In the context of the reactions of internet users (sans retenue aucune (sic) ) on the untimely and avoidable death of our conscientious worker Ramjeet Gusto , KC Ranzé takes them to task for blaming Govt, guilty for having removed the cyclone warning before ensuring that venturing outside was without risk - "Tout doit-il vraiment être prescrit et légiféré par l’Etat ? Ou sommes-nous après tout , assez adultes pour assumer nos responsabilités? "
The state cannot absolve itself from its responsibilities!
We, as tax payers, we expect, at the very least, that our roads are well-lit , "practicable", and not full of pot holes or other inconveniences and risks when we go to work !
Non, Monsieur, nous sommes pas si irresponsable à vouloir « dans certains endroits s’organiser…. pour ne pas dégager les routes ou même de les tenir encombrées pour encore un jour ou deux ! »
That’s a lame argument you are putting forward to defend your point of view !
In your ivory tower , penning down the dos and don’ts for the Mauritian working class, you seem to be unaware of the traditional solidarity shown by our workers towards each other and for the country in moments of difficulty, especially after the devastating cyclones -Gervaise, Firinga, Hollanda…
You have a point when you argue that " Vous imaginez si le travail ne pouvait pas reprendre tant que les routes n’étaient pas toutes dégagés ?"
But Sir, why do all SIDS have a kind of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre (NDRRMC) or Committee ? It acts as the focal institution for the planning, organizing, coordinating and monitoring of disaster risk reduction and management activities. It works towards the goal of a secure, healthy, wealthy and resilient nation.
Please note a "resilient nation"- we can become a resilient nation if we start having effective risk management strategies.
That’s why we approached the World Bank for developing effective risk management strategies for each sector. These strategies save lives by minimising or avoiding the effects of natural disasters, disease, or starvation. It prevents and lessens human, social, and physical capital damages and averts developmental setbacks. It can also foster opportunities, as it can help people reduce the potential for loss from taking on those risks that accompany development opportunities.
Thus , Sir, if we were really a resilient and modern economy, within hours of the removal of the cyclone warning, we would have been kept informed, to the minute, on the work and progress of the NEOC and the Risk Management teams of different sectors in putting the country back to work, fit and proper, for its citizens to continue with their activities as usual without any risk.
If it was not so, who is to be blamed?
What could you expect from a regime which does not have a sense of its priorities ! Did we prepare the country for these risks ? Is there a proper monitoring and response mechanism?
Instead of prioritizing programs that are consistent with our medium-term development needs and broader social and environmental goals, such as digitalization, inclusion, and climate change mitigation especailly during the recovery phase, they were more interested in glitzy infrastructure projects or prestige projects-Safe City, Cote d’or Sports complex, ..or extension of Metro Express to the PM’s constituency, and more of Urban Terminals( in a situation of excess of commercial space) at eye-watering cost to the taxpayer while the welfare of ordinary people was neglected- a whole list of untargeted and non-prioritised capital spending -public investment in social and physical infrastructure(without EIAs) allotted to "les petits copains" . We were building infrastructure which were easily « kaputing » under torrents of rain and flooding-(NHDC at Chebel) ; we rebuild. We build drains which are not properly maintained ! A complete waste of resources !
Mr KC Ranzé, if we need to be ready to start working within few hours, if not minutes, after Class IV has been removed, we have to redirect our resources towards our priorities - making a climate change disaster and cyclone-prone country like Mauritius more resilient and adaptable .
In simple terms, it means that we have to shift the focus from glamorous infrastructure projects to more cost-effective ones and to simply reducing the delays in getting projects off the ground, and most importantly, we have to put a stop to the vandalization of government coffers, with or without emergency procurements.
With such an incompetent an irresponsible govt, Sir, which is not using our money properly to ensure that there will not be any risks when we are on our feet, ready to be on our way to work , is it fair to demand from us that we assume our responsibilities?
Whether Mr KC Ranzé likes it or not, without the need to belittle our workers for having " une telle frayeur à la mort" or for intentionally putting their " têtes dans un nid de mouches jaunes" , he will have to acknowledge that , in our Mauritius aiming to reclaim the « High Income Economy » status, our workers " enkor pé perdi lavi kan zot pé al rod zot lavi."
Yes , Sir, our "Workers Lives Matter" and we maintain that « the National Crisis Committee and the National Emergency Operations Command are responsible directly or indirectly for the lost of life of Mr. Ramjeet Gosto » as stated in the Open Letter of GWF-UBIW to the Prime Minister.
Courtesy: ReA
