MAURITIUS TIMES Friday 9 March 2018 5

Offbeat Perspectives

Removing the colonial blinkers

What is lacking as we prepare for the next 50 years is a movement that cuts across social classes which pledges to limit the political lifetime of
elected members, which rejects corporate finance to run its activities, that ensures that it talks left and walks left
our system seems to favour the monitored, the behaviour of MPs With proper vision and planning
election of those concerned only would have to be at their best as well as a strong welfare state
about securing positions and con- since there could be the possibili- as keystones, the country has
tracts for their near and dear. ty of being removed from office, progressed. Faced with the
new laws that would really inequalities inherited from the
The State of the Left colonial era, only a safety net for
change the lives of citizens be ini-
Chetan Ramchurn In a country where parties talk tiated and people would connect citizens has ensured the social
left and walk right, gleefully sub- with our Motherland's present and and political stability of our coun-

D
emocracy comes with its
fair share of bitter sur-
prises. Many now feel
that the Lepep Alliance's victory in
2014 will rank among the most
unpalatable ones. Having
reversed whatever was achieved
in terms of 'democratisation', it
has manoeuvred towards the
consolidation of the historic bour-
geoisie and the offering of free-
bies to its hangers-on and mem-
bers of its close-knit circuit. We
are in regression mode. If any-
thing, this highlights the glaring
loopholes of a system that
demand to be plugged. Shifting
the levers of real power to citizens
would significantly embolden and
truly liberate Mauritius.
Image can be nothing
While the ripples from the
havoc initiated during the first
months of this government in
power are still felt, this Prime
Minister has manifested a deep
concern for his image. His elusive
quest for a bard to hype him so
that he gains a prime ministerial
cachet continues. Good luck with
that.
Still, this has worked in the
past when his father took to aping
Lee Kuan Yew and tried to adapt
mitting themselves to the oli-
garchs, bold progressive ideas
have suffered. The Labour Party
betrayed its ideals and followers
when it chose to go along with
corporate tax cuts prescribed by
Sithanen. These have proved
ruinous for our country which now
finds itself reduced to asking for
money from foreign powers to
sustain infrastructural develop-
ment. Having wilfully crippled our
motherland in the name of
growth, Labour lost itself while
dancing to the neoliberal tune.
This is unbefitting of a party with
such a glorious past. The GDP
growth, very much like the heir's
desire to appear prime minis-
terial, has yet to materialise.
The MMM, in ideological
wilderness for decades now,
seeks to be in power merely for
the sake of power. There is not
much it wishes to change that will
benefit the masses. Like the
MSM, it wishes to be a welcoming
doormat for oligarchs. It is not the
kind of faction that would be po-
sitive for our motherland and light
is unlikely to come from them.
Other leftist blocs are still at a pre-
cocious stage but they will grow
and in time hopefully become
wielders of change and progress.
future.
What is lacking as we prepare
for the next 50 years is a move-
ment that cuts across social
classes which pledges to limit the
political lifetime of elected mem-
bers, which rejects corporate
finance to run its activities, that
allows open primaries for local
and national elections, that
ensures that it talks left and walks
left and that is not afraid to tackle
the mighty conglomerates when
the better interests of the country
are being jeopardised.
Where Economic Power ≠
Political Power…
Mauritius and the vast majori-
ty of Mauritians suffer from the
encroachment of economic
power upon the political sphere.
Financiers are handsomely
rewarded with fiscal exemptions
of billions when embarking upon
real estate projects again killing
the possibility of any democrati-
sation of land. Ganesh
Sitaraman, Professor of Law at
Vanderbilt Law School and a
Senior Fellow at the Center for
American Progress, outlines the
importance of ensuring that
"Economic power doesn't turn
into political power. When the
hidden in plain sight. Selection of
heads of regulatory bodies should
be made independently and cho-
sen candidates should be free
from any political shackles.
Real democratisation and
what it entails?
The historic bourgeoisie and
the state supported one both gun
for profits. In this regard, pan-
dering to either of them can hard-
ly be conducive to the progress of
this country. We need a strong
state; one that can democratise
access to land and that will
ensure the supply of energy with-
out having recourse to any private
intermediary. We need 'un Etat
stratège' that ventures into new
sectors and creates new avenues
for its citizens. Our economy will
remain amorphous if driven by
the interests of rent seekers. The
country's progress will depend on
how buoyant our economy will be
in the next half a century.
The empowerment of citizens
is an absolute requisite for real
democratisation. We have too
many echoes and not enough
voices. This starts with the cons-
tant upgrade of our education
system and as crucial is the of-
fering of real incentives to enable
citizens to break free from the
shackles of a salaried life.
The Road Travelled
There has been substantial
betterment in the lives of
Mauritians since independence.
try. But the inequalities continue
to exist and the oligarchy still pulls
the strings. Through free educa-
tion, the possibility of beating fate
and improving one's destiny
became an achievable milestone.
Despite the obvious progress,
this is a country that has yet to
reconcile its citizens around core
themes. There is a schism along
communal lines to this day. There
are newspapers that host articles
reminiscent of Le Cernéen. There
are talks of Hindu hegemony by
some brainwashed minds being
spewed. To this day, there is a
clear attempt at whitewashing the
history of our island telling us so
little about slavery and the plight
of the coolies. This is a wonderful
country but a fragile one.
Being Mauritian
There have been talks for
decades about the creation of a
national identity. It takes the form
of due recognition of our mother
tongues. A month celebrating
Creole and Bhojpuri in their
various forms would be helpful.
Perhaps, the only way the
Mauritian identity will flourish is by
letting our specificities co-exist.
By being respectful towards each
other and seeing the beauty of
living side by side in harmony. A

very selective chapters of the
Singaporean model to our local
context; public housing for lower
to middle classes was never very
high on his agenda and the go-
vernment was relegated to a
mere doormat with selected
members of the private sector
acting as puppeteers. Whilst Lee
Kuan Yew's vision empowered
Singapore enough to break
through the middle income trap,
"If there is hope… it lies
in the proles"
Direct democracy would help
curb the disgust of citizens with
politics. No longer would they be
limited to one voting expedition
every five years but would have a
say on the things that matter and
be in a position to correct the
imbalances of the system.
Excessive expenses would be
wealthiest people and corpora-
tions are deciding policy, that's
not an actual republic - a repre-
sentative democracy - there must
be campaign finance regulation
and a more representative politi-
cal system." A democratic state
requires independent regulators
to ensure fairness. This is not the
case at the moment where many
nominees act as rubber stamps,
refusing to see what seems to be
}
A month celebrating Creole and Bhojpuri in culture pass for students would
their various forms would be helpful. be beneficial in this sense;
Perhaps, the only way the Mauritian identity allowing young Mauritians to dis-
cover the beautiful tapestry that is
will flourish is by letting our specificities co-exist. By our culture.
being respectful towards each other and seeing the
beauty of living side by side in harmony. A culture We are born free. That is the
pass for students would be beneficial in this sense; greatest gift imparted to every
citizen. The freedom to think and
allowing young Mauritians to discover the beautiful act. We should never forget that.
tapestry that is our culture…~ Viv Moris!

10. Undermined lakorite*. In fact this

It took us just 50 years to

is the culmination of all the above. When
some observers claim that "modern"
Mauritius has tamed the beast of "com-
munalisme" (read sectarianism) the more
insightful can only wince. Repli identitaire

We have witnessed a nationwide upgrade if materialism is the sole marker of progress. Regardless how
Samad Ramoly
Our brand of development has
failed to ignite the desired mojo
and live up to the expectations
of the many because of, namely:
1. Unreliable public institutions. It
takes inspirational heads and a commit-
ted team to build trustworthy institutions;
2. Weakening rule of law. Unless and
until our set of laws and regulations are
regularly updated and indiscriminatingly
enforced, the culture of impunity for the
few fades, leading is by example, trans-
parency and accountability prevail, our
motherland will continue to foment mis-
trust and cynicism. The worst thing to
happen to any nation is when people tend
to feel they have a moral justification to
flout the law;
3. The heavily lopsided reward sys-
'unbuild' Mauritius
dramatic the costs and the absolute disregard for quality and standard
steep borrowing costs that deplete any
disposable income, endemic corruption
and structural unemployment constitute a
founded on experimentation, fast learning
and incremental improvements along with
a mechanism of carrot and stick that
mode in the education system. Over-
specialization, rote learning and exam
obsession that manufacture herds of
"sheep" and celebrate their smart avatar
may comfort the status quo seekers at the
top but they barely train the human capi-
tal to cope with the onslaught of artificial
intelligence and survive the cut-throat
global competition;
9. The nurturing of the self-hating
Mauritian. The reluctance to openly
embrace our local lingua franca is one
illustration. Another is how we have
become vulnerable to foreign soft power
as epitomised by the "exotic", unsophisti-
cated and pervasive narratives since the
advent of "la république". We have grown
grateful to tokenism. When we could have
harnessed all the features in our cosmo-
politan DNA to build a nation anchored in
infinite creative energies. Doing nothing
about it is suicidal;
is dangerously alive and kicking. Our dif-
ferences are still being sordidly instru-
mentalised to feather vote banks.
Whether more subtly, less in-your-face is
irrelevant.
Arguably, we have witnessed a nation-
wide upgrade if materialism is the sole
marker of progress. Regardless how dra-
matic the costs and the absolute disre-
gard for quality and standard. We now
desperately need to delegitimise the
enablers of growth in instant gratification,
GDP extraction, bat bate*, feel-bad factor,
tribalism, common non-sense, economic
and social rent seeking/clientelism, pluto-
cratic tendencies, injustices, inequalities,
etc.
Market economy per se is not the
problem; it becomes one when policies
and socio-economic environment tend to
promote a magnetic hub for business
hanky panky and cartelisation. The de-
growth of these nuisances must simulta-
neously be complemented with robust
growth in leadership, vision, hindsight,
home-grown solutions, synergy, innova-
tion, eco-friendliness, fairness, empathy
and contentment.
Effective change will roll down with the
emergence of a mindful citizen agency
that overturns majakaro*, sophistry, denial
and blame game of the "squatters" who

tem. Glass ceilings, the struggle to make
ends meet and to afford a decent and
unisolated habitat are not conducive to
identification to the Mauritius Project.
Under these conditions, it would be a
miracle if, say, turning zougader* spirit
into stress relief, contempt through bling
bling of the few and flashing surreally-
priced villas on billboards, do not also
demotivate, whip up social ills and health
issues, ruin families, hurt labour produc-
tivity, fuel brain drain, etc.;
4. The "welfare state" for lazy
and/or fat businesses courtesy of the
deliberate and persistent depreciation of
our currency. At independence it took
about 13 rupees to buy one pound ster-
ling. Today we need about 47 rupees. We
can only pray we never reach the 2007
Peak Dive of 66 rupees. Lumped to-
gether, ever-shrinking purchasing power,
monstrous systemic distorter and parasite
that triggers a vicious cycle for house-
holds and forward-thinking businesses
alike;
5. The red carpet for land grab. Not
only have mighty landowners been gifted
with phenomenally inflated valuation of
their assets, foreigners have been
empowered to buy property. The in-built
disincentive has frozen any large-scale
initiative to salvage our crumbling food
sovereignty. One the wisest and boldest
steps to defuse the looming violent wake-
up call stemming from brewing popular
resentment is through a comprehensive
and savvy land reform;
6. The demise of planning. Instead
policymaking has been outsourced to
one-track minded technocrats and charla-
tans. What is paramount is a culture
nudges people to suppress inefficiencies;
7. Shoddy infrastructure. There has
been an apparent re-alignment in internal
and external connectivity but by and large
the attempt has merely managed to fill up
part of the lag. Without actually catching
up with current demand. Accordingly
anticipating projected demand would be
asking too much. Just observe how the
tropical "tiger" can be overwhelmed by a
cyclone or extremely low and high rainfall
even if the synopsis does not fit into the
definition of a "black swan*". Poor execu-
tion, inexistent maintenance and cost
ineffectiveness have magnified the inade-
quacy and systemic disruption. The bitter
truth is, measured on a global scale,
Mauritius is logistically a laggard;
8. The disabling of the creativity,
problem-solving and entrepreneurial
}
We have witnessed a
nationwide upgrade if
materialism is the sole
marker of progress. Regardless
how dramatic the costs and the
absolute disregard for quality
and standard. We now
desperately need to
delegitimise the enablers of
growth in instant gratification,
GDP extraction, bat bate,
feel-bad factor, tribalism,
common non-sense, economic
and social rent seeking/
clientelism, plutocratic
tendencies, injustices,
inequalities…~
control the corridors of political, business
and media power. Small can be beautiful
as well as awful. It depends on the con-
text. Negativities can be as contagious as
a gung-ho impulse. The more so in a
relatively small place. Even if a turn-
around looks tremendously challenging
we must keep this in mind.
* Zougader: Betting culture
* Black swan: An event that comes as a
surprise and brings devastating impact
it its wake
* Lakorite: Effortless sense of
collaboration between stakeholders
that transcends creed and skin colour
* Bat bate: Doing things the least
bothered by the imperative of
achieving excellence
* Majakaro: Overindulgence spree