The National Assembly on Tuesday March 9, endorsed the Members' Emoluments Amendment Bill 2004, which puts salaries for the Speaker and Leader of Government Business on par with that of the Leader of the Opposition and cabinet ministers.

The bill received the approval of all members in the majority Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF) party, while members of the Seychelles National Party (SNP) voted against it.

In his presentation, Minister Designate Joseph Belmont said the main objective of the bill was to bring conformity in the status of the four most important people in the National Assembly – the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of Government Business.

Minister Belmont noted that while the posts and emoluments of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of Opposition have been created under the provisions of the Constitution, the post of Leader of Government Business existed as part of a custom adopted in the first National Assembly of the Third Republic since 1993.

The Leader of Government Business, he said, was appointed by the President of the Republic to defend government interests in the National Assembly.

Minister Belmont said that compared to the Leader of Opposition, who enjoyed a salary, allowances and gratuity benefits similar to those of the ministers, this was not the case for the Speaker and Leader of Government Business.

The approval of the bill means that both the Speaker and Leader of Government Business will receive a R14,000 monthly salary in addition to a R5,000 monthly allowance, an annual gratuity equal to 25 percent of the total salary and a gratuity equal to 50 percent of the salary once their term in office ends.

Minister Belmont said that since the practice of Leader of Government Business has been in existence for more than 10 years, it was high time to give the post the status it deserved.

Members from the SPPF party who intervened, namely Honourable Andre Pool, Rukaiya Jumaye and Anne-Marie Mathiot, agreed that there should not be any inequalities among the three most important figures in the National Assembly.

They discussed the effective roles and responsibilities of the Leader of Government Business, which they said would now operate through a full-fledged office that would need adequate resources.

Citing a number of clauses and articles, Hon. Jumaye stressed that the Constitution did make provisions for the President of the Republic to appoint the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly. The National Assembly, she added, has the legislative power to bring and enforce the regulations pertaining to the emoluments to be allocated to the post in question.

However, members from SNP, namely Honourable Annette Georges, opposition leader Wavel Ramkalawan, Gerald Julie and Bernard Georges argued that they could not approve the emoluments being proposed for the Leader of Government Business because the post has not been created according to the procedures laid down in the Constitution. Both Hon. Annette and Bernard Georges said that the post could only be regularised if an amendment was made to the Constitution to make provision for its creation and for the emoluments.

Hon. Julie said the bill comes at a bad time, with the majority of people being asked to make sacrifices. It was not the right time to increase the salary of only some, he said.

In his summing-up address Minister Belmont maintained that the appointment of the Leader of Government Business and the creation of his post were in accordance with articles of the Constitution. The creation of the post, he said, could either be done through a constitutional amendment or the presentation and approval of a bill, which were both in line with the Constitution. 

Tuesday's sitting was chaired by Deputy Speaker Hon. Shelton Jolicoeur.

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