Opposition and Government Reply to State-of-the-Nation Address
VICTORIA, Seychelles, The leader of the opposition (LOTO) in the National Assembly, Sebastien Pillay, has described the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) delivered last week by President Wavel Ramkalawan as the worst address delivered to date before the Assembly. In his 75-minute reply, Mr Pillay painted a grim picture of the country current state, highlighting failures across the health, education, agriculture and entrepreneurship sectors. The reply marked the first response to the SONA in this session of the Assembly.
Mr Pillay said the President missed an opportunity to address key issues affecting the country, and that this was felt by the majority of people following the SONA. He argued that during his tenure, the President has failed to address pertinent issues and has instead focused on suppressing criticism and manipulating the truth to destroy his opponents with the help of other state institutions. The LOTO said the country is one where consultation with the public is a joke.
The opposition described President Ramkalawan and his administration as incompetent and inefficient, stating that Seychellois had expected a realistic SONA after last year public meetings. On the international scene, LOTO accused the President of taking controversial positions without informing the population, such as joining an international alliance to fight against the Houthi in the Red Sea and the country position on the World Health Organisation pandemic protocol. He also deplored the President call for unity, accusing him of being the main person causing division in the country.
In a contrasting reply, leader of government business (LGB) Bernard Georges said the country has a vibrant democracy, with a solid economy and an engaged government, which he described as a recipe for success. In his 45-minute reply, the elected member for Les Mamelles commended the President for handling the annual task with compassion, competency and dynamism, delivering all the facts with frankness and from the heart. He described the President as a man who is feeling the pulse of the people.
Mr Georges pointed to past actions by the former administration, including the water pollution in La Misere, fungus infestation in workplaces, noise pollution at the Baie Ste Anne electricity station and the coup attempt, saying these are now being addressed by the current government. He also proposed that any person or company whose actions cause government to pay compensation should bear the cost of the reparation, with the government stepping in only for immediate assistance. Both replies set the stage for further political debate in the Assembly in the weeks ahead.
