All Mauritian PMs so far (SSR, SAJ, NR, PRB, NR) have retained the Home Affairs portfolio under their direct control. The case for such centralised control at the time of the birth of Mauritius in 1968 may have been very strong, but 40 years later (in 2007-08), it may be the right time to break with tradition and establish such a Ministry. This proposal is in no way a criticism of these prime-ministerial incumbents, rather an adaptation to new times.

The main problem would be to find the right man or woman for the task: someone non-sectarian and incorruptible, combining ruthless efficiency with humanism, someone full-time on the job, who would be as much in the field overseeing police action, watching over the security of citizens (both preventive and curative) as he would in thinking out the operative maintenance and improvement of “l’espace vital” of the country.

<B>Why is this change necessary? Both here and elsewhere, universal changes are fast making the governance of human societies a very complex task indeed. The maintenance of Law and Order is becoming far more challenging with the use of advanced technologies by all manner of thugs, terrorists, wheelers and dealers. On bad days, our dailies and weeklies devote considerable space to crime and associated deeds, not to mention stories of success and failures (including unlawful brutality) of law-enforcement agencies. The press, in doing its job, brings to light a sad situation, which we all wish to see improve. So, to properly co-ordinate both the human and technical response to the maintenance of Law and Order, a dedicated, full-time minister for Home Affairs may be an effective way to achieve better internal security and services, with all these functions under one roof, instead of being one of the PM’s numerous functions. Incidentally, this separation where it operates, leaves more time to the Head of Government for co-ordination functions, thereby ensuring more coherent governance.

<B>France</B> is a prime example where, for the last two centuries, the ministry of the Interior has been at the very heart of government, to “ensure on the whole territory the maintenance and cohesion of the country’s institutions”. In short, the French Interior minister (presently Nicolas Sarkozy) is one of the most important cabinet positions, responsible for these:

The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes, including control of all the major law-enforcement forces (police and gendarmerie, civil defence and security directorate, the sapeurs-pompiers, etc;

● the granting of identity documents (passports, IDs and driving licences) through the network of préfectures;

● relations between the central government and local governments;

● organization of political elections at the national and prefectoral levels, together with the Constitutional Council; all departemental préfets are subordinate to the Interior minister, who often sees himself as the “dauphin” of the PM or even the President.

The success of this ministry (quite largely dependent on the full time dedication of its minister) is one of the clearest indications as to how well or not a country is being run.

There are probably as different “formulae” as there are sovereign states. Here is a review of a selected few:

<B>The Interior ministry of the Czech Republic</B> is a huge body dealing with all the needs and requirements of the citizen, directly. Its hands-on personnel cover services such as citizens’ advice, asylum and migration, elections, fire, police and public administration, official documentation, collection of acts, emergencies, sports and transport, radio, news and information, etc.

<B>The federal interior minister of Germany</B> has a wide variety of responsibilities. The most important is guaranteeing the country’s internal security, to prevent crime before it occurs. Managing and controlling immigration fairly has a major impact on life in Germany, as well as the integration of permanent residents not of German origin. It is important to improve German language competency among new residents and make sure that all are aware of the values anchored in the Constitution. Their other tasks include modernizing state and public administration, reducing bureaucracy and making sure that the benefits of the information society are accessible to all. The ministry is also responsible for disaster response (as it did last week when a giant storm hit Germany), for managing the information society, sports policy and generally modernising the administration of the country.

<B>India </B>considers<B> peace and harmony </B>as essential pre-requisites for the development and blossoming of the individual as well as social aspirations and building a strong and prosperous nation. To this end, the ministry of Home affairs strives to eliminate threats to internal security including militancy, insurgency and terrorism; preserves, protects and promotes social harmony; enforces the rule of law and provides timely justice. It provides for an environment free from crime, uphold the principles of human rights and mitigates the sufferings resulting from natural and man-made disasters. In doing these tasks, the ministry of Home affairs of India respects India’s ancient civilisation and complex social dynamics as well as the country’s federal structure and diversity, keeping the delicate and difficult balance between Central and State interventions.

<B>Singapore. </B>The senior minister concerned is both deputy PM and minister of Home affairs. His ministry co-ordinates a number of closely related areas affecting the daily life of all Singaporeans, such as internal security, crime prevention, citizenship, IDs, passports and immigration, anti-drug and gambling suppression actions, martial arts control, Civil defence and training for home front security, custody and rehabilitation of offenders, road safety and traffic enforcement, licensing, fire and emergency services as well as the behaviour of its citizens at all times. Judging by results, the ministry of Home affairs of Singapore is an excellent (non-liberal) model for the world.

<B>Finland. </B>This country’s profile is as usual a rational one. Its ministry of the Interior deals with security and balanced development in Finland. It is responsible for the overall development of regional administration, state local administration and population registers. It provides the basic legal and financial preconditions for the country’s self-governing municipalities and promotes the equitable and independent development of different parts of the country. It is responsible for the maintenance of public order and security, it supervises rescue services, deals with matters concerning Finnish citizenship, immigration and asylum and is responsible for guarding the country’s borders and steers all internal administration.

<B>Conclusion.</B> Our model must necessarily follow our needs, the main ones at the moment being security, the rule of law and equity for all citizens, to which I would add (and this is where the French model is valuable) the planned development, embellishment, maintenance and humanisation of the severely restricted vital space in Mauritius. Should a future ministry of the Interior (assuming the powers- that- be are convinced of its relevance) also follow our cherished traditions of liberalism, laissez-faire and individualism or is this country ripe for strong interventionism, Singapore style? What’s your opinion?

Dr.Michael Atchia