SALARY CUTS

During the course of this election campaign we’ve heard a lot about salary cuts. The President has himself addressed this issue on more than one occasion. It is said that a bill will be put through the National Assembly with a clause allowing for salary cuts of members of the National Assembly who fails to attend the Assembly without a valid reason.

This is not all bad if the President is really serious at punishing laziness and lack of production within the system by people who do not attend work or who attend work and do not perform to an acceptable level. Examples are plentiful; take for instant Ministers who miss work to go and campaign with SPPF candidates in the district during working hours, between 8 am and 4 pm. Surely the time they spend in the district away from their offices must be reflected as a deduction in their pay packet. What about the SPPF members of the National Assembly who attend the Assembly but go through a whole day without making any contribution to the debates. These MNAs are deemed unproductive and should not be allowed to walk away with their pay packet intact.

No one is taking President Michel seriously on these matters; it is only part of his political strategy to win his party the National Assembly elections. After the election we will hear no more on this matter like countless other issues before it. 

May 11, 2007
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles