The Office of the President has announced that, following recommendations received this week from the Constitutional Appointments Authority, the President has appointed the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Members of the Anti-Corruption Commission, in accordance with Sections 6 and 7 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2016.

The person appointed as Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Commission is Justice Duncan Gaswaga, who has served the Judiciary of Seychelles, initially as a Magistrate and later as a Supreme Court Judge, between 2002 and 2013.  He is currently a High Court Judge in Uganda.

Mr. Daniel Jacques Belle, who is an Attorney at Law, has been appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the Commission.  Mr. Belle served as a Member of the Constitutional Commission which drafted the Constitution of the Third Republic, and also as a former Member of the National Assembly.

The other three Members appointed to the Commission are Mr. Hardy Daniel Lucas, Mrs. Priscille Chetty and Ms. Marie-Claire Elizabeth.

Mr. Hardy Lucas is a businessman, and a former Member of the Public Service Appeal Board, as well as a former Member of the National Assembly.

Mrs. Priscille Chetty is an Attorney and Partner in the Chetty & Hoareau Law Chambers of Victoria.

Ms. Marie-Claire Elizabeth has had a long career in journalism with the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation, and although she has retired from fulltime work, still contributes part-time as producer and director of SBC TV programmes.

One of the first tasks of the Anti-Corruption Commission will be to recommend to the President, in accordance with Section 19 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer who will be responsible for implementing the decisions of the Commission, and for the effective management of the affairs of the Commission.

The decision to create an Anti-Corruption Commission was announced by President Michel in his State of the Nation Address in February 2016.

He declared that the Commission would have the powers to investigate, detect and prevent practices linked to corruption.   It would also receive complaints against corruption and record investigations into allegations of practices linked to corruption in any Government departments and any institutions which receive funding and donations from Government.

The President repeated that Government would never tolerate corruption, and that it had already taken harsh measures where corruption had existed.  He said that the new Commission would spearhead this drive relentlessly.