The National Assembly turned 15 years this week. As part of its celebrations the National Assembly held a two-day workshop in collaboration with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) last week at the Seychelles Trading Company conference room in the Latanier Building. The theme of the meeting was National Capacity Building for the National Assembly, which is with all due respect laughable after 15 years. What do you think? The topics discussed were: separation of powers; freedom of speech and the right to reply; keeping order and fostering decorum; and standards and ethics for parliamentarians, what a waste of valuable time and money. They should have instead made to spend two days observing children at the Mont Fleuri Primary School to learn camaraderie, which involves respect, mutual trust and friendship. After 15 years the members of the National Assembly, some have been there for that length of time, have still a lot to learn about their true purpose. When-ever there is an election the electorate gets to choose between two or three or more individuals a person to represent their respective district in the National Assembly. When elected this person, be it from SPPF, SNP, DP or an independent individual, he or she must go into the National Assembly to represent all the people in his or her district.
However, this simple and straight forward situation has failed to materialize in fifteen years. What do we now see? Everyone is pulling in different directions – the interest of the people who voted for them has been set aside replaced by self-interest and personal gains with a never ending partisan mentality from both sides of the house. Red Shirts and green bangles is the order of the day –SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!. The house is called the National Assembly – not the SPPF Assembly or the SNP Assembly – and there is a very good reason for that – the entire population is supposed to be represented by the 34 representatives in the National Assembly. President Michel dissolved the legislature and called for early elections in 2007 ending their mandate by twelve months. He did so, he said, because he wanted a National Assembly that will be serious, “un lasamble serye”, he said, when pronouncing the dissolution. Now did President got what he bargained for? Not at all, he got a bunch of unruly, disorientated individuals on a quest of their own in total disregard to the interest of those who voted for them in the first place.
Last year they all voted for the 2008 budget, which made provision for big increases to their own salaries, increases of SR5, 000 and SR9, 000, gratuity at the end of each year and fat bonuses at the end of their mandates (after five years) and to top it all up, pension for life no matter what age they decide to retire at, while we all have to wait until retirement age to collect our measly pension – all this whilst the man on the street only received Sr100 to Sr500 increment on their salary. And with the ever increasing costs of living all of the few hundred rupees awarded in the 2008 budget have been swallowed.
In conclusion the people of Seychelles consider this National Assembly to be the biggest and most expensive farce ever. President Michel should keep dissolving and call for early elections until such time they realize that they are there to fight in making the life of the citizens better before their own.