The future of Air Mauritius remains very uncertain. Despite general manager Nirvan Veerasamy’s reassurances that he will remain in his post at the head of the local airline, there is no doubt that Megh Pillay has been approached for the post by people close to the government. However, the GM of Air Mauritius insists that he will stay until the end of his contract. Likewise, government sources point out that he still benefits from the prime minister’s support. As for Megh Pillay, he has declined to make any comment so far.

After the hard times Nirvan Veerasamy has gone through – especially with the parliamentary questions by MP Suren Dayal about possible conflicts of interest between his own businesses and his post at Air Mauritius – the board of the local airline dissociated itself from its director. Although it has never asked Nirvan Veerasamy to step down, it has remained aloof from him since the allegations. Despite his constant denials, the board made it clear it was “taking the allegations very seriously”.

As a result, when Nirvan Veerasamy left for holidays last week, rumours were rife that he was standing down from the local airline. Likewise, the fact that he confided to friends that he was “tired” may have fuelled the rumours. But the communication manager of Air Mauritius, Robert Alizart, was adamant, “As agreed, he will come back after his holidays to prepare the general assembly of the company”. But Nirvan Veerasamy might have a very hard time on the last Friday of September, as company shareholders intend to ask for explanations about the allegations.

The general manager was however clear in an internal communiqué to his employees, “As you’re aware, I am on holiday and will be back on 29th August, as planned. I remain more than ever determined to apply my programme.” He may actually be even more determined as the Director of public prosecutions has decided not to give any follow-up to the Icac enquiry on the allegations of conflict of interest with Air Seychelles.

If Nirvan Veerasamy was to resign, a few people at the government - who however have a limited influence - seem to think that the best candidate to replace him would be Megh Pillay. As former GM of Air Mauritius, he already has knowledge of the sector and has already proved his efficiency in this post. This is at least what some shareholders seem to think…