?If it is true that we all have rights, we must also understand that the rights come with duties and responsibilities,? said prime minister Navin Ramgoolam in his end-of- year speech to the people. The emphasis on our attitude has been a leitmotif in the head of government?s speeches since he came to power. Will we take heed?

It is an open secret that the year ahead will be anything but a pleasant ride through calm waters; we certainly do not need astrologer?s predictions to know this.

But the people have not necessarily heard the government?s message. This message, a pointedly socialist one, may have been misunderstood by a large majority. One of the first decisions of government was to restore the universal pension to old-age pensioners, give them - and students ? free transport and give facilities to the poor as regards payment of basic utilities like water and electricity. The principle behind what can be perceived as ?hand-outs? is, according to government, that, as long as people are not on a level playing-field, there will be no development. And, people being our only resource, we have no choice but to invest in them. Fair enough.

But this attitude may have had the opposite effect; it may have led people to be lulled into a false sense of security and comfort. Why make an effort when Big Brother will take care of everything? Our sugar industry is being seriously jeopardized, so is our textile industry but government will take care of everything and all will be fine. If this is the way the people are thinking, then we have a big problem. Perhaps it was this realization that led prime minister Ramgoolam to remind the people in his end-of-year message that we have responsibilities and duties above all.

At the same time the cost of living is so high, most people depend on this end-of-year bonus (which has by now become part and parcel of our work culture) to be able to afford a few little well- deserved luxuries.

?This is a crucial moment in the history of our country,? adds Ramgoolam. He further says that the circumstances will require sacrifice and effort on our part. But at the same time, civil servants (on an altogether different wavelength) feel cheated that government is not giving them a day off today and are fuming because they were officially made to work till 4 pm on Friday 30th. (In practice, they didn?t. Most public offices were shut at midday despite instructions to the contrary from the authorities.) So do we understand what is required of us? When the PM, at a workshop for the civil service a few weeks after he took up office, announced that sanctions will no longer be taken against latecomers in a spirit of empowerment and making employees aware of their responsibilities, civil servants instead heard what they wanted to hear; ?It?s OK for you to be late for work, your life is going to get easier.?

The stereotype of the civil servant is obviously greatly exaggerated but, in general, workers in Mauritius emulate this type of easygoing attitude. Some would argue that workers need an incentive to have the right attitude. This may be true. But surely, until we have shown we are responsible workers, we can?t expect to be treated like responsible workers? The question is, can the country afford to treat its workers generously when it is simply has not got the finances to do so? To take the debate further, can this country still afford to hand out end-of-year bonuses to every single worker every single year, regardless of whether we have the resources to do it?

The principle behind what can be perceived as ?hand-outs? is, according to government, that, as long as people are not on a level playing-field, there will be no development.

At the same time the cost of living is so high, most people depend on this end-of-year bonus (which has by now become part and parcel of our work culture) to be able to afford a few little luxuries thoroughly justified for end-of-year festivities. In a society where consumerism has become the norm and when most goods consumed are imported, it is not hard to guess how problems could arise.

?We should not be fatalistic in the face of adversity. We need to adopt a can-do attitude,? prime minister Ramgoolam said at his last press conference of 2005. The point is have we really understood that there truly is no such thing as a free lunch? Our future will depend on this. True it is what many have said over and over again. We have been through worse before and we have come out of it all the better. But that was a long time ago; that was a time when austerity was a way of life. We have come a long way since then. Whether it was the right or wrong way will be apparent soon enough.

And the fault lies with succeeding governments. The people are generally not aware of international politics, of how the way the world works actually affects us. People do not have a clue what globalization means; they only know it is the latest word in fashion and that somehow it is not a good thing for us. And whose fault is that? Until we have the answer to this question and put it into practice, we cannot expect the people to understand what we mean by the right attitude.