National Assembly gets House in order |07 March 2018
• Nicholas Prea is the new Speaker, Ahmed Afif his deputy
Nicholas Prea, former deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Seychelles, has been chosen as the new Speaker of the National Assembly.
This was done during an Extraordinary Sitting of the National Assembly held yesterday morning. The occasion also saw the swearing-in of the newly elected member for Anse Boileau, Philip Arissol (see separate story).
Honourable Prea was nominated by the leader of the opposition in the Assembly, Honourable Wavel Ramkalawan and seconded by the leader of government business Charles De Commarmond.
With no other nominated members for the highest legislative seat, Hon. Prea took his oath of office and was thereby declared the new Speaker of the 6th National Assembly.
In light of the seat of deputy Speaker becoming unexpectedly vacant, the elected member for Anse Etoile, Ahmed Afif, was nominated as deputy Speaker by his colleague, Jean-François Ferrari. Wavel Woodcok, the representative of the Grand Anse Praslin district, seconded the proposition.
Hon. Afif recited his oath of office immediately after the formalities.
Yesterday’s ceremony was prompted by the unexpected resignation on January 29, 2018 of Patrick Pillay as both Speaker of the National Assembly and member for the Anse Boileau constituency.
In his short address to the House, Hon. De Commarmond stated that a new Speaker and deputy Speaker heralds a change in the National Assembly which would hopefully guide the National Assembly in the right direction and help the legislative body overcome various challenges.
He also called for Speaker Prea and deputy Speaker Afif to work in close collaboration together to ensure uniformity and order.
On his side, Hon. Ramkalawan asked Speaker Prea, who he referred to as a colleague, friend and brother -- to take heed of God’s directions while undertaking his tasks as Speaker.
Having worked closely with Hon. Afif for over 16 months, Hon. Ramkalawan also expressed his sentiment that the new deputy Speaker has the capabilities to take on the responsibilities of this office.
“We also have to thank former Speaker Patrick Pillay for his guidance during his tenure and I hope that our National Assembly continues to take greater strides into the future,” Hon. Ramkalawan added.
This was echoed by the newly elected Speaker Prea during an interview with the media whereby he emphasised that his priorities will include continuing to upgrade the standard of the parliament.
“As the two leaders in the National Assembly have pointed out, we want to see the National Assembly continue with its evolution. A lot has been done last year wherein the Assembly has reinforced certain governmental institutions and they have been able to perform as they should,” Speaker Prea reiterated.
“Now the Assembly has to go on a higher level because the public’s expectation is also high and I believe we are ready for this challenge,” Speaker Prea said.
He added that the delay in the National Assembly starting its work was out of their control and reassured the public that the Assembly will be trying its utmost to get things back on track.
“We have a busy day today especially with the State-of-the-nation Address later, but the formalities we had to go through were essential so that we could put our House in order before the address which traditionally launches the Assembly’s work,” he said.
In regards to when the National Assembly will be ratifying the Assomption deal, a matter which has gained prominence in these past few weeks, Speaker Prea replied that the agreement has not yet been brought forth to its secretariat.
