<B>By Pauline ETIENNE</B>

It may appear like a cry of despair. “The minister of Finance is often misunderstood and may sometimes even have problems with his colleagues because many people believe that the budget is flexible. Unfortunately, that is not the case,” revealed minister Sithanen in an interview he gave to the express yesterday.

If the minister of Finance had just one quality, it would be his willingness to speak the truth. Of course, he keeps on defending the measures contained in his budget, saying that they will end up improving everyone’s lives by 2008-09. But he does not hesitate at the same time to admit that there are still tough times ahead and that we, Mauritians, should be prepared to face them.

You may tell me, ‘How could someone who does not have enough money to feed his/her family everyday be prepared to face tough times?’ This same person was told more than a year ago that his/her life would change for the better within 100 days after 3rd July 2005. About 500 days later, he/she may have not felt the slightest change… at least not in the right direction!

It is not astonishing that these people do not believe in the words of any member of the government anymore. They may feel betrayed and cannot understand that, thanks to a strict policy for a few years, the Mauritian economy might flourish again in less than two years.

Those people need a clear explanation of why such reforms are highly necessary and how they will help achieve better days in the long term. But how can they be expected to believe in such theories if the latter are ‘undermined’ by some people from the same government?

The lack of solidarity between government members will certainly not help budget measures to be understood. If the people at the top of the state machine do not believe in the reform, how can we expect them to explain it to the public? What message will be passed on to the public if there are two contradictory versions from the decision-makers themselves? We might even be tempted to believe that some of them are using people’s misery to criticise their colleague and achieve popularity for themselves.

Of course, criticisms come openly from opposition members. If they are sometimes considered irresponsible, at least they appear more “normal”. We can’t expect the opposition to agree with the measures of the government… Even if they would gain by being more constructive sometimes, and less demagogic!

Ministers do not always - or at least in an open manner - criticise the budget measures. They might realise that they would quickly be called to order. But some of their decisions or attitudes reflect their denial of the budget. While the official line of the government is to advocate a more open policy on economic matters, some ministers keep doing exactly the contrary.

Although he strives to say that “the government is not in favour of a policy of price control”, Rajesh Jeetah, the minister of Trade and Industry, has done exactly the opposite since he took office. Milk, iron bars and more recently, flour and gas have been the subject of government control. There is no doubt that the most vulnerable should be protected from sudden and huge rises in the prices of basic commodities – and this is why targeted aid has been advocated.

The public will never understand the fundamentals and the urgency of the reform if it receives constant contradictory signals. The prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, is in the best position to settle the question and make sure that his government agrees on an open policy.