Mauritius is a success story. As a small country, our economic record, our tolerance of different cultures and religions, our sociability and our performance on the international arena are admired. We are proud of these achievements. We are proud to be Mauritians.

For some, life begins at 40. Mauritius has reached such a milestone - as a free and independent country. At 40, one would like to feel more mature, perhaps a responsible parent and a hard working member of society. Could this be a new beginning for Mauritius too? Can we look at this year of independence as the hallmark of our nationhood? What can we do as a young nation to capitalise on our developing maturity? Is it leadership or collective responsibility that we need? Could it be collective, personal and social responsibility that will emerge as the agenda for the next election?

■ Leadership

Leadership is a critical factor in business development, family management and nation building. To a certain extent, SSR has given us a sense of direction to stand on our own two feet. Such leadership is commendable and we recognise the impact of independence. The concept has been a fine one but one wonders what plan SSR had for nation building.

Has there been any evidence of a political and social strategy for nation building? If there has been, then what has been the impact? Where are we now? Can we recognise political, social, economic and psychological (humanitarian) life-changing events that we can pinpoint as defining moments of our development? Has post-colonialism really brought about a new breed of Mauritians? Look around you. What do you see? If one had to catalogue events, then the emergence of SAJ as an able PM, Cassam Uteem as the caring president and Paul Berenger as the first white Christian PM would be high on the list. The beginning of industrialisation, the surge of textile and leisure industries, a respectable GDP, greater independence of women, emergence of new radio stations, clearer input from the JEC, and a sense of forward action are the crystallising strategies. These emerged because SAJ was a good manager as the CEO of Independent Mauritius PLC. The ?feel-good factor? comes as a result of good and sustained leadership. Hard work, smart work, determination and imagination are the key ingredients to lead. Who are the politicians who have shown these? It would be too cheap to spell names but, as part of our development, we should be able to recognise them. Look around you again. What do you see? Do you see politicians showing these characteristics and upholding values to be examples to our younger generation? If not, then this is what we need to remember before putting a cross against any name on the next ballot paper. We should not be lulled into submission by the offer of few rupees, a dinner at a famous restaurant or a ?tempo pressure cooker?. The days for soft ?gifts? at election time are gone but practical evidence of improvements, role models and capacity building should emerge as key criteria for election votes. We cannot afford dubious leaders for our 40th anniversary. If we do, it will all be downhill, heading South, as the saying goes. Mauritius needs a tough leader with vision and passion to alleviate poverty, improve our basic and tertiary education system, provide cleaner hospital and good healthcare, energise the economy through business growth and give independence to the Bank of Mauritius, care for our children and vulnerable members of our society with a supportive welfare system and able to galvanise the various sections of our community into a nation. The expectation for our 40th is high but not too tall an order. We need it to leave a legacy of development, solidarity, strength and decency to our children. We cannot rest on our laurels because any sign of complacency will lead to decline in general social and economic standards leading to rising unemployment and crime. There are lots of good things to leave to our children but we also need to understand that the gap between the rich and the poor has widened, crime rates are rising because of poverty, unemployment, soaring cost of living, inflationary prices and desperation.

■ Nation building

Independent Mauritius PLC is made of individuals and several groups. Both have to assume responsibility for their actions. There is a need for all of us to pull in the same direction. It is important for politicians to champion individual and collective responsibilities. This is best shown top down. The PM, the executives and elected representatives must demonstrate social responsibility and lead by example. The perception that nobody cares is heightened when the CEO drives an Aston Martin while the ordinary citizen is asked to make sacrifices and endure harsh economic measures. This is politically incorrect and does not send a message that we are actually pulling together and in the same direction. The CEO carries the heaviest burden in any organisation to be the role model, to be in tune with the feelings of his workforce and to lead the team by example.

The public will not galvanise if the perception is that the executives are wasting resources, appointing dubious ex-politicians and advisers to posts through personal nominations or looking after their own factions. Credibility comes through sustained and consistent fair actions not slogans. Mauritius must have a system of nomination followed by public scrutiny of all appointments like the USA. Here the President must exercise his responsibilities only and only after the public scrutiny gives a clean bill of health to nominees. We should do away with the absolute power of the PM to nominate and the president to stamp his seal of approval without the public knowing the profile and competence of nominees. The credentials of the nominees for senior posts and para-statal organisations must be exposed, scrutinised, cross-examined and then a recommendation made to the president for approval. This is the type of changes which will hail the arrival of a better Mauritius and this is the way we should build on our success stories as a nation. Mauritius has all the credentials to be as good as, if not better, than Singapore. The greatest enemy within which is holding Mauritius back is the deep suspicion, which lies between the populace and the cabinet.

Mauritius needs a more transparent system of governance and public accountability. Each project must be closely supervised and the expenses, including the commission, published by the government in national newspapers. This is absolutely necessary otherwise Mauritius will wallow in a mire of suspicion and perceived corruption.

We are a young maturing democracy and we should not only be putting it into practice but we must be seen to be democratic. Our appointment system for all major posts such as permanent secretaries and senior chief executives must be made through public scrutiny, based on competence rather than rewards for electioneering.

The PM must bring about this fundamental change to regain the confidence of the public. When the public does not see meritocracy in practice, there is loss of trust, brain drain, decline in public services and loss of motivation to work leading to rising unemployment.

■ Work Ethics

My encounter with some public workers illuminates a problem. A team of thirty labourers, three supervisors, one inspector and an engineer illustrate their work ethics. My observation reveals arrival at work at 8 a.m., some drift in late, sitting, chatting during breakfast until 9am. Some start to work; others are still engaged in chats and laughter, move one stone from A to B, then engage again in discussions. Break time is at 10.00 am or 10:30am, which in fact is an ideal time to go fishing or return home for lunch.

Work time observed for the day is about one and a half to two hours. Here is an example of massive waste of public (yours and mine) money. Who is accountable for this waste? Why is it happening in Mauritius? How is it that, when Mauritians move to Europe, Canada or Australia (there is a long queue for migration), they are happy to work day and night but give so little to their own country? Is it to do with their perception of what the executives are doing? Sharing the pie among themselves and the ordinary public servant trying to get back at them through inefficiency and waste? Independent Mauritius PLC is bleeding in front of our very own eyes. We desperately need responsible role models in our country. Leaders of men are those people who ?lend a hand?. Maybe Mauritius is not training its supervisors to be team leaders but only observers by remote control. Independent Mauritius PLC cannot afford such supervisors because they make bad role models and spread the cancer of inefficiencies and defunct leadership. These men should ?pack up and go? or be prepared to retrain. This is where the empowerment programme should show its teeth in reforming fundamental attitudes of our work force quickly otherwise it will be too late.

■ Conclusion

Our 40th anniversary is critical and it can propel us among the most progressive countries. Our enemy is ourselves. We should not accept money or sweeteners during elections as we will have to pay back to our elected representatives with massive interest. We should view money-bag politicians with deep suspicion and scepticism and send them packing. We must demand transparency of appointments, transparency of public funds expenditure and better work ethics. Our future is in our hands, not the politicians. We should change as a nation.

Taleb DURGAHEE