Ahmed Affif must be held accountable
Both the President and the Speaker of the National Assembly have accentuated the need for transparency and accountable government. This will have to apply to every single one of us; from the president to the dock worker. There is an ongoing storm in the country on the contract that some individuals had with the FIU and the NDEA. There are many calls for openness and transparency so that we can get to the bottom of this matter in the shortest possible delay. However, we have since discovered that Honorable Ahmed Afif, who is the elected National Assembly member for Anse Etoile and the former Principal Secretary for Finance and Trade, had a hand in the matter – when he was still employed by this government. In fact, it was Ahmed Afif who approved the budget given to the FIU and the NDEA
In a clear case of conflict of interests Ahmed Afif assisted Wavel Ramkalawan with the preparation of a summary on the Auditor General’s Report for the two organizations, which was presented to the National Assembly last week. Afif should have refused to participate in the exercise.
This newspaper would like Afif to be transparent and truthful to the people of Seychelles in these matters and also in other transactions that he has had a hand in facilitating during the days that he had a lot of power in this government in his capacity as Principal Secretary for Finance. We also know of a situation – when the IMF started their mission back in 2008 for the reform of the local economy. The IMF proposed a consultancy firm for Seychelles to use for negotiation with the various international organization that Seychelles owed money.
After, only a few (2) months two of their agents who had formed a close relationship with the then, PS for Finance and Trade, broke away to form their own consultancy, named ‘White Oak’ and they were given that contract to act on behalf of Seychelles – and were paid an alleged fee of USD275,000 per month. It is also alleged that Ahmed Afif benefitted from this transaction. The fact that Mr. Ahmed Afif is now a most public figure and one of the major players in Seychelles politics and an expert on all matters related to finance and the economy; he has a responsibility towards the nation to speak the truth on all matters of corruption and malpractices that he is aware of. He must not protect anyone and least of all his own indulgence in these matters – it is clear that Ahmed is seeking protection for his sins under the cloak of the millionaire priest, this in itself is corruption:
Independent
In a clear case of conflict of interests Ahmed Afif assisted Wavel Ramkalawan with the preparation of a summary on the Auditor General’s Report for the two organizations, which was presented to the National Assembly last week. Afif should have refused to participate in the exercise.
This newspaper would like Afif to be transparent and truthful to the people of Seychelles in these matters and also in other transactions that he has had a hand in facilitating during the days that he had a lot of power in this government in his capacity as Principal Secretary for Finance. We also know of a situation – when the IMF started their mission back in 2008 for the reform of the local economy. The IMF proposed a consultancy firm for Seychelles to use for negotiation with the various international organization that Seychelles owed money.
After, only a few (2) months two of their agents who had formed a close relationship with the then, PS for Finance and Trade, broke away to form their own consultancy, named ‘White Oak’ and they were given that contract to act on behalf of Seychelles – and were paid an alleged fee of USD275,000 per month. It is also alleged that Ahmed Afif benefitted from this transaction. The fact that Mr. Ahmed Afif is now a most public figure and one of the major players in Seychelles politics and an expert on all matters related to finance and the economy; he has a responsibility towards the nation to speak the truth on all matters of corruption and malpractices that he is aware of. He must not protect anyone and least of all his own indulgence in these matters – it is clear that Ahmed is seeking protection for his sins under the cloak of the millionaire priest, this in itself is corruption:
Independent
Comments
Post a Comment