May 26, 2006

RALPH VOLCERE’S WEEK

THIS GOVERNMENT IS LOSING THE WAR ON DRUGS!

A week long seminar organized by the Department of Police with the collaboration of the British High Commission in Seychelles came to a close last Friday. Chief Inspector Adrian Tudway from the United Kingdom conducted the seminar which was intended to boost the local fight against drugs.

The seminar saw the participation of police officers along with officers from Adams, the Anti-Drugs and Marine Squad, Care and other agencies involved in the fight against drug and substance abuse in the country.

According to the participants the seminar was informative in that it has enhanced their knowledge of drugs not commonly known to them, like ecstasy and heroin. They were also able to learn new ways of how to search passengers going through the port and the airport.

Commissioner Andre Quilindo commented in the closing ceremony that the seminar is an indication of the “government’s commitment to the war against drug dealers who breed for wealth on and at the expense of our youths.” Mr. Andre Quilindo for a lack of things to say has conveniently stated what his bosses wanted to hear.

His statement could not be further from truth. Reports suggest that this government has been selective in who they pursue in the fight against drugs. Those close to powerful and prominent figures involved in drug trafficking are simply allowed to carry on with their illicit business, even if their identity is known to the Anti-Drugs and Marine Squad.

The Commissioner of Police in making these claims knowing, that certain individuals caught with drugs in their possession have been allowed to go free. Because they are related to powerful people in this Government, he is indeed compromising his office and the so-called war on drugs. The battle against drugs can only be won if the agencies involved in the fight can weed themselves of corrupted personnel working with traffickers. And powerful people in government refrain from extending protection on individuals caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Only then can the real war on Drugs begin.

THE PEOPLE MUST REMEDY THEIR SITUATION

(The SPPF candidates)

The SPPF parliamentary candidates were presented during the 19th Congress last Friday at ‘Maison Du Peuple’ and to the entire nation on Saturday night with a little help from friends at SBC during prime time television. Mr. Rene took centre stage in his effort at propping up the house of cards declaring that the seed sown through the AK47 and watered with the blood of the people is embedded throughout the fabric of our society and would be difficult to unearth. Coincidentally the SPPF Congress was marked by the slaying of two National Guards and a civilian only last week.

Mr. Michel made a poor attempt at sounding like his mentor - but failed to impress the general public with his open expression of distaste for the democratic rights of his political opponents. “The people do not want the opposition”, Michel expressed openly, this coming from a man who is yet to register one single vote in his name. The forty-seven (47%) percent recorded by the opposition (SNP/DP) at the last election should not be sniffed at by any stretch of a simple imagination. It is a firm base from which to attain the ultimate objective of removing the SPPF from government.

The opposition I am sure would welcome the new comers amongst the SPPF parliamentary candidates into the political life of our country, it will help to bolster our democracy. Their relative inexperience in politics should not be exploited against them in any manner or form; most probably the offer could not be turned down. We are not all made of the same stuff; placed in a similar situation, maybe, just maybe one would have given-in.

In wishing them well, please do not burden them with parliamentary responsibilities. The party they represent demands absolute loyalty, even unreasonable loyalty in protecting the powerful and prominent families and their associates; just ask Mr. Simon Gill and Mr. Slyvestre Radegonde, who in refusing paid the ultimate price. It is for the party they must stand and must serve above all else, an ideology the SPPF finds impossible to depart from. Another very good reason to back the alternative.

FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE!

“In calling for a change in the people that has been running this country for the last twenty-nine years. We are not merely looking for fresh faces in high political office; in fact the need is far greater than just replacing a president and some ministers. The people are looking for a complete change in attitude and mentality in the way that the country will be governed by the new leaders. The SPPF, we know, has been ruling outside the realm of reality and beyond what is lawfully acceptable. An abrupt end to this kind of rule is required if this country is to progress further.”

MICHEL IS REFUSING   TO ANSWER TO LEGITIMATE CONCERNS!

Following numerous claims in ‘The People’ newspaper recently about the alleged compensation given to former President Mancham, I appealed to President Michel in an article in this column last week to inform the general public further on the matter. I wrote:

‘Michel must now come clean and inform us further on that particular matter. When exactly was that money given? Who approved the payment? What was it for? In which budget did the 28 million rupees Mancham, supposedly received, come from? And above all who signed the cheque for the 28 million? Mr. Michel as the Minister for Finance must have this info at his finger tips.’

And if it was given without him knowing anything about it, as is now the usual excuse with most things, the people still want to know. During the course of this week numerous people have contacted me to express their desire for further information on this (Rs. 28 million) matter. Another issue which has come up again in conversation with the ever inquiring public is the outcome of the investigation promised about the 4.5 million US dollars, which the Ministry of Land Use and Habitat gave to some anonymous persons last year. The money is now lost beyond recovery; disappeared out of thin air without any plausible explanation from the Minister or the President.

President Michel owes it to the electorate to give a full account on these two matters before the election. Access to such information is the cornerstone to fighting corruption and encouraging transparency. Democracy depends on access to a range of information to allow everyone to participate fully in choosing their government and to hold public officials accountable. It is not a luxury; it is our constitutional right enshrined in the Constitution, drafted with the full participation of President Michel and his party.