Rising crime rates, scandals... These cracks appearing in our society, aren?t they indicators that industrialisation has its problems ? Dr Taleb Durgahee urges the political leaders to head the debate on the regeneration of human values. They should stand in the next elections with pragmatic solutions, he says.

Mauritius is gripped by development and industrialisation. There are essentially two forms of development namely. (1) Physical development such as materialism, infrastructure and technology and (2) human development such as family units, ethics and citizenship. The manner in which these developments unfold politically and socially affects the long-term social fibre and psyche of the population. Now the President of Mauritius is leading the regeneration of human values and eminent professors from overseas are commissioned to assess the impact of industrialisation. Is this a realisation that something has gone wrong? Is this an acknowledgement that rising crime rates have taken its toll? Has the family unit shown disturbing level of stress of materialistic life? Have we reached a plateau of development and material thirst? This paper explores some of these questions to highlight some key policies that should be central for the next general election.

Physical Development

The pace of life in Mauritius has gone through the roof. Physical development has been a winning theme for the ruling political parties. The focus has been on materialistic development and providing employment especially for women. Tourism and textiles industries have featured heavily and both have been significant in changing our attitudes and aspiration. More disposable income has enlightened Mauritius to acquire better housing, faster cars, marginally improved infrastructure and new shopping complex. Housing is a sign of marked improvement in a family?s economic standing as new fashionable kitchen is installed with the latest technology, bedrooms become air-conditioned, old-fashioned floors are replaced with italian tiles and new hitech taps adorn wash basins. These items show only the bank balance but do not show the ability or competence of the user as people with human values. Mauritius has fallen victim of materialistic display as a sign of progress. Thus, both the rich and the poor aspire to this hitech living. This craze for materialistic possessions and ?keeping up with the Jones?s? is driving people to unethical actions, double-dealings, stealing and fraud. Mauritius has seen an avalanche of ?misappropriation of funds? in big reliable businesses such as Air Mauritius and Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB). The greed theory has become the norm and even professionals with handsome salaries cannot help abusing the trust that businesses and companies have bestowed upon them. The people of Mauritius have become casualties of physical development.

Affluence is a disease of the materialistic mind with the compulsive desire to surround oneself with inanimate objects. The value of ?inanimate objects? becomes the driving force of living when ?animate? people should be our central concern and the reason for life. This is indeed a sad state. It is very destructive as materialistic people become slave to acquisition of unwanted and unusable items as symbols of their wealth. There is plenty of evidence in Mauritius that people are on the ?acquisition bandwagon?. This is what forces people to do the unthinkable and take risks of incredible proportion. Once one risk pays dividend, it becomes a cycle of temptations. Materialism is very powerful and energises this cycle of temptation. People begin to look at the shortest route to acquire while sacrificing quality, honesty and trustworthiness. Anybody who is in business or engaged in hiring contractors for building work will have met the unbelievable trickeries some people use to cut corners and amass materialistic gains. Usually these people come to grief eventually and their success of deception crumble like a pack of cards. This is what physical development and affluence do. Relentless pursuit of materialistic betterment leads to nowhere without morality and ethical dealings. In short, this is what has happened in Mauritius and the political parties are guilty for spurring on with development while forgetting the people.

Human Development

People make a country, buildings do not; just like schools where the building does not matter very much but what goes on in them is more important. The strategy of developing Mauritius has neglected simultaneous ?value systems? development. This is the result of politicians rushing to show tangible and visible signs of improvement to capture votes because it is very difficult to substantiate and quantify human development to the electorate. Thus, those who may claim credit for physical development must accept responsibility for leaving the people behind. Along with technology, studies in philosophy, ethics and citizenship should have had similar priorities. For example, there is no point having the latest hitech in hospitals when there is no staff with the skills and knowledge to operate sophisticated equipments.

Human development has to focus on:

strengthening the family unit

education in parenthood and citizenship

spirituality

community and Neighbourhood development

self-awareness and interpersonal skills education.

Mauritius has a human resource development (HRD) plan, which is basically linked to industrial development, matching skills with needs but neglecting human values, the very engine that drives people to use skills expertly and ethically. It is high time this HRD plan is re-examined and brought into the 21st century. A HRD plan without human values is like attending a wedding where the bride and the bridegroom are absent. It is lifeless and insensible.

New Direction

Human values are best inculcated at home, at school, at work and among peer groups. Thus, the next general election should herald a manifesto based on value creation. The key areas for debate, expansion and concrete policies will be:

practical ways of helping families to spend more time with their children

parents to become more active and get involved in schools

development of a new brand of facilitators in reflective learning, philosophy and human values

political Parties to become more transparent

putting the brakes firmly on the expansion of the tourism industry which has the greatest and most profound effect on culture change

education and research to focus on personal development and growth.

Children are our future and the values inculcated in them will determine the type of society Mauritius will enjoy within this millennium. Thus, investing in child-parent relationship is critical. Policies reinforcing this bond through incentives and encouraging women to play a significant role at home and at work will be decisive. Women-friendly policies will be the winning theme. Home values are mostly associated with motherhood and matrimonial harmony. If Mauritius is serious in developing a value-laden society, with human values at the forefront, policies that strengthen motherhood, husband and wife relationship must be central. Political parties must find pragmatic ways of consolidating this relationship so that values are created at home and within the bond of matrimony. Here lies the challenge for the future Prime Minister.

Values learnt at home have a bearing on what goes on at school and how the child embraces education and lifelong learning. The bridge that connects and makes sense of the school and home for the benefit of the child are the parents. Thus, parental influence both at home and school must be toughened and taken to another level. This is a real opportunity for political parties to be innovative in putting forward policies fit for our modern society, to empower parents in educational arena and bridge the gap that may exist in child-school relationship. Parents are the pre-mix that firms up and cements values children are exposed to and carry forward in adulthood. The child seeks and appreciates parental approval of new values to be in a state of equilibrium. Thus, policies that leave parents out of value creation and value consolidation will be and should be rejected by the electorate.

Values are learnt from people and teachers who are seen as reasonable, fair and honest. This category of people is usually role models and they practice what they preach. Thus, children and adults learn from their examples. Another group of people who teach value creation and application is the professional facilitator. This demands a deliberate policy of educating facilitators in reflective approaches, personal growth and development so that people are sensitised to the ?value component? of their actions, reactions, personal, professional and social situations. Any activity is made up of three components: (1) value component, (2) affective component and (3) action component. These are the three components that we should all examine, scrutinise and dissect frequently to be sensitised to our actions. This is how ethical people are developed and trained. A deliberate policy to develop this new trademark of catalyst in our society is imperative.

Political parties must set an example in being reasonable and rational. The parties becoming more transparent, publishing their manifesto, revealing their funds and funding sources best do this. The political process is a great source of values and many people take up politics because they cherish certain values. Thus being part of a political organisation that does not make its ?internal workings? and ?value systems? known is in direct contradiction to the whole process. Political leaders have to recognise that Mauritians are sophisticated people and they need to know the ?values? that their parties are aspiring to. People are more likely to vote for a party that is in congruence with their own values.

The manner in which people have been choosing to vote in Mauritius over the last few decades is a direct result of how political parties have been managing them. Stretching the argument further, it can be said that our society is now lacking the tangible human values in practice because of the political parties? lack of accountability and ethics. Thus, political parties that put forward their values and openly declare what they stand for are more likely to be attractive to the voter. Such a policy is not only desirable but also essential to the development of values across the whole island. Good governance has to start at this very point and must be value-ridden. Who wants to exercise true leadership for the sake of an ethical, moral and just Mauritius? Which party has the gusto and the vision to set the ball rolling?

Values are learnt and shared when people meet and exchange views. Travelling teaches people what no university can. Tourism has accelerated this form of sharing and learning in Mauritius. When mass tourism is exploited for economic reasons, the by-product is consistent mass meeting of people of differing values. This is culture change and the very fibre of the society and psyche is tampered with. If the tourism industry were to be exploited further, it could only penetrate mass tourism that will swamp Mauritius and speed up the culture change. The value of the new Mauritianism must be made sense of and we must have a policy that slows down the expansion of tourism. Hotels and ?beach invasion? already inundate Mauritius. The political party that heralds conservation instead of expansion will appeal more to the electorate.

Adult life is the product of values learnt during our teen years. Adulthood provides us with personal, social and professional frameworks such as marriage and responsibilities to ground the values learnt and pass them on to our children. Thus adult education and value consolidation are absolutely essential because the cycle of ?value creation and transmission? goes on. There is a need for escalating and growing adult education massively. Mauritius is sometimes seen as a model for democracy and economic growth. For an island that cherishes such an accolade, adult education is still very poor and dismal. The next election should be fought on a manifesto that will promote adult education to an original level consistent with those successful economies in the asian and western worlds.

Cautionary Note

Overseas consultants can assess what is happening now in Mauritius but they will be unable to understand how Mauritius used to be before industrialisation. So the impact of industrialisation cannot be clearly isolated unless consultants have an ethnographic view of Mauritius. A short and sharp report by external consultants will only reveal a bird?s eye view of Mauritius today. Thus, such studies will not be cre-dible in informing policies for a modern Mauritius and the type of values that need to be inculcated. Political parties must refrain from engaging consultants who have no ?living? experiential knowledge of Mauritius to understand the cultural and social contexts.

Conclusion

Human values are essential for our survival and civilisation. They can only be inculcated if our political leaders set clear and convincing examples (...) The scandals at Air Mauritius, MCB and others have shamed Mauritians around the world. The next general election must bring an era of moral and ethical rebuilding and not materialistic craze. Will the political parties rise to the challenge? Kot nou pé aller avec sa la vie la ? Only time will tell.

Dr Taleb DURGAHEE