<B>Truth will out</B>

They say that travel broadens the mind. This may well be so - but must it therefore follow that the return home narrows the vision ? Returning last week from a short trip abroad, the first thing that struck me was the narrowness of local news !

Nearly four months after the Elections, “operation lev pake ale” was still on, even with such spectacularly wrong candidates for eviction as Soorya Gayan, Kadress Rungen and Amédée Nagapen. These people being old friends, it was necessary for me to read past newspapers to try and make sense of events. What came through (on reading the papers) was the type of treatment that individuals have been subjected to: insolent, cavalier and ill-mannered communications, including cases where the concerned party is merely informed by telephone before being “locked out of the office”. Were not any of these people entitled, after many years of service, at least to a word of thanks for their contributions to the institutions they served ? Should not senior civil servants respect the norms of bienséance in all communications?

Sense aside, is this way of proceeding even legal ? There is no way that Mauritius will accept such behaviour as the norm. The norms of democracy bestow on citizen equal rights: the right to serve the country to the best of their ability and to be recognised for it, the right to courteous and considerate treatment by all officials and authorities, totally independent on whom it is thought they might have voted for at the last elections. Do we or don’t we have voting by secret ballot in this country ? Are we to remind those in power of the elementary principle of democracy, which they all know, of course, that being a Prime Minister or a Minister means being so for all citizens, equally, accent on equally ?

Even more so as the TV news seem to continue being largely a coverage of events featuring politicians going about their business. Whereas the consequences of the earthquake in Pakistan, even a fortnight after the event, had merited a first spot of several minutes on the BBC news, here it was relegated to several seconds at the tail end of the 7 h 30 news, which by the way, on two consecutive days, began 2 minutes late with apologies stating “advertising” as the cause!

Fortunately, last evening provided a moment of truth. During some interminable blurb describing a medical facility of some sort, designed to impress the viewer with the efficiency of the said facility, while the newsreader was reading the official text the rest of us were presented with a view of a door clearly labelled “Eye wash”. Truth will out.

<B>Paula Atchia

(Majority Party)</B>

<B>B.P. 247

Putting

competence first</B>

On the 100th day since the present government got elected, the Managing Director of the Board of Investment (BOI) resigned. The causes are still unclear, but according to the press, he was under intense political pressure to “lev pake ale”. The Finance Minister declared on radio that he was himself surprised and that even the Prime Minister was unaware of this unexpected move. Who was then exerting pressure on the Ex-Director?

The BOI, created in 2000-2001 and which has successfully established itself as the apex body for attracting and facilitating investment, had its ups and downs. The first director, Germain Commarmond steered it to cruising speed until his sad demise in 2003. Gerard Sanspeur succeeded him and BOI really took off under his mandate but his did not stop the organization from being criticized. Recently the Prime Minister severely blamed the previous Chairman, Dr Nababsing, for failing to take good decisions.

Mr Sanspeur said that he could no longer stand political pressure. He further quoted : The World Bank has ranked Mauritius 23rd on the international level in its Doing Business Survey. In fact Mauritius is the only African country in the top 30s in a ranking where it was previously unheard of! This obviously could not have been achieved without the efforts of the BOI.

He also expressed his ambition that Mauritius figures among the top 10 next year, and why not first! Unfortunately, he has had to go before he could even implement his 3 year strategic plan for the BOI.

After Cader Calla, Iqbal Rajaballee, Jyoti Jeetun, Sorya Gayan, etc, Mr Sanspeur joins the club of political victims but the real loser is the country. I recently received BOI’s latest e-newsletter . Anyone who wants to understand his philosophy should read his editorial where he sets out his plans to implement new methods of marketing and develop sectors such as the seafood, medical and knowledge hubs.

Besides, the government has not announced any new economic venture, but will reinforce traditional sectors like tourism and tap into the potential of the “hubs” already identified by the BOI. This means the expertise, experience and innovative ideas of Sanspeur are crucial for successful strategic orientation.

BOI has been beheaded at a very critical point of its history, when we face numerous challenges on the international front. Is that the signal this government wants to send to foreign investors? Are we not playing with our future? When will this country stop sacrificing competence in the name of petty politics? Will the Prime Minister intervene to safeguard the interests of our institutions and protect them from cheap politics?

<B>Faweez Hossanee</B>