Six scrounging cabinet ministers are being accused of cheapening their ministerial offices after it emerged that they had accepted an all expenses overnight stay at the Eden Bleu Hotel on Eden Island.
The ministers in question and some family members spent one night as guest of the hotel management on the opening night of the islands first business hotel.
Gossip about their overnight stay surfaced on social media after some relatives posted pictures of themselves in the hotel rooms and boasted about it.
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| Seychelles Ministers with Angolan General |
The scroungers have been criticized for breaching Section 91 of the Penal code which covers official corruption which prohibits anyone employed in the public service to corruptly receive such favours.
Anyone found guilty of this felony is liable to imprisonment for seven years.
The public reaction found the ministers` action as an embarrassment to the government and to the country because it creates the impression that they can be easily bought.
“To me if those high officials had their country and people at heart they would have gone to the opening and then gone home. This would have made a point that they cannot be bought and that they are worth more than a night in a hotel” said a comment on social media.
It is not the first time that ministers have been embroiled in such scandals leading to critics labeling them as “scroungers”.
The only two cabinet members who did not accept the offer were Vice President Danny Faure and Minister of Tourism, Alain St Ange. Minister Pierre Laporte and his colleague Peter Sinon were not present at the opening of Saturday 18th October.
Source: Le Seychellois
