A Seychelles where Everyone is a Winner: Commissions and Committees

These two words are complicated in nature. They form part of that group of English words with more than a set of double letters, which means that it is quite easy to make a mistake writing them. Making mistakes is unfortunately also the nature of many committees and commissions. It is said that if you do not want something to move quickly, you set up a committee.

I have started this way to address the issue of two such formations that have been announced this week. The Electoral Commissioner has set up an Advisory Committee, and the President has named members of the Media Commission. Both bodies are very important ones in the consolidation of democracy in our country.

The Electoral Commissioner pointed out, rightly, that it was not his responsibility to set up an Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Mr. Michel and his government need to be taken to task here. It was in 2009, declared as the Year of the Constitution that the Review Committee was set up. SNP MNA Bernard Georges worked on a simplified version of the Constitution that was presented to the President, who gave him a long handshake on television. Since then, we have heard nothing of this document.

Subsequently, the final report was presented to President Michel. In it was the recommendation that necessary amendments be made to the Constitution to change the present set up of the Office of the Electoral Commissioner to an IEC.

To the Secretary General of the Commonwealth and the European Union, the President has given the commitment that the necessary Amendments would be sent to the Assembly. Unfortunately, between words and actions of Mr. Michel lies a great precipice. Nothing has been done.

An IEC would be a more effective body with teeth. Even though the Advisory Committee that has been set up should be commended, I still believe that we have to make that important step of setting up an IEC. We have to give more than one person the responsibility of maintaining an important aspect of our democracy.

I have no doubts that the members of the Advisory Committee, most of whom have exhibited fairness and professionalism in their careers and in the supervision of elections, will do a good job. This remains my wish. I hope they start by ensuring that the Voters Register is a credible document and that they forestall the efforts to manipulate it.  At the end of the day, the only demands on such a body are accuracy, fairness, independence and impartiality.

The members of the Media Commission were announced on Thursday. Some names have received very positive reactions because those people have always acted independently and as fairly as possible in their jobs. Unfortunately others have not, and this has put a big question mark on the work of this body.

When known activists from any political party, or people with close ties to politics are placed on sensitive committees, the conclusion is negative. This is the case with the Media Commission. There are too many SPPF activists on there.

I have the big question as to who chose the member named by the National Assembly? The law does not say that the ‘person shall be named by the Speaker.’ When this is the intention, the law says so. There was no consultation with the National Assembly Media Committee, which by the way met earlier this week, and neither was our Chief Whip or myself consulted. The Speaker therefore, must have chosen the Deputy Clerk himself. Most interesting I must say when we know the intricacies of the National Assembly Secretariat!

I have promised the Vice-President that the next time I hear the ruling party mention the word ‘mindset’ I will scream. If there is one place where the mindset needs to be changed, it is right up there at State House and at Maison du Peuple. These are the blocked arteries that are stopping progress on the major problems of our society.

At the May elections, the people of Seychelles will have the choice to set their country on a course of national reconciliation, unity, professionalism, hard work, prosperity, peace and brotherhood. This is my dream for this country. Let us travel down this lane together towards a better future, clearing every obstacle on the way.

A Seychelles where Everyone is a Winner: Accounting for Executive Abuse

On Wednesday this week, President Michel and Vice-President Faure visited La Digue for a political meeting with their party’s activists. That meeting was held at L’Union Estate, and most of those attending were dressed in red, a clear indication of the nature of the gathering. The speeches delivered by the leaders also pointed to the fact that it was a party mobilisation activity.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that except for one reason. Those two leaders went to La Digue each in a coastguard patrol boat, escorted by a third. The activity was held at L’Union Estate which is a government property usually not rented out to the public, but reserved for national activities.

The question therefore is: Who paid for an activity organised by Parti Lepep? How much did it cost to bring those leaders across? How much of your money and went into one presidential candidate’s campaign?

The same question can be asked of President Michel abusing other state resources such as the SBC to promote himself. Who, or which authority in the country has the mandate to take our leaders to task when such obvious abuses are done?

I believe this is a question that we need to address as a nation in order to ensure that state resources do not become the realm of one man or one party. State resources, as the term implies, have to be used for the benefit of the whole nation and never to promote an individual or a political organisation.

When I visit Praslin or La Digue, I do not have access to state transport to take me there. If it is to be made available to one candidate, it follows that all should receive the same. The important point however is to make the distinction between what can be considered an activity in line with Mr. Michel’s role as President as compared to when he is carrying out a purely party political activity. These two have to be differentiated and dealt with accordingly.

The main reason why I object to mixing the two is simply that when state resources are abused in such ways, it is a form of corruption. The definition covers any activity where money is not used properly, but rather for someone’s advantage. We have all been encouraged to stand firm against that evil. In fact the message on the Ethics Commission’s desk calendar for January calls on everyone to add his voice against corruption. Yet those who are supposed to lead the way give us examples that point the other way.

The trip to La Digue must have easily cost the tax-payer over R50,000. Yet the same government, through a new set of Public Service Orders, has just outlined abuses that will not be tolerated. The wasting of state resources is considered a grave offence. Are these leaders really serious?

Let us take for example a simple worker who can be taken to task for making a couple of private calls during working hours. Is it fair to punish that simple worker when his ultimate bosses are abusing in the thousands of rupees in just one trip? Surely there is something that is wrong somewhere. This reminds me of a popular saying here in Seychelles used to describe corruption. ‘If you steal millions and you are a boss, you get promoted; if you steal peanuts and you are an ordinary worker, you go to jail!’

Our country needs to build up the necessary mechanisms that will ensure that even when someone is the President, he still has to respect rules and regulations. There needs to be an independent body to which such blatant abuses can be reported and corrected. The National Assembly should play that role, but unfortunately, under the present system, this is out of the question. The other body that can now exercise such oversight is the Ethics Commission. The question is: Will it do so?

During the coming months we will see more of such abuses. It is sad that when the present government talks of a change of ‘mindset’, they fail to realise that the biggest change that needs to happen is right up there at State House. Start with the head itself, and you will see the marvels that happen with the body.

Our country has limited resources and our people need to be able to enjoy these meagre resources to improve their standard of living.  I hope President Michel will respect the office he holds under the Constitution and will refrain from abusing state resources during this campaign.

A Seychelles where Everyone is a Winner: A Defining Moment

A Seychelles where Everyone is a Winner!

The presidential election in May this year will mark another milestone in the history of Seychelles. In many ways, it will be a victory for the fight we have led for a very long time. Our democracy has come of age. Although not perfect, at 20 years of age, it has reached maturity.

Among the first time voters will be those born after the return to multi-party politics in 1992. The circle will have finally closed. From this year’s presidential election, every year a new batch of 18 year-olds who have not lived a single day under the one-party dictatorship will be eligible to participate in choosing the country’s leaders.

This brings a sense of encouragement and anticipation to those of us who endured the oppression of the dictatorship. Those young voters need to know that it was not an easy fight. In fact, it is still ongoing and everyday we are overcoming fresh hurdles that are placed by the powers that be. But in the worst period, many people lost their lives, were imprisoned, tortured and exiled in the struggle for democracy. We have come a long way, and I believe the people of Seychelles are ready for another leap towards a better future.

After all these years, our people are looking forward to this democratic process with greater maturity. I know for sure that the tricks of past elections will fail this time round. Why? The voter no longer looks at himself/herself as an object with a price, but rather as a dignified citizen with the right to choose. The politician who believes he can buy a vote with a fridge, a cooker, some corrugated iron sheets or an empty promise should rethink his strategy.

I am encouraged because over the years our people have understood the meaning of empty promises, insults and serious propositions. At the last presidential election in 2006, the SNP talked about the reforms our country needed to undergo to eliminate the black market, revive our economy, and strengthen national development. Our opponents laughed at us, and instead got our people to believe that everything was just fine. They won. We lost.

But what happened then? Less than two years later, they starting talking about the IMF, a reform programme, a convertible currency, and so on. Our whole programme was suddenly hijacked and adopted as theirs. The only difference was that they had allowed the country to sink too low, and therefore, instead of being able to negotiate from a position of some strength, they could only give in to all the proposed measures that meant hardship for workers, poverty to the general population, and a bleak future to our youth.

The people know what happened. They have seen both sides of the coin. When the SNP speaks now, they know that we are not pulling a story from Enid Blyton or from another fairy-tale book. The people know that the SNP addresses real issues and that we are concerned about our country and its people.

Indeed we have to think of our country and its future. An election will give the people the choice. In peace, we will all be given a ballot paper. Each one of us will have to decide. At the end of the day when every vote is counted, the result will be the will of the people.

The SNP stands for all these noble principles. We believe in our people. We agree that our people deserve the best future. We believe that the prosperity of our land must be shared fairly. In short, with the SNP, every Seychellois wins.

May 2011 be a turning point in our history.