THE ELECTION ANTICS OF A DISTRICT ADMINSITRATION
This newspaper has this week followed the antics of one District Administration office working for the SPPF campaign.
Last week the District Administration of Anse Boileau (whose candidate has been the elected member of the district and has an office as a civil servant at State House) sent one of its employees to a shop in Victoria called Elpris, to collect a pro-forma invoice for 50 sheets of masonite amounting to SR 4000. The pro-forma invoice was made in the name of the Anse Boileau District Administration.
At lunchtime on Wednesday this week, an employee of the district administration by the name of Claude Bell arrived at Elpris with the pro-forma as well as SR4000 in cash. He paid for the goods and told the shop assistants that he would be coming back later with a pickup to collect the goods.
Half an hour later Mr Bell arrived in a commercial pick-up with registration number S12151, driven by its owner Mr Tony Loizeau, to collect the merchandise. After collecting, Mr Belle got into the pickup with Mr Loizeau and left. Three quarters of an hour later the pick-up was observed arriving at the District Administration office at Anse Boileau where Mr Bell got out and went into the District Administration office. The pick-up was then observed going in the direction of Anse Louis with the goods but without Mr Bell. In the back of the pick-up there were about 20 pieces of iron bars, usually used by builders to re-enforced concrete structures, over and above the masonite sheets.
This newspaper has tried to contact the district administration to find out exactly what it is building, and more importantly why it would pay for goods in cash rather than a government cheque.
The District Administration is one of the most controversial government offices. District Administrators or DAs, are all SPPF stalwarts who hold their jobs at the pleasure of the Minister responsible for Local Government. Every person in Seychelles who makes an application for state benefits, such as social security benefits or public housing has to have the approval of a DA, who generally enquires about the person’s political persuasions.
At Anse Boileau, the local DA responsibility was taken a step further. Every Seychellois citizen who applied for a job at the five-star Maia Resort had to have a security clearance from the DA. Many DAs progress to become SPPF candidates armed with the knowledge of the political affiliations of each voter in the district.
The DA system is the last frontier in the blurring of the State organ with that of the SPPF.
