Intellectually refined, you said !!!

(Published in Le Mauricien of 27 Feb 2020)
I do not doubt it, Sir, but over my past twenty five plus years in the public service, I happened to come across very few of them , the intellectually refined. More common was a public sector peopled with little emperors reigning supreme, unchallenged and unaccountable, over their submissive fiefs.

We spared ourselves the experience of the yearly Ganga Talao Show !

A friend has posted this saying “ You can't change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust the sails to reach your destination.” Indeed, very relevant in the context of our yearly Ganga Talao show. We have used all means and exhausted ourselves in trying to press on our socio-cultural leaders and organisers to inculcate a sense of discipline, respect for the highway code, respect for others, etc. for the Ganga Talao pilgrimage.

Our Central Bank deserves better !

It is surprising !!! When asked about the appointments at the BOM, they-especially the politicians- answered by a "No comments". Are they not concerned about one of our prime institutions - the Central Bank ? You cannot go about sacking and appointing people just like that ; such an institution needs ,at its helm, distinguished economists and analysts from the top league not from the lower divisions. 

The NMH Saga : The Report should be made public !!!

It may be recalled that the Financial Services Commission had opened an investigation into the different steps followed on the trading floor of the Stock Exchange on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 in relation to the transfer of 45.5 million shares of New Mauritius Hotels Ltd (NMH). The regulator had retained the services of an investigator to look into these transactions of New Mauritius Hotels.

Can We Be Happier? — yes, but it’s not about wealth or GDP

I wish to share with you these views by an economist on Happiness (FT of Feb 06 2020). Richard Layard, founder and former director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, in his new book “Can We Be Happier?”, examines the new science of happiness and how we can harness it to improve ourselves, our relationships and our societies.

The yearly laureate show: An illusion !!!

(Published in Le Mauricien 10 Feb 2020)

Our laureate system is illusory. It is just the tip of the iceberg, the upper crust, the cream that hides the rot that has spread to the whole system below. After the dismal PSAC and SC results (where just a bare minimum was able to obtain 5 credits at one sitting if we exclude the star schools), we have now the yearly laureate show that camouflages the true state of the present education system and succeeds in fooling the gullible public. 

Mauritius on the FATF Grey List

(Slightly modified version published in L'Express 24 Feb 2020)
The plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will be held in Paris on 16-21 February 2020.  At this meeting, it is likely that Mauritius will be included in the FATF list of High Risk and Other Monitored Jurisdictions, known as the FATF Grey List. 

The Metro Express is failing us !!!

The ongoing Metro Express project is really a very ambitious project. The cost of the project was estimated at some Rs 20 billion and to be completed by 2021. Initially the track will be from Curepipe to Port Louis with 19 stations. In the longer term the idea is that the metro rolls on connecting more and more regions - north and south and the east to west. The  project was not spared by critics and continue to be vilified. Many argued that it is too costly and that Mauritius lacks the critical mass to render it profitable etc. 

MBC TV : THE GOVERNMENT’S LAPDOG

In an interview to L”Express of the 1st Feb, the DG of our national TV informs us that il “veut créer une culture d’entreprise”. He goes further than that, he wants also « une façon de se comporter, de travailler, de traiter ses collègues… » Everything except a culture of independence that goes hand in hand with a creative and innovative corporate culture ; everything to reinforce its role of government lapdog more than watchdog.