I love my country just as much as any Seychellois and we all
want the best for our beloved little islands. I do not need the President to
tell me how I should express that love nor do I need him to impose his personal
definition of patriotism on me. I do not need a national campaign and posters
on every lamp post to remind me to love Seychelles! Let’s stop the circus and
focus our energy and limited resources on addressing the real issues that our
people and our country are facing.
I immigrated to England immediately after the 2006 presidential
elections. I keep in touch with friends and family and I visit as often as I can.
Through the online media, I follow what is going on. I must say that I’m dismayed
at what I hear and read about and was even more depressed at what I saw when I
returned home last December. How have we got there? Where did we go wrong? How
have we allowed drugs and prostitution to get so out of control that we now
need a national campaign - another one – to try and stem them out? How have we
allowed our police service to fall into so much decay that people no longer
feel safe in their homes? How can government pretend that the world is listening
to little Seychelles when the leadership and government appear to be deaf to
the voices of their own people; are oblivious to our ever crumbling health service and education
system; the ever widening social divide; the inadequacy of support for our youth
and the hardship of so many people? I can list dozens of possible reasons for
the mess the country is in today but they all ultimately boil down to politics,
greed and the absence of leadership.
The disease that we contracted with the coup d’etat in 1977
is still alive and as strong as ever today as it was in the 70’s and 80’s: Politics.
It’s gangrenous and permeates our daily lives. Everything in our little country
ends up having a political connotation. If you complain about the weather,
you’re bound to find somebody who sees it as a criticism of government. I
suppose it’s because the Parti Lepep government wants us to believe that it’s
thanks to them that it rains or shines! You have to prove your unreserved allegiance
to the Party to get a job, a promotion, to get a government-funded house, an overseas
scholarship or a small loan to start your business. The government’s influence
even extends to employment in the private sector, as I personally found out in
2006 when I dared to stick my neck out in support of SNP. The situation is so
bad that people with little or no other option are forced to resort to “zwe
rol” just to get by. The very sad thing is that even part of the local business
community have also ended up zwe rol “to protect my business”. The result is
that people are employed and promoted, at times into very senior positions, not
because of their qualifications, knowledge or competence but because of their
political colours. Then we wonder why government service is dysfunctional,
incompetent and staff morale is so low and why certain government ministries
struggle to recruit and retain staff.
A new government will need to rectify this situation from
day one. Politics have no place in the public service as it’s not government’s business
to interfere in a private company’s recruitment process. Applicants for a job
in the public service should be assessed solely on the requirements of the
position applied for. The same should apply for promotions, which in my view,
should be assessed by a panel. People applying for government-funded housing
and any other service should be assessed according to their needs. There should
be a place for everyone who wants to bring their contribution to the development
of our country, regardless of their political or religious affiliations. Government
needs to show proof of this through concrete actions.
There should be place under the sun for all of us. Our
country is full of too many wasted talents. As far as I’m personally concerned,
I would rather put my knowledge and experience at the service of my country rather
than being in a foreign country, working for a foreign company, however great the
company may be.
SOURCE: VIZYON 23rd April
