(Section 2 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2016) defines corrupt
as follow:
"Corrupt" means the acts of soliciting, accepting,
obtaining, giving, promising or offering of a gratification by way of a bribe
or inducement, or the misuse or abuse of a public office for advantage or
benefit for oneself or for another person, and "corruption" shall be
construed accordingly;”
Party Lepep has created an “Anti-Corruption Commission,” to
be chaired by none other than Duncan Gaswaga a former Puisne Judge of the
Supreme Court of Seychelles. This raises several questions, the first of which
is, why a Ugandan Mr. Danny Faure?
Bearing in mind the above definition of “corrupt” I ask the
following questions:
If Mr. Gaswaga has acquired Seychellois nationality we need
to be informed of that fact, and we also need to know whether it was under section
5 (2) of the Citizenship Act 1994 which gives the President total discretion to
grant citizenship to a person who, in his opinion, special circumstances exist
even if they are not otherwise entitled or eligible to Seychellois citizenship?
Or, was he granted Seychellois citizenship under section 5
(3) of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2013 which curtails the President’s
discretion to grant citizenship by the imposition of a “Citizenship Eligibility
Committee” to which all applications have to be submitted and which will have
to be satisfied that all the criteria set out under the new section 5 (3) are
met, especially when bearing in mind that a member of the Citizenship
Eligibility Committee is Basil Hoareau who is a partner in the Chetty &
Hoareau Chambers, and a member of the Commission emanates from there.
The credibility of the Commission depends on the personal
integrity and honesty of its members. It is therefore of paramount importance
that the above questions in regards to the Mr. Gaswaga are answered honestly.
Secondly, if The Ruling Party is serious about fighting corruption, one of the
first pieces of legislation to be brought before the sixth National Assembly is
a “Freedom of Information Act”. Article 28 (4) “the State recognises the right
of access by the public to information held by a public authority performing a
governmental function subject to limitations contained in clause (2) and any
law necessary in a democratic society”. And a Whistle Blowers Protection Act.
Without these two pieces of legislation there can be no credible war against
corruption.
Parti Lepep has given us other “commissions” before, such as
the Human Rights Commission which has not been seen or heard of, since its
creation. It did not even utter a squeak when Robert Banane was shot and killed
in prison. We also have an office of “The Ombudsman” which, to all intents and
purposes shut down after Judge Gustave Dodin left the office to become judge,
not forgetting the notoriously embattled
Electoral Commission chaired by Mr. Gappy, which is not only being fought
in court, but also on the Streets of Victoria.
Alexia G. Amesbury
