Surendra BISSOONDOYAL ?People of goodwill are all welcome!?

Although he has always wanted to keep his independence as a civil servant who worked with all governments, the well-known educationalist has found it was now time to ?stand up and be counted?. After studying mathematics in England and teaching there to ?gain some experience?, Surendra Bissoondoyal came back to his native country and started working as a teacher at Loreto College Port-Louis before going to the teachers? training college and becoming an education officer at the ministry of Education. As the former first secretary of the Mauritius Institute of Education from 1975 to 1984 and director of the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate until 1997 (while being pro-chancellor of the University of Mauritius until 2005), he now feels he can bring his contribution not only to the education sector ?to avoid back-pedalling? but also to the social sector in general. ?All the people of goodwill are welcome to help the country against a government that is making the country fall apart. The situation may be difficult but people must be told the truth and I think Bérenger and Lutchmeenaraidoo can both give some confidence back to the people.?

Ashveen GOPEE ?Towards the building of the nation?

One of the reasons why he made the ?big jump? and left Mauritius to study in Cardiff in 2002 was because law was a ?good template for politics?. After working as an engineer in electro-mechanics in South Africa and then for the Central Electricity Board, Ashveen Gopee suddenly realised that ?machines did not reply when he talked to them?. Politics has always been something that was close to his heart because ?by nature, I like meeting people, socialising?. Although he stayed abroad for quite some time and acknowledges that one can be ?better-off, but you always feel as a foreigner?. He would like everyone to understand that we are one nation. ?I might start something that will take decades to become a reality but someone has to start something somewhere.? He has chosen the MMM because he shares the ideology of this party, ?which is the only one with a structure and a vision?.

Muhammad UTEEM ?Reform of the financial sector?

?There is a time when you start feeling the call from society.? Even though he has always been surrounded by politics, it is Muhammad Uteem?s first experience in active politics. The death of his brother, Oomar, who was a member of the MMM, rang the alarm bell and pushed him further into the political arena. ?After my brother died, many people came to see me and encouraged me to go and meet people. I was so struck by the misery and suffering of the people outside that I felt it was my duty to put my competence to the service of the population.?After his studies at Royal College Port-Louis and a master degree in International Business Law, he came first of his year for the bar exams in Great Britain in 1993. Two years later, he was sworn in as barrister in Mauritius. His experience in the field must be the reason why his ambition is to reform the financial sector in Mauritius. ?One of the main causes of poverty in Mauritius is the way the financial sector works; banks are overprotected while people keep on being indebted.?