We were joking the other day (because you have got to, haven’t you) in one of our daily briefing sessions at the office, that people would now be extra careful not to be found guilty of an offence because anyone in their right mind would be terrified at the very thought of being sent to Beau-Bassin (or any other prison for that matter). How wrong were we!

Just a couple of hours after his release from jail, a man goes to get some food, buys himself a knife and stabs the first person he sees walking the streets of Rose-Hill. Not giving a thought to the gravity of his act, to the sanctity of life, to the family he is depriving of a breadwinner, to the personal tragedy that would ensue. Nothing. And he runs off. But not too fast though because he is caught almost immediately and reports suggest that he is not too reluctant to confess what seemed like a normal act to him. Why, why, why?

The only plausible explanation that comes to mind is that the guy obviously wants to be sent back to prison. There, he has a roof over his head, he gets fed, drugs would be available on terms and conditions he could not possibly hope to find outside the prisons and he even gets sex : a man who doesn’t think twice about stabbing another to death would probably think nothing of raping another, after all.

So obviously the theory that the actual state of our prisons could be a blessing in disguise in the sense that the violence and the sheer state of lawlessness they contain within their walls could act as a deterrent to others doesn’t hold water. So what do we do about it?

It is up to the government to answer this question but it is a question that should concern all of us. Piecemeal solutions, eyewash measures will not do. The situation has lasted long enough. The authorities have for too long neglected the Mauritius Prisons Service (MPS); it doesn’t even have a proper ministry, for goodness’ sake. Minister Bappoo’s ministry has for title “Social security and reform institutions”, which would lead us to believe that the prisons, meant to be reform institutions were under the responsibility of the Social security minister. But no. Apparently, the “reform institutions” only concerns the Youth Rehabilitation Centres while the rest of the Mauritius Prisons Service falls under the Prime Minister’s Office. This chaotic state of affairs is in line with what was practised under the previous government.

And it needs to be said. Over and over again. Do not give proper attention to a department as important as the MPS, continue to disregard the opinion of experts and listen to opinions of any Tom, Dick and Harry (be-cause everybody thinks they know best, don’t they?) and we get the situation that we have. Every action has a reaction. Hence the question again: what do we do about it? The ball is in the court of the new tenants of government house.