No More Special Pension for Politician

This is the ruling given on Tuesday in a landmark case before the Constitutional Court  brought by Ian Delorie and spearheaded by his Attorney, Frank Elizabeth, to challenge the amendment to the National Assembly Members Emolument Act that provides the MNA s and Ministers with early special pension as soon as they vacate their position.

The Court held that the 2008 Amendment was ultra vires the powers of the National Assembly and therefore falls to be declared unconstitutional and void.

The court made the following order:

a. The provisions of sections 2(1) (c), 2(2) (d), 3(1) (c), 3A (1) (d) and 4(d) of the National Assembly Members Emoluments Act are unconstitutional and void.

b. This order will have prospective effect. No order is made with regard to payments already made under the Act.

c. Notice of this finding of unconstitutionality is to be served on the President of the Republic of Seychelles and the Speaker of the National Assembly in terms of Article 130(5) of the Constitution.

Now - and it is a very big NOW - is the LDS and Wavel going to try and persuade the President to put through an amendment to the Constitution of the Third Republic with the sole purpose of pleasing him and his friends?

We need to point out at this stage that this pension for ex-ministers and MNAs is a sordid affair in the sense that these people has never contributed even a single rupee towards any special funds to be getting such a hefty pension from the National Assembly. In all the countries (UK & Canada, etc....) with a similar scheme the members have to contribute to a special pension fund when they are in office so that they can draw on a separate pension when they eventually retire.

In our case in Seychelles the ex-MNAs and ex-ministers are drawing two pensions; one from the National Assembly, where they contributed absolutely nothing and another one from the Seychelles Pension Fund where contributions were made based on their salaries, when they were in office. It is a grave injustice that has been put right on Tuesday by the Constitutional Court. We applaud the judiciary for standing with the people of this country and not siding with the voracity of crooked politicians.

Independent