National Consultative Forum meets for the first time |01 August 2014

‘Preparing Seychelles for the future’

It was surely a great moment of history and a testimony of living democracy as the National Consultative Forum put in place by President James Michel met for the first time at State House yesterday morning.

President Michel announced the creation of the forum in his National Day address on June 18 this year with the objective of enhancing the interface between the government and the civil society in key social, economic, political as well as other areas.  

As Mr Michel reminded yesterday in his opening remarks, the forum is to serve as a body for high level discussions concerning issues which have no established outlet for discussion and which can impact on the future of Seychelles as a whole, not just during the next few years, but for generations to come.

He reminded that the forum serves as an avant-garde think tank that crosses political boundaries, and that seeks to prepare Seychelles in the best way possible for the future.

It is the first time in the political history of the country that the President gathers around him distinguished persons of integrity from all political, religious, professional and social spheres of society on a common platform.

The National Consultative Forum will also be a venue to advise on remedies to certain grievances of the past and consider future major constitutional reforms.

The President thanked the members for accepting to be part of the forum and expressed his appreciation to them for having responded positively to his call for a frank exchange of views and an open dialogue.

He said he was happy because there is no greater calling than to serve Seychelles, and that we are all united in that noble mission.

“National interest comes first. There can be no greater cause than this. And we are all united in that cause. We are all committed to the greater good. To the moral and spiritual upliftment of the people of Seychelles. To the material wellbeing and the happiness of our nation. To national unity. To reaching out and building bridges. To healing old wounds. To building a resilient, God-fearing and confident nation … This, I believe, sets the tone for our agenda. As I alluded to in my National Day address, there are no taboo subjects that cannot be addressed by the Forum. I want to emphasise that we are absolutely free to discuss any and all issues that directly impact the national interest and to make proposals concerning the future of Seychelles in any domain. I assure you that my government will take them into serious consideration,” President Michel said.

Among the issues discussed during yesterday’s session were quality of education, bureaucracy, environment protection, moral and spiritual values, good parenting, law and order and the need for the Civil Code to protect the family. It was also felt that there is a need for citizens to better understand their individual rights.

The need for competitiveness and productivity, especially in the tourism and related areas, was also raised.  Members stressed that this should be accompanied by the strengthening of financial services.

They also spoke of the need to overcome political differences and to develop trust and stronger bridges between government and the private sector. It is also felt that there is a need for greater balance in the news coverage of the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), which is dominated by reports on government related activities.

The Consultative Forum which is chaired by the President himself is also composed of Vice-President Danny Faure, Marguerite Mancienne, Mahroohk Pardiwalla, Bishop Denis Wiehe, Dr Nirmal Kantilal Shah, Patrick Victor, William Rose, Marco Francis, Jean Weeling, Daniel Belle, Bernard Georges, Jude Fred, Edmond Hoareau and Michel Madeleine. Mohamed Afif is the forum’s secretary.

The forum will convene once a month for the time being, with each meeting dedicated to a selected issue. Its recommendations will be presented to Cabinet for final advice and endorsement as is the case of those from other consultative bodies.
 
President Michel has however described the National Consultative Forum as “unique and unparalleled”.