What a wave of rage and fury followed one of Sithanen’s statement, as usual thickly coated with arrogance ! Last week in Parliament, the minister of Finance, hands in the pockets, as usual again, very condescendingly regretted that the MMM no longer has any competence to understand the economic rationale that underpins his budgetary and financial strategy.

Such verbal and body language is no novelty in our House or other fora where parading by politicians is regular. Remember Bérenger with his finger threatening his audience and delivering pronouncements that Tom is a lazy bone, Dick is intellectually limited and Harry is a utter fool.

It’s a pity that Honourable Sithanen has no memory of what young Rama had to endure in his youth. They are so far away the days of Cassis Government school, Prince Charles College, located, in the 60’s, behind Venus Cinema in Port-Louis, and later Bhujoharry College.

"This man has a computer on his desk and computer in his head", said Professor Sachs, the famous constitutional and electoral systems expert in a statement to describe Rama Sithanen. From what Ramgoolam’s present minister of Finance gave us to see, one might conclude that " this man has a computer on his desk and ONLY a computer in his head".

Sithanen’s remark, rightly construed as an insult, generated noisy walk outs, vociferous press statements by the opposition and comments by editors. Sithanen’s sting was a really resounding slap in the face of the MMM. The party of the militants was the last organisation to deserve such humiliation. But, it’s now Bérenger’s toy.

Sithanen talks of economists and doctors. Where have gone those brains that constituted the pride of the MMM some twenty five years ago ? The sheets of the MMM membership register used to be full of economists, doctors, lawyers, scientists, university lecturers and other respected professionals : Vidula Nabasing, Vishnu Luchmeenaraidoo, Sushill Kushiram, Ram Seegobin, Para Valaydon, Swaley Kasenally, Jocelyn Deville, Rajiv Servansingh, France Canabady, Kailash Ruhee, Professor Baligadoo, to quote but a few. Publishing a full list thereof would need a whole newspaper. And we are not mentioning those who gave a helping hand behind the curtain in the committees, particularly the « commission économique ».

What is left of militants would be well advised to have an aggiornamento. Each time somebody resigned from the party, instead of trying to grasp the real reason of the member’s departure, they simply joined the sycophants’ choir and called names. Dissenting militants were traitors, sold outs, turncoats, communalists or overambitious persons.

The last election within the MMM ranks has shown that there is not much prospect for young devoted Mauritian professionals to be in a position to take the lead. Flatterers, opportunists and careerists have the day.

Sithanen hit the nail on the head. God save the MMM, Mr Cuttaree !

JED