This year we have seen the launching of yet another National Strategic Plan to address the drug trafficking problem in Seychelles. But after that it was almost quiet with not much was said or done on the subject apart from the police reporting of arrests occasionally.
Now once again, the issue comes up and this time the National Drug Enforcement Agency has been legally established several months after its formation - several amendments to existing laws are being made as part of the fight against traffickers.
Like we have said in previous articles, it is not enough having laws and policies if they are not properly implemented for the benefit of all in society. A Drug Enforcement Agency will only be effective if the members are people who are trustworthy and are willing to work for the betterment of our society and are not looking to turn their operations into a lucrative little venture. It will take only one dishonest individual to undermine whatever good work they may try to do.
The whole issue of trust has been a sore point for many years in our country. Most of the time the people mandated to provide the solution are themselves the problems. Honest Seychellois simply do not know whether people in whatever authority can be trusted and nobody is willing to put their neck on the line. Seychelles is a small country and it will be difficult to maintain confidentiality about informants’ identity.
So far the Police have not been successful in inspiring public trust and confidentiality. Even high placed officers have been known to reveal information about informants - confidential information has found ways of reaching traffickers. How the new Agency will overcome this impediment remains to be seen. And worst still, the government have legislated the anonymity of those operating within the NDEA – providing them with the utmost protection and giving them a “carte blanche” to operate as they please. Surprisingly it is now an offence to publish the names of NDEA members, even if they are operating outside the ambit of the law.
Nevertheless many Seychellois families do want the NDEA to succeed and the whole problem of drug trafficking to be reduced if not stopped. Stopping one big trafficker will be a step in the right direction and prove at least that we are serious in what we preach. Targeting innocent people for political or other reasons will only serve to discredit the NDEA further.