Political caricatures:Victoria Bus Terminal: Chaotic handover.; Electoral reform; Special tuition for Parliamntarians; MBC- TV goes viral; the HRC...;The Cane Industry..;Financier Bastos arrested...

The Tourism sector: Reduce ticket taxes!!

Published in MTimes, 27 Sep 2018

The Director General of IATA recommends that we lower our ticket taxes and airport charges. We are classified 116th by World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report in terms of competitiveness in ticket taxes and airport charges.

Financial Sector: Pending Issues

Published in Mtimes 28 Sep 2018

Like the electoral reform proposals, the two-day ‘Mauritius International Financial Centre-Forward Looking’ conference held on  19 & 20 September 2018 at Intercontinental Mauritius Resort, turned out to be a non-event, more of a damage limitation exercise after the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) damning report.

The Metro Express: Its impact?

Published in MTimes 21 September 2018

Part of the narrative of the Metro Express is that this project represents not just a new transport infrastructure but the dream of a “modern, liveable, vibrant and environmentally-friendly Smart Mauritius”.

The Combined Cycle Gas Turbine & Ivan's Failed Coup

Published in MTimes , 21 September 2018

As readers are aware our present model of electricity production relies less on public sector producers and more on private sector producers of electricity called Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

The Financial Sector: Challenges ahead.

Published in the MTimes 21 September 2018

The Government’s cheerleaders had every reason to cheer at the fact that Mauritius has moved up the rankings of the Global Financial Centres Index (GCFI) - from 56th to 49th (though GCFI also classified Mauritius among the “unpredictable centres”, which have a higher variance of assessments, meaning less stable). That’s because lately the Global Business Sector has been feeling the heat from all sides.

The Metro Express: the acommpanying measures

Recently, a top architect was commenting that « ... l’ État est en train de manière continue, de démocratiser et libéraliser l’accès à l’automobile, kot tou dimounn anvi roul loto, sans se soucier de savoir si le Metro Express un changement de mentalité ». 

Rs 15 to Rs19 billion for the Surveillance State

Can we afford this huge amount for the Safe City project? Another prestige project! We can achieve equally good results by spending more on our police force. Intelligent video surveillance has become widespread in more and more numerous social and national spaces, while its effects in terms of crime prevention and/or law enforcement and community reassurance are not demonstrated. 

Political Caricatures: Free education: Cost Sharing;The Metro Express: The accompanying measures; Rs19 billion for the Surveillance State; The Census Issue: “L’hypocrisie politicienne”

The salvation of free education and its public schools lies in giving more fiscal space to Government to allow it to invest heavily in overhauling the education system

The census issue: “L’hypocrisie politicienne”

(Published in Mtimes,13-20 September 2018)

In our dear little "C'est un plaisir" country, when some societal issues appear occasionally, as they do in most societies, we tend to sweep them under the carpet. After the Grand Bassin gandia issue, the LGBT march , the child marriage issue, religious conversions and now the Census issue: “L’hypocrisie politicienne”, there is a common pattern. 

Free education: Cost Sharing

Published in Mtimes 13-20 September 2018

 The five students of RCC, the laureates of the Omnicane award on the theme “Enn sel lepep, Enn sel nation”,  question and challenge us on the free education system, inter alia.  “ Il y a beaucoup de parents qui peuvent payer. D’ailleurs, ils payent bien les leçons particulières. L’argent ainsi économisé pourrait être consacré aux plus nécessiteux. De même on aurait du prévoir  le Wi-Fi gratuit à ceux qui n’ont pas de connexion la maison….”

CRY MY BELOVED COUNTRY !!!

Dear Daughter,

I always had the feeling that wherever you are it cannot be as good as home. There is no better place than home. I am feeling sorry today to have had such feelings because now I am having that uneasy sentiment that this cannot be home. Indeed, I am not recognising it.

CENSUS ON ETHNIC LINES

What's the big fuss about it ?

It does not make any difference to progessives whether the Census is or is not carried along ethnic lines.