Vice President’s office issued a press release saying that the government had taken a decision to merge the activities of the SNA into the NISA that publishes the Seychelles Nation newspaper, which has an online subscription service and a printed paper, while SNA had free news access online. 

“This follows government’s vision of streamlining all its activities and taking into account the fast pace at which modern media is now evolving,” said Vice President Ahmed Afif. 

The statement explained that SNA and NISA had been briefed over this decision and “will work out the manner for the integration to happen by December 2024.” 

However, following discussions, the board of NISA took the decision not to continue the operations of SNA, as the government had decided not to provide funding for its eight existing staff. 

In late November, two job offers were made to SNA staff to work for the Seychelles Nation newspaper, which have not been taken up by any former SNA journalists and editors, who feel deeply aggrieved by the sudden turn of events. 

To date, it has not been made clear publicly as to why the decision was made to discontinue the funding of the state’s news agency and close it. 

Meanwhile, the Association of Media Practitioners of Seychelles (AMPS) expressed its concern about the closing down of the agency in a press release in November, adding “that closing down SNA is shrinking the already small media landscape of Seychelles.” 

All other Seychelles print and online news media are available only by paid subscription, therefore, the closure of SNA signals the end of free access to information online in English and French. 

The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation remains the only other free online source of information in Seychellois Creole, English and French TV news on its YouTube channel and social media.

Since its launch in April 2014 in the Department of Information, the Seychelles News Agency has played a crucial role in covering and disseminating local and international news, informing both the local public and international audiences, being cited by major international broadcasters, news agencies and newspapers worldwide. It was the first online news agency of the small island state.