Transformational changes ahead

The series of events that have succeeded each other give us the impression that our foreign policy is in crisis. The government seems to have not yet captured the complexities of economic diplomacy. In less than a month, on three occasions prominent members of the Lepep Alliance government have made public comments that could give rise to all sorts of misunderstandings, resulting in diplomatic discomfort. The latest one being the reply of the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth to the Private Notice Question (PNQ)of the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Paul Bérenger at the National Assembly on Tuesday. Sir Anerood Jugnauth stated in no uncertain terms that “the ruling of the International Court of Justice on the Chagos will constitute a good argument to kick-start an international British Bashing campaign to denounce the hypocrisy of Great Britain on this issue. “ They say that that they are in favour of democracy and the respect of human rights. But for them, might is pride”. Is it overreaction to a situation that has lingered on for several decades? Mauritius is very legitimately claiming its sovereignty but is it the right way to do so? By indulging in British Bashing? True it is that our independence will remain incomplete until and unless the Chagos are restored to Mauritius but do we have to resort to such extreme measures, especially if we have to manage both our rightful claim over the Chagos and maintaining and developing our economic ties with Great Britain? The Prime Minister went a step further and revealed the following in Parliament: “The British Prime Minister has been playing hide and seek and does not want to meet me to discuss the issue of Chagos”. Eoulà!( Hey! You!) Is the way you treat the Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius? By the way, what are the moves that have been undertaken by the High Commissioner of Mauritius in London H.E. Mr.Girish Nunkoo so that Sir Anerood Jugnauth can be received by his counterpart at 10, Downing Street? The other “faux pas” was undoubtedly the way the issue of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) was handled or rather mishandled. The Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms Mr. Roshi Bhadain preferred to indulge in “dadagiri” (bossing around) to clearly explaining the situation when he had the opportunity to participate in a debate on Radio Plus on Thursday 12 March last. Instead of arguing with his opponent in the debate, Mr. Reza Uteem (the president of the economic commission of the MMM), Mr. Bhadain used filthy language that does not do honour to a minister of the Republic of Mauritius.

“ True it is that our independence will remain incomplete until and unless the Chagos are restored to Mauritius but do we have to resort to such extreme measures, especially if we have to manage both our rightful claim over the Chagos and maintaining and developing our economic ties with Great Britain? "

Mr. Bhadain was so vulgar that the two anchors of the show, Mr. Nawaz Noorbux and Jean-Luc Emile had to order the technician to put off the mike. Only a few days ago, a very healthy debate took place between the Minister of Education Mrs. Leela Devi Dookhun-Luchoomun and the president of the Education Commission of the MMM, Mr Steve Obeegadoo. We wonder why Mr. Bhadain and Mr Uteem could not debate in the same way.

DIPLOMATIC EMBARRASSMENT

But Mr. Bhadain not only behaved badly with his opponent, he also brought the Indian High Commissioner Sri Anup Kumar Mudgal into embarrassment. He averred that India had threatened Mauritius with a Notice of Termination of the DTAA. The Indian High Commissioner denied the information in an interview to TelePlus. It was on his Facebook timeline that the Good Governance Minister brought clarifications to his earlier babbles. The Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth also supported his Minister of Good Governance. The interview of the Indian High Commissioner Sri Anup Kumar Mudgal published in L’Express on Monday 16 May,2016 was even more revealing. Sri Anup Kumar Mudgal told Mr. Raj Meetarbhan, the editor in chief of the daily in a very straight forward way that “Status quo regarding the India-Mauritius DTAC was no longer an option”. Although Sri Mudgal takes all the trouble to again reassure that “Great pains were taken to ensure that Mauritius (…) is not placed at a disadvantage in respect to any other jurisdiction”, the diplomat fails to explain how this actually took place. Mr.Meetarbhan was right to put the question bluntly with regards to the fact that Mauritius no longer benefits from the “most favoured nation” status. The editor-in chief of L’Express pushed the matter further and asked if this is the result of scaled-down relationship between the two countries. Although the Indian High Commissioner once more mentioned about privileged relationship between the two countries, it remains a fact that for some time Seychelles has emerged as yet another option in the Indian Ocean. The ever changing geopolitical strategy of economic powers usually has precedence over blood relationship. The “chota bhai” show staged by Sir Anerood Jugnauth in India was of no use. Coming back to the various diplomatic blunders, we have in mind Sir Anerood Jugnauth’s tirade against the Americans both at the public meeting of the Lepep Alliance on May 1, 2016 and later at the National Assembly on the issue of the country report of the US Department of State. Well, ultimately Mr. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade has much work to do if he wants to go for economic diplomacy. He will need to address various challenges to make the country’s development partnership more effective. If Mauritius’ development partnership has to work as an instrument of its economic diplomacy, it has to be motivated by the spirit of sharing, equal partnership, mutual benefit, and the country’s entitled national interest. As it is now, our foreign policy is incoherent, inconsistent and incomprehensible.

RESPITE FOR SOME AND CENSORSHIP FOR OTHERS

Meanwhile, a number of happenings warrant attention like the censorship on Parliamentary Questions to be addressed by majority backbenchers to ministers, the restitution of the gambling licenses to a company bearing the evocative name of Empowering People Ltd and whose director is or was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) Mrs Sandhya Boygah, the sudden decision of several banks and the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) to temporarily withdraw attachment orders on properties belonging to Mr. Rakesh Gooljaury so as to allow him some respite and the naïve statement of the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Housing and Lands Mr Showkutally Soodhun that priority for jobs at the Heritage City Project will be given to inhabitants of constituency number 15 (La Caverne/Phoenix). After her husband Mr. Yashodar Boygah obtained a contract from the Ministry of Ocean Economy to exploit a huge fish pond at Poudre d’Or, the restitution of the bookmaker’s license is perceived in the public as being some sort of “affairisme politique” (using political contacts to do business). However, one point needs to clarified. It was in 2011 that the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) suspended the bookmaker’s license of Empowering People Ltd for failing to deposit unclaimed funds with the government. Empowering People Ltd appealed to the Privy Council which ruled that the MRA had not given the company the opportunity to defend itself. Subsequently the GRA decided to restitute its license but the company was made to pay a fine of Rs 50,000. Mauritius is a country of extremes. A worker (Alain Edouard) has to send written apologies to the Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Xavier-Luc Duval so that his re-integration can be considered by the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd while a minister reintegrates his post after several weeks of absence. As a end note, three matters to ponder on : the speech by Mr Pravind Jugnauth during which he stated that he is not indispensible, government’s decision to reconsider the light railway system as an alternative mode of public transport and the grand finding of a foreign expert that the fact that our drivers do not know the highway code leads to fatal road accidents.