The minister of Finance is busy giving interviews to the media (radio and newspapers) and trying to justify his stance concerning the alleviation of poverty in Mauritius. I feel that there are a number of pertinent questions that he should be asked.

At the last general elections, did he campaign for universal old age pension to be restored and free travel given to all senior citizens and students?

Why did he not insist during the electoral campaign of 2005 that benefits should be targeted? Is it possible that winning the general elections was the sole objective, never mind the rest?

Under the stewardship of the last government, a system of targeting old age pension was introduced based on income level. The current minister of Finance tells us that the system was not economically viable. It may have been so but at least the principle had been established. Why did he not insist on retaining and improving the system instead of ditching it? Perhaps promising universal pension and free travel for senior students and students were the best ways to influence the population to vote for the then opposition, never mind the ensuing consequences.

He talks of having put the economy back on the right track. Perhaps he should tell the public what percentage of the current foreign direct investments (FDI) is due to the sea food hub, integrated resorts scheme (IRS) and the advent of the cyber city, projects that were initiated by the previous government.

In a recent interview, he said that he is criticized by the opposition and yet ?Person pa don nou solision? Just to remind him that only recently his boss said that government should govern and opposition should oppose following a suggestion of a round table to discuss law and order by a politician of the opposition. The answer of his leader should provide the answer to his request. He goes on to say ?Nou pe fer mie ki ansien gouvernma?. Is this bland statement meant to make us feel better? Is the essence of the message telling us that if the previous government fared badly, we are not as bad as them? Is that meant to make the public feel confident in those at the helm?

He talks of others as being hypocrites and paying lip service in the fight against poverty. Is he trying to reinvent the wheel? Why did he not make all his suggestions prior to the 2005 general elections? To coin a well-known phrase ?Tou dimoun kone? who the real hypocrites are.

C.C.C