Mrs Macsuzy Mondon, Minister for Employment, gave an unimpressive performance before the National Assembly this week as she was grilled by opposition members of the National Assembly about the controversial redundancy programme which the government had undertaken recently. She was clearly out of her element and the Speaker and Minister Danny Faure had to come to her rescue repeatedly as she showed confusion and bewilderment throughout the 30 minutes question time. She explained that there have been 56 persons who had been made redundant recently under the restructuring programme out of whom only one was a foreigner. This gave credence to the argument of the opposition that the SPPF government is unfairly targeting only Seychellois workers under the restructuring or redundancy programme. When asked by Honourable Frank Elizabeth how many Seychellois workers are expected to lose their jobs under the programme, the Minister went on a frolic of her own giving a long winding answer which was totally irrelevant to the question asked. Hon. Elizabeth then interrupted proceedings and told the Speaker that the Minister was not answering his question. He repeated his question for a second time thereupon the Minister clearly exasperated stated abruptly that she did not have the figures.
When asked by Hon. Colin Dyer to explain the logic behind the recent increment in salary given to Senior Officers in the army, since we are constantly in a state of peace, whereas ordinary civil servants are being fired indiscriminately, the Minister simply answered that she has no control to what happens in the army, giving the overall impression that the army is a separate autonomous and independent institution of government and operates outside the jurisdiction of the Executive; an incredulous state of affairs.
The Minister’s performance was so bad that the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) decided not to air her question time on television in the 8.00 O’clock news that evening and opted for that of Minister Danny Faure instead. Danny Faure, is generally considered as the rising star in President James Michel’s cabinet and is expected to take the reign of the Presidency ultimately. He is also ex-President France Albert Rene’s favourite and he showed just why in his performance before the Assembly on Tuesday. He appeared relaxed and came across as confident and self-assured; a marked contrast to the novice performance of Minister MacSuzy Mondon.
Hon. Bernard Georges also raised a point of order complaining that the Minister had been given the questions in writing by the SPPF MNAs and had prepared her answer in writing to recite before the National Assembly in contravention of Standing Order 25. Again the Minister became visibly annoyed and her frustration became apparent as she glared at the opposition MNAs. Thereupon, the Speaker stated that he will reserve his ruling on the point of order for the next session. The National Assembly then adjourned its afternoon session as the members had to attend a funeral. The Members of the National Assembly gathered at the Plantation Club the next day for a training workshop on “The Role, Functions Practices and Procedures of the National Assembly” organized by the Speaker. The Attorney-General, Mr. Anthony Fernando, and the ex Speaker of the Mauritian Parliament, Hon. Dev Ramnah, addressed the seminar. Mr. Fernando spoke about “The Constitutional Jurisdiction and Authority of the National Assembly” whereas Mr. Ramnah addressed on “The Rules of Debate-Is there a need for Standing Orders?”