National Consultative Forum closes for the year
President Michel addressing a high-level panel UNDP Administrator Helen Cla (photo credit State House media)
“We are too small a country to be divided among ourselves. Working together as we have shown we can provide the stability that is so necessary for progress and development,” said President Michel at the fifth and final meeting for the year of the National Consultative Forum last week. “This Forum has demonstrated that we have reached a level of political maturity that helps us to put aside any personal differences for the greater good of Seychelles and Seychellois people,” he said.
The five month old forum is chaired by President James Michel and its members are Vice-President Danny Faure, Bishop Denis Wiehe, Dr Nirmal Shah, Mr Daniel Belle, Mr Patrick Victor , Mr Marco Francis, Mr Jude Fred, Mr Jean Weeling-Lee, Mr Bernard Georges, Mr Edmond Hoareau, Mr Michel Madeleine, Mrs Marguerite Mancienne, Mrs Mahroohk Pardiwalla and Mr William Rose. The next meeting of the Forum was expected to be on 22nd January 2015.
“The President has made a paradigm shift with the Forum. I myself had retreated from most national workshops and committees because I had not been listened to and I had even been insulted by civil servants in the environment sector,” says Dr. Shah, Nature Seychelles CEO. “There was no respect and I never got the impression that the government officers running the environment ministry appreciated the work of my organisation – they looked at us as more of a problem than as the asset we really are.”
President Michel thanked members of the forum for promoting national unity and working to find solutions to the problems dividing Seychellois. He called on members of the forum to act as the catalyst of collective action and find speedy solutions to the challenges facing the country.
President James Michel chairing the first meeting of the newly created National Consultative Forum at State House
“The Forum the President of the Republic set a remarkable collegial tone to the deliberations from day one,” Shah explained. “He made it clear that he had a lot of respect and admiration for the work, experience and devotion of the members of the Forum, whom he had handpicked himself. We were listened to, our discussions were analyzed, and our recommendations carefully considered. In fact I am happy to say that many of our recommendations, including some of mine, have either been implemented or are being worked on by government.”
Mr Michel listed the achievements of the forum so far as follows: gaining a better understanding of the country’s needs, education system and proposals for improvement; suggestions for national capacity building by training Seychellois for the diversity of economic development; nurturing of a high leve forum to address issues specific to various sectors; raising of political issues such as pending election legislation and political party registration which have been rapidly addressed; taking measures to de-politicize state functions; actioning suggestions by the forum to introduce a national honors scheme that will recognize citizens’ personal achievements; addressing efficiency issues in the country’s institutions; and getting various agencies and NGOs to work better together.
President Michel pointed out that there still remain many other issues for the forum toaddress, such as the role of an independent media, innovative Government and the need for ongoing constitutional reform.
“The Forum should be a transformative model for government interactions with stakeholders. I believe all ministries and departments need to start learning key lessons from the workings of this unique think tank,” says Shah.
