After “En Leker pou tou Seselwa”, “Ansanm pou lanmour Sesel”, President James Michel gave us yet another clarion call: “One Seychelles” in his National Day address to the Nation. He could not possibly have said this only to impress his Chief Guest at the celebrations. This latest call, as all his similar other pronouncements in the past, are well and good. They might be better still if our President could give us some proof that he is sincere about what he says by “walking the talk”. He should give us clear, concrete proof that he really wants “One Seychelles” and that he is indeed the President of “tou Seselwa”: SNP, DP as well as SPPF supporters, and that he is prepared to give ALL Seychellois an opportunity to have a say in the way he runs our country in our name.
I have no doubt that President Michel is conscious of the fact that, despite appearances, and what he may want to make us believe, our little country remains very divided and needs healing - very badly. Too many tears have been shed, too much blood spilled, too many of our people have suffered and continue to suffer. He must realise that this situation cannot continue because, sooner rather than later, it is going to catch up with him and that it is high time that he moved out of his predecessor’s shadow, with all the hard-line rhetoric that goes with it, and did what was in the best interest of the country not just his party.
I think that, too often, we confuse Unity with Conformity. Unity does not mean that we have to think the same, dress the same (Heaven forbid!) or, much less, look the same. It is simply about establishing common ground and joining together. It is about respect for, and being tolerant towards, each other. It is about standing for what we believe in whilst living together in one community. Our divergent views, as our different ethnic origins, should be our strength. Like our National Flag with its five different vibrant colours, unity is about the whole being greater and being stronger than the sum of its parts. A society that does not encourage diversity at all levels loses its moral authority.
My conception of the Presidency is simple: We, the people (shareholders), entrust a man/woman as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of our (company) country and we pay him and the Board we appoint to look after our interests and make the (company) country more profitable. At no time can the CEO and his Board act as if the company and its assets were theirs to dispose of at will. They do not have this right, nor the right to decide who among the shareholders – who pay their salary- get their dividend, keep their right to vote, etc. The CEO, as he should, may have his own vision and ideas but at no time can he force these down the throats of the shareholders in a “mwan ki la ,bann ki pa kontan, avyon I pase, bato I pase, kite ale” attitude. He cannot adopt the attitude that “you can debate until you are blue in the face but ultimately I’m still going to do it my way” as if he held the monopoly of ideas!
Once elected, the President cannot continue to be beholden to his clan and masters in his political party!
The President of a country, and certainly of a small country like ours, with our presidential political system, cannot continue to be beholden to his clan and masters in his political party once he is elected. There is unsavoury language used and perhaps insults traded during the election campaign but, once elections are over, it should be just that: OVER! The President, as Father of the Nation, should rise above the fray, be his own man, faithful to his oath of office and his pledges to his “Ser frer e ser Seselwa”. He should avoid declarations and comportments that smack of partisanship and he should stop trampling on people’s sensitivities. He should distance himself from the seemingly endless negativity of viewing people with differing opinions as “enemies” and “barriers” to the country’s progress who should “kile les Jj travay”. This smacks of intolerance and arrogance. To continue to use language and actions that incite one section of our population against another is criminal. It demeans the person and the high office he holds. I am sure that President Michel is above that!
President Michel is looking East – and still further East - for economic assistance and “new areas of cooperation”. I remain supportive of anything that is done in the overall interest of our country and our people, although I am aware, from my many years as our country’s diplomatic representative overseas, that there is never a free lunch! I suggest that he should look elsewhere for successful models of how things should be done in a civilised society. Not necessarily in order to copy, since no political system is perfect, but rather for inspiration and ideas. I want to suggest that he looks at France, one of our closest and valued partners, with a tried and tested system. He may wish to look at his counterpart, newly elected President Nicolas Sarkozy. The man many (including myself) had so much reservation about and who has turned out to be a true statesman, in every sense of the word. It may be early days yet, but he has hit the ground running: divesting himself of all aspects of his former party’s hold over him, emphasing through words and actions that his only consideration is the French people, ALL the people, whether they voted for him or not. He campaigned on a platform of “rupture” and “doing things differently and, by Jove, he is delivering! No less than nine (9) socialists in a centre-right government of 33 members! He has invited to l’Elysee (the French presidential palace) the leaders of all the main opposition political parties- including Jean-Marie LePen, Leader of the French extreme right party, systematically ostracised by successive French presidents for over thirty years. Does President Sarkozy love Mr Lepen? I doubt that very much. Does he support his policies? I don’t think so. Did he call Mr Lepen so that the latter could sing his praises and tell him how great a President he was, that everything he was doing was great? No way! He must have got an earful, as he did from others, but as President he must be conscious that he has to take a lot of heat - otherwise he would not be in the kitchen. He must be conscious that it is only with tolerance, respect and by embracing its diversity –racial, political, etc. that
“I call this approach one of grandeur d’Esprit, statesmanship, intelligence and pragmatism. Most of all, one of putting your country first!”