National Assembly celebrates 28th anniversary |29 July 2021
The country’s legislative branch, the National Assembly of Seychelles, is set to celebrate its 28th anniversary tomorrow, July 30.
The National Assembly was established on July 30, 1993, the same year Seychelles reverted to the multi-party system and adopted the Constitution of its Third Republic.
At the start of Assembly sessions yesterday, Speaker Roger Mancienne noted that the National Assembly would be observing its 28th anniversary tomorrow with a small ceremony to recognise and award some long-serving employees.
Both leaders in the National Assembly yesterday also made special remarks to mark the occasion.
Leader of the opposition, Sebastien Pillay highlighted the importance of the National Assembly threefold role of legislating, representing the people of Seychelles and overseeing the actions of the government.
“Today this role is even more important because our country is a democracy which needs to evolve based on the principles we all believe in. The National Assembly’s role is neither one which can ever be controlled by any individual nor a role that can be manipulated by any group. Rather it is a role that should remain pure and should be exercised with independence, honesty and without fear,” said Hon. Pillay.
Moving forward, he continued, the National Assembly needs to stand firm in its role to keep the executive branch of the government in check so as to ensure that the country is governed in a manner that respects our Constitution.
He added that members of the National Assembly, whether on the opposition side or the government, should strive to put the interest of the Seychellois citizens before everything else.
“Nothing can make us regress unless we allow it to. Nothing can make the National Assembly not honour its commitment to serve a modern democracy unless we allow it to,” said the leader of the opposition.
On his part, the leader of government business Bernard Georges, acknowledged the legislative history of Seychelles, the successes and failures of former parliamentary bodies and parliamentarians who have paved the way for the National Assembly we know today.
Hon. Georges observed that a balance should be well established between the work the National Assembly does to support the government, through considering and approving legislations, and the work the MNAs do for their respective constituencies.
“We also have to strike a balance between our institution and the two other government branches ‒ the executive and the judiciary,” he added.
“Above all, we must maintain a balance between us in the National Assembly and it is imperative that the National Assembly speaks the same language instead of having diverging voices. Yes, we do sit on opposite sides and support two different policies ‒ as our motto states we have unity in diversity ‒ but if we wish to remain relevant in the future, we need to be able to put our differences aside and speak with the same voice.”
Hon. Georges further stated that the National Assembly should evolve from being perceived as an institution which exists simply because the government needs to pass legislations.
Instead it has to become a fully-fledged institution wherein the parliamentarians are provided with the same reverence as ministers and judges.
The National Assembly as we know today was preceded by the Legislative Council of Seychelles (1962-1970), the Legislative Assembly (1970-1974), the House of Assembly (1975 to 1976), the National Assembly (1976 to 1977) and the People's Assembly from (1979 to 1993).
Elsie Pointe