WHEN Albert Rene changed the name of Gordon Square to Freedom Square, shortly after he had snuffed out the freedom (to associate and speak freely) of the people of Seychelles by the barrel of an AK 47 on 5th June 1977, the oldest sport's ground in the Seychelles became the symbol of demagoguery and hypocrisy. On 25th May saw a few new practitioners of that art on Freedom Square led by a priest in a politician's garb.
Albert Rene (in his case he started off pretending to be a priest) was the most celebrated Seychellois practitioner of that art throughout his political career until he appointed himself President of the Republic following his treasonable act on June 5th 1977.
Then he moved his pulpit to the national radio after taking absolute control of it. He also used the People's Stadium (a sports ground built with British money which he renamed from Victoria Stadium, itself named after our capital city not the ancient British Queen) once a year on the anniversary of his treasonable act and eventually to national television, thanks to the government of France who gave him a TV station all for himself, to indulge in his favourite national pastime (We have been told that Ambassador Tretot was a lowly diplomat then based at Arpent Vert, although we cannot confirm it).
The new demagogue of our time seems to be Wavel Ramkalawan, Leader of the Seychelles National Party (SNP), who now claims that he had been misled by the SPPF when they (SPPF) voted to increase the salaries of the President, Ministers and Members of the National Assembly last December. What were Ramkalawan and the other ten members of the National Assembly of the SNP doing on the benches that day? Playing with their thumbs? Had they turned deaf and mute for a day? Were they lambs being led to slaughter? We noted though, that at the time Ramkalawan was low in spirits having suddenly come to the realisation that he was glad that he lost the presidential election because the burden of that office was too heavy. Not it seems the burden of the extra rupees in his pocket for the rest of life while the young families with low income are struggling to make ends meet.
The facts tell a different story. Ramkalawan and all the other members of his party in the National Assembly consciously and willingly voted, with their full knowledge, for a sizeable increase in their own salary as well as awarding themselves a fat pension, even though pension is not provided for in the Constitution. By conniving with the SPPF, Ramkalawan not only gave the bill 100% support he also gave all his SPPF counter parts a fat salary, not the other way round.
Ramkalawan's demagoguery, it appears, knows no bounds. On Freedom Square he claimed that the SPPF planned to “adjust” the salaries of the constitutional appointees further by giving themselves an additional R 700 a month. To the consternation of many gathered on Freedom Square that day, he said he would have none of it. He had, he claimed drawn a line in the proverbial sand when it comes to allowing the SPPF MNAs and Ministers to spend public money on themselves by an extra R700 a month. This is demagogical grandstanding, since he was willing and gave his full backing to an inordinate increase in his own salary of over R8,000 a month, plus an illegal and unconstitutional pension provision just last Christmas.
The TV advert inviting people to come to freedom square claimed they would be fighting the cost of living by their presence and making their voices heard. The speakers from the podium sounded more like broken records. They had no solution to the problem of increasing poverty among the low income households and offered no vision of a brighter future for the nation.
In effect they had invited the people to come down under false pretences. From the man who claimed the burden of office of the president would have been too great to bare, there was only demagogical mutterings.
Perhaps Freedom Square should be renamed Demagogue Square.
- Contributed