May De Silva appointed Seychelles Anti-Corruption Commission chief executive |17 March 2017

May De Silva is the new chief executive of the Seychelles Anti-Corruption Commission and she was presented with her instrument of appointment by President Danny Faure yesterday morning at State House.

The ceremony was attended by Vice-President Vincent Meriton, Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, Secretary of State for Presidential Affairs Aude Labaleine, Secretary of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohamed Afif and relatives of Ms De Silva.

Speaking to the media right after the ceremony, Ms De Silva said having been in different management posts in the public and private sector she is very aware of audit trail, transparency, probity and all issues to do with good practice and good governance.

“I have a good understanding with regards to good practice and experience behind me to do this job. I have sat on various boards in the United Kingdom and I believe that the skills that I have are transferrable skills. You also need a strong manager to move this commission forward and to look at our practices – what is working and what is not working,” said Ms De Silva who started working here with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (then Ministry of External Relations) as a protocol officer before moving to Northern Ireland.

She added: “My strategy is to work with all departments from the private and the public sector because the responsibility rests with them. We will make sure they implement the policies of good governance. We will be like an oversight body. If there are complaints of corruption we will investigate. That is the role of the commission. I believe it is a good opportunity for us as we have a new piece of legislation to ensure that people become aware of what to expect from then public service and the private sector. I am confident that with a very strong board we will be able to look at good governance in Seychelles as a whole.”

Asked to comment on the level of corruption in Seychelles, Ms De Silva replied: “It is in the way we do our work. We have a culture of doing favour for people we are close to in return for money or gifts. People don’t realise this could be termed and seen as corruption. Therefore, people who are in authority should refuse any under the table payment because they are paid to do their jobs. The simple fact of giving someone priority over others who had been on the waiting list way before is a form of corruption.”

Hailing from Anse Royale, Ms De Silva did her tertiary education in management and executive leadership at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. A registered trainer, assessor, internal verifier and member of the Institute of Leadership and Management, she has a strong management background in public and private sectors including financial and auditing skills.

She has also held positions of managing director, funding consultant, grants manager and project manager in various organisations across the United Kingdom.

Prior to her appointment as Seychelles Anti-Corruption Commission chief executive, Ms de Silva, who returned to Seychelles in 2013 after spending 20 years abroad, was doing tourism marketing consultancy for a number of tourism establishments here.

She also has a certificate in deaf studies and experience in working as a deaf blind trainer and interpreter.

Ms De Silva has sat on various boards and panels such as the Gender Advisory Panel in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Belfast City Council Good Relations Partnership. She also chaired the Strategic Women’s Reference Group of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

Prior to appointing Ms De Silva as the Seychelles Anti-Corruption Commission chief executive following the recommendation of the commission itself, President Faure consulted the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Wavel Ramkalawan.