The million-dollar question: who is the Commissioner of Prisons of the Republic of Mauritius? Guess what? Nobody wins because? nobody knows. Well, apart from a few privileged people?

On 7th May, Cabinet announced that the government had decided to appoint an expatriate as head of the Mauritius Prisons Service (MPS). Fair enough. Bill Duff has extensive experience managing prisons in London and elsewhere and the government probably knew what it was doing when it took that decision.

Our queries all remained unanswered. Be it at the PMO or the Prisons, we got the same reaction; no one had been officially informed of any change at the head of the prison system; they had only heard of it through the press.

We thought maybe it was too early and we gave the matter a rest. In August, we learnt through the grapevine that Bill Duff had taken up office at the Central Prison. A few phone calls confirmed this. When incidents occurred at the prisons and brought the penal institutions in the limelight, we sought comments from the Commissioner of Prisons. Great was our surprise when we realized that Jensing Sibdoyal was still the acting commissioner. Enquiries led us to believe that Bill Duff, whose name was mentioned in the press release of the cabinet meeting as Commissioner designate, was? only acting as adviser!

Meanwhile, prime minister Paul Bérenger, back from his latest trip, announces that he is still dissatisfied with the situation in the prisons and that, if locals cannot do the job, foreign expertise will be sought. He will forgive us for being surprised. Did he not himself preside a meeting in May when it was decided that Bill Duff would be employed on a contractual basis for three years? Why pretend now that Bill Duff does not come in the picture when he is in actually on duty at the prison headquarters in Beau-Bassin?

Better still, we learn that the scheme of service for the Commissioner of Prisons has been reviewed and that one needs to be a MA degree holder to be eligible for the position. Fair enough, if ill advised. However, when we learn that the post will soon be opened to those who satisfy the new criteria, we get lost somewhere along the line. Because, mind you, we also learn that officials at the PMO are of the opinion that Bill Duff has the perfect profile for the job and that he will apply for it!

Are you still following? It took me a while to be honest and I still could not understand the manoeuvres of the decision makers. If the decision was taken back in May to recruit Bill Duff as commissioner of prisons designate, why pretend otherwise now? If the man goes to work every morning and sits in the commissioner?s chair, why not allow him then to do his job? What is this sordid game the government is playing at?

The amateurish way this government is dealing with this sensitive issue cannot go on. Either it thinks people are fools or it is itself utterly confused. To the delight of some troublemakers inside who are feeding on this confusion. Can you blame them? Don?t they say example comes from above?