TIME FOR RONNY TO GO PRIVATE

 

If anyone has spent too much time on government of Seychelles budget, living off the magical budgets of the state without delivering clear serious results, it is the Attorney General Mr. Ronny Govinden.

Let's start with basics. Every office has to be orderly. Files have to be in the right place, and they have to be filed. Computers and printers that do not work, need to be fixed or sent out for parts. They cannot be stacked against the wall in an Attorney General's Office. I had one meeting at that office last year, and I was shocked to see files piled up high like mangoes on a table for sale along Roche Ciaman. For a legal professional office, it is simply disgraceful, and there is no excuse. Anytime a Attorney General has an excuse for something, it means he or she is taking the job too easy, and enjoying the sense of the power of the office too much. It is unacceptable.

 

Let's take an example. The Attorney General turned up for the Electoral Reform Round Table once, attended a morning session, then he left and never came back again. If the Attorney General does not take this exercise seriously, and if he does not see the need for his leadership in this exercise, how serious is the exercise in the first place? In the past, when we drafted constitutions and political arrangements, the Attorney General's were always present, and took the issues head on.

Let's cite an example of Abuse of Power, just one, but there are likely many. The People vs. Jean Paul Isaac (criminal). In this case, Mr. Govinden's office decided it was going to prosecute the Secretary General of the Seychelles Freedom Party (SFP) and seek 12 months imprisonment for a beating he received, while in Police custody in 2010. The case was filed out of time by Mr. Govinden's office , beyond the time limitation bar.

 (191. Except where a longer time is specially allowed by law, no offence, the maximum punishment for which does not exceed imprisonment for six months and/or a fine of five hundred rupees shall be triable by the Supreme Court in its summary Jurisdiction or the Magistrates' Court, unless the charge or complaint relating to it is laid within twelve months from the time when the matter of such

charge or complaint arose.)

No Attorney General in the civilized world would file a criminal case out of time. The fact that the case was in deed filed out of time, shows that the Attorney General's office has become bias, and selectively prosecutes opponents. Another case that is bringing not dis-similar shame to the Michel Administration, is the case of Ralph Volcere.

 

Let's look at the international obligations front. Mr. Govinden has enough money to travel and attend Attorney General conferences around the world every year. But he complains that he does not have resources to file country reports under international obligations concerning Human Rights in Seychelles. It is a disgrace that shames the Michel Administration. In the age of I-pads, 5th generation I phones, country reports could be compiled as the abuse case rises.

Gone are the days when we need files and files of hard copy documents to file a country report. In spite of that, that did not prevent the PL from fooling the UNDP to fund money to prepare a country report. But Seychelles under Mr. Govinden was late as usual, and is yet to file a country report on human rights.

 I wonder what the excuse is this time Ronny?

 

The bottom line is that there is nothing that can whip our Attorney General into legal shape faster then a career in the private sector. I suggest that Mr. President Michel do us all a kind favor, the world, all Seychellois, even the Attorney General ' Annual Conference held around the world every year, send Mr. Govinden into the private sector to lawyer about, so he can become the real best lawyer Seychelles has ever had. You will be doing him a great favor, he will thank you in the long run.