This is not the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, this fact does not seem to have dawned on the policy-makers who “control” (the word is carefully chosen) the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). Since 1968, Mauritius has been a democracy and one could even go so far as to describe the country as a modern liberal democracy. Although this system occasionally engenders chaos and corruption, it is widely accepted as the optimal and most humane form of government.

In return, though, the people expect to savour the myriad fruits of this ideology, of which respect of minorities and freedom of expression are but two examples. This is why the MBC, which incidentally is funded by taxpayers' money, can no longer treated like some Indian Ocean version of Pravda at the height of the Cold War.

If the recent incident of the allegedly late journalist, cameraman and driver wasn’t enough to get the machine of reform groaning slowly into action, then the disinformation campaign that the MBC news programmes have become should surely have spurred its weary cogs into movement.

The night before last, I chanced upon the nine o’clock news. How I would come to rue my intrepidness! The presenter, bedecked with the compulsory look of journalistic earnestness, described in great detail what the prime minister had said and done that day. She then went on to all and sundry about what he would be doing the next day. When the international and sports news came round, I was half-surprised to discover that they were devoid of the prime minister’s elegant silhouette.

Admittedly, the MBC’s partisanship is nothing new. It can, in fact, be described as a tradition that successive governments have gone out of their way to entrench. A national abhorrence of criticism, even of the constructive type, has also helped to cement the MBC’s puppet status. Having said this, government has decided to strengthen the corporation’s subservience to its masters of the day. Yet even propaganda has its limitations (I’m not sure all North Koreans believe that they inhabit an earthly paradise and that Kim Jong Il is a wonderful leader).

“Alternance oblige”, governments are swiftly (every five years or so) relegated to the opposition. And the opposition has the same effect on the MBC as the fourth dimension on a God-fearing man. It might exist but shouldn’t receive too much mention lest it angers the powers-that-be. Don’t governments realise that their days in power are numbered and that an independent MBC will benefit them when they inevitably fall from grace? Perhaps not. Vanity is a potent intoxicator of the senses.

“Bizin sanzman” has not been extended to the MBC. This is unfortunate and insulting for a nation that ranks amongst the best-educated of the continent. Then again, given the difficult economic and social times ahead, it may be best to focus on bland and innocuous ministerial functions. Oh, and thank goodness for satellite television!