Further to Raj's article on the attacks on Minorities ...

Raj Ramalgun article : "Dénonçons le massacre des innocents en Palestine, Ukraine et celui des minorités partout dans le monde, mais pourquoi ne parle-t-on pas avec le même sens d’indignation et de la compassion sur ce qui se passe contre les minorités hindoues, boudhistes, chrétiennes et même les Ahmadis au Bangladesh en ce moment?.........."

Fake Fiscal Data

(Please recall my article dated 2nd August.)

Statistics Mauritius (SM) reports fiscal data to the IMF, which is also published on its National Summary Data Page (NSDP) on its website. Data on (1) Central Govt Operations (CGO), namely, on revenue, expenditure and the deficit, and on (2) Central Govt Debt are published on a monthly basis, with a one-month lag.

From Academia to Politics

When Academia joins Politics !

Back in May 2019, when Professor Bunwaree joined the MMM, I had commented on this move from to As my readers will see , i somewhat anticipated her present “critiques acerbes à l'encontre du parti et de ses dirigeants, tout en soulevant des questions cruciales sur l'état de la démocratie à Maurice.”

If u do not mind time-travelling back to May 2019 after her interview in MTimes…..I had written....

When real democracy takes over, there is hope for minorities !

Acts of violence against minorities demean democracy. It’s just horrid. It is against every norm of democracy; it shows that we still have a lot to do to develop a culture of discussion and tolerance; such acts are a death knell for democracy.

"World On Fire: The Root Causes of Populism, Authoritarianism and The Whole Global Mess"

"World On Fire: The Root Causes of Populism, Authoritarianism and The Whole Global Mess"

Listen to David Brooks - A must

Tissue of Lies ?

Cannot be dismissed so easily as a tissue of lies !

Non, tonton Pravind, u cannot be let off the hook so easily !

What are they cooking up?

On its National Summary Data Page (NSDP) , Statistics Mauritius disseminates economic and financial data of the country which is hyperlinked to the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB). The NSDP is updated according to an Advance Release Calendar (ARC).

Our comments on Maurice Strategie Bill

A new public body will be created by converting the existing Maurice Stratégie, a private company incorporated under the Economic Development Board, into a public body, and placed directly under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development.

Le Minis bluffer !

Minis bluffer; zot rappel li ti pé dir ki prix médikamans fin baisser !

A la enn lot bêtiz li pé dir !

The Maurice Stratégie Bill-more of the same

Back in 2017, (published in L’express titled “The Economic Development Board –Some Issues”), we had highlighted that the combination in the EDB of the twin objectives of (a) investment promotion and facilitation and (b) of national economic strategy and policy advice, was nonsensical. The EDB should have focused on the first objective. The formulation of economic strategy and policy should have been entrusted to a dedicated broad-based committee or agency, under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s office.

NON á elektion partiel

Cher Kamarad,

Si où pé particip dan sa eleksyon parsyel la,

Ou pé enkouraz gaspillaz taxpayers’ money

Ou pé tomb dan piézz sa réżim là…

Ou tomb dan so zouet !

Si vraiman sa rézim foiré là kroir dan demokrasi ki fer li pas don eleksyon municipal !

For a more competitive Export and SME sector

Government’s export boom narrative is nowhere to be seen in the statistical data. After a negative growth of 12% in 2023 , the export of goods is expected to register another year of negative growth , a -1.7 growth in 2024 . In real terms (on the basis of latest historical series on SM’s website-not updated), it is just Rs 67 bn compared to pre-pandemic level of Rs 77 bn-still 88% of the 2019 level of exports of goods. The secular deterioration in our capacity to meet import needs from export earnings is reflected in the declining ratio of exports to imports of goods (both on FOB basis) from around 60% a decade ago to less than 40% currently.

A stumbling and fumbling Minister of Environment !

After the Privy Council's judgment on the Eco-Sud versus Minister of Environment case, confirming that Eco-Sud had the requisite standing to challenge the decision of the Minister of Environment who had issued an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) permit for the Pointe d'Esny Lakeside Company Limited project, we had been expecting some strong arguments/answers from the Minister as to why he chose to side with the promoter and maintain the very restrictive sections on citizens' rights.

Cronyism at its height in our Mafiadom!

You know what the business magnate Adani is for Modi , and till lately what the betting mogul was to Pinok ; now that the gambler-cum -financier seemed to have “twit” , he has been replaced by Gopee, the very one who has the right political connections that lead to lucrative contracts and vast wealth.

Indiscipline and violence in schools !

Today’s press headlines are about indiscipline and violence in schools -“L’indiscipline à l’école est devenue systémique , atteignant des proportions décrites comme étant hors de contrôle par divers pédagogues. Les chiffres sur le sujet déposés á l’Assemblée nationale sont saisissants.”

Bonnet Blanc et Blanc Bonnet !

Our politicians can no longer feel the pulse of the masses across the country.They are failing to transmit one fundamental message to voters: government is working for you, not for elites of some kind or for friends and relatives in the party establishment. They are unable to present voters with a palatable alternative because they have lost the right to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude !

Rendez-vous au “mascarade du service public” !

A mon cher kollleg Bobo,

Mo ti fin enrégistré pou celébration Public Service Day à SVICC azordi, may mo pa pou capav allé, mo fin gayn enn ti problèm…mo finn signall Boss…..To capav ran moi enn ti servis, s’il teu plait !

The need to reform an archaic Public Sector !

In the context of the celebration of the Public Service Day today , I thought that it may be of interest to repost a previous article (a slightly modified version) on the reform of the our public sector especially when our politicians and servile trade unions will be carrying out their usual show ( “une véritable parodie de la Journée internationale de la Fonction publique” comme le dit G.S in his article “"La mascarade du service public”) highlighting the contribution of public service in the development process, acknowledging the work of public servants and trying to encourage young people and graduates to pursue careers in the public sector.

Not socialist but illusionist !

(posted in L'express June 2024)

 Some journalists and economists have taken the overwhelming task of shaping a new narrative for our Minister of Finance, rescuing him from being listed in our short economic history book as a failed finance minister and from being commonly vilified as the one and only “magician” chancellor of Exchequer, who has a knack for money illusion and the inimitable wizardry at transforming, with one touch of his wand, our budget deficits, debt and GDP figures into more acceptable ones.  They got it all wrong ! There is nothing socialist about the welfare measures; these are mere palliatives, short term measures , just perfect electoral formulas and perfect winning templates .

Pada’s Budgets: the road map to more hardship!

Pada’s budgets never held out any vision of our future. Budget 2024-25, another one of his budgets that will not transform the economy into a fully-fledged resilient trillion economy. Pada’s budgets are not tailored to meet the demands of the 21st century, including sustainable growth. His budgets have not outlined a path to prosperity but to disaster and crisis.

The upcoming budget: Expectations of a Pada’s U-turn !

As the election looms, politics infiltrates everywhere; it seems to have succeeded in winning over some of the the main actors of our media coverage who have suddenly become widely flattering of our Pada with narratives that have a strong flavour of chatwaism.

The “Constituency Clerk” Case

The outcry of Simla , a commoner " Que la vérité se sache parce que moi , je connais la vérité."

A trillion economy with a trillion of debt !

In his interview in today’s l’express, our Pada , referring to the 2024 IMF Article IV consultation report , comments that …..”Cet Article IV reconnaît clairement l'efficacité de la stratégie économique du gouvernement et salue les mesures de soutien mises en place depuis le Covid-19…” .

"Redonner l'espoir aux jeunes"

A must read , in Le Mauricien of 28th May, the interview of Stefan Gua of ReA

Some Extracts:

"...Mais se réunir ne suffit pas. Il faut apporter des changements en profondeur. Si nous ne faisons rien pour les changer, un autre parti au pouvoir pourra utiliser ces mêmes failles ou faire pire que le MSM. C’est pour cela que nous avons invité à une convergence. Toutefois, nous ne sommes dans aucune alliance pour l’heure.

The forthcoming budget: Little margin for “laddoos”!

We are of the opinion that Pada’s last budget will not be a "la bous dou” budget. There will be few hidden surprises emerging from his vault. The electoral promises or the welfarist measures may come after the budget without the need to provide the costing and funding of the measures -mostly scorched earth policies.

The 20 measures- well worth supporting -without illusions !

Most of the 20 measures proposed are quite laudable and seemed to have been well received by the public; nothing wrong with most of these measures ! We could even extend these measures to include, à la Macron-to shore up support among female voters -a pledge to fight toxic masculinity and force absent fathers to see their children. (Macron’s measures include the attempt to halt a slump in the birth rate, including a three-month leave for which mothers and fathers will receive welfare payments of €1,900 a month. This is on top of the standard 16 weeks of maternity leave and 25 days of paternity leave. A fertility check-up for all 20-year-olds and improved facilities for women to have their eggs frozen besides the setting up a parliamentary committee on menopause….)

Free public transport- a valid proposal indeed but….. !

Our bloggers/economists have been providing convincing arguments in favour of the free transport measure. There is no doubt that fare levels affect many people's finances directly. There is a general attitude that public transport should be free or "cheap", because of social, environmental and efficiency reasons. As they have pointed out, indeed, the key impacts and effects are mostly passenger growth, mode shift and environmental benefits.

Competitive Welfarism or a new economic model ?

This regime has been implementing some of its populist measures and more to come in the forthcoming budget…we have seen its impact…

Verdissement de l’economie ou bétonnage ?

(Published in L'express on 16 May 2024)

In big characters in yesterday’s issue of L’express, mention is made about the OECD Secretary-General congratulating our Minister of Finance, Mr Payadachy, on its strategy of the greening of our economy .

And , surprisingly, a few days back his investment promoter, the CEO of EDB ( we do recall their painful efforts at attracting such investors as Sobrino…) has ,out of the blue, wakened up to the realities of climate change .

GDP - Fake Data, a more simplified version :

Recently some top economists have drawn our attention to the likely tampering of GDP data by Statistics Mauritius (SM), namely by its reclassification of part of the foreign income of Global Business Companies (GBCs) from National to Domestic Income. This involves a transfer between two items of the balance of payments (bop), namely from primary income to services.

Competitive Welfarism : is it for the better or for the worse?

(Published in L'express of the 14th May 2024)

Don’t you get the impression that we seem to be in a bit of a heyday for “welfarism” populists, of such populist demagoguery rooted perhaps in economic disappointment, policy failures, and disruptive social changes This has lowered the legitimacy of the serious political parties and politicians( the ecologists, the left , the more technical ones...) and raised that of populist demagogues. This is impacting on the nature our politics and rendering our economy more fragile in the long term .

The Environment Bill - some damning points raised by Adi Teelock of PML

A Must Read - especially for our politicians - in today’s Hebdo (see below)

Le faux débat sur les inondations !

That’s the problem when we leave it to the politicians intent on distorting the discussions to their advantage - these very ones who have started and encouraged the construction of smart cities, promoted the Real Estate Schemes, carried out the “bétonnage” of the island , selling Mts to the highest bidders, furthering the gentrification of our country. (The Real Estate Schemes (RES) was started by the MSM-MMM government and accelerated during the Mansoor-Sithanen years. The successive regimes did their utmost to advance the private sector’s interests by liberalising land to unlock massive potential for profits in real estate development for large land owners) .

Les coffre-forts de nos dirigeants !

We have heard one “success” story - the coffre- fort of one ex-PM

What about the coffre-fort of Pinok?

Successive Audit Reports confirm the lack of budgetary reforms !

(Published in l'express of the 15th April 2024)

Year in, year out , the same damning audit reports - Why is there no improvement in our Public Finance Management ?

Because of the lack of budgetary reforms …..I am not the only one who has been saying so, it is also the opinion of the same experts whom our Pada was referring to when he claimed that they were praising the regime for its management of the economy.

«La laïcité c'est un principe de paix»

Very interesting interview of the actual Grand Maître du Grand Orient de France in today’s l’express and especially his comments on our “viv-ensam”…..” …….La République universelle qui est fondée sur la laïcité, c'est-à-dire la liberté absolue de conscience. La laïcité, c'est un principe de paix. Vous êtes libre de croire et de ne pas croire et de pratiquer votre culte ou pas si vous n'en avez pas dans le respect des uns et des autres.

The distorted focus of our news media ! Just "palabres et palabres" rather than....

Our news media has become a stage where actions of our out-of-tune politicians have become a series of dramas. It was too good a morsel for them to pass up . Look how they have been chewing it for the past four days …bringing drama to the news, turning the news articles into stories and episodes with a plot, actors in conflict and colourful details on what “Piti” said and what “Papa” did not deny….You should see the blaring headlines about Popol being “emmerdé” about the big pictures of “Papa” with some extra parliamentary political leader and the eye-catching analyses from our traditional over-exposed so-called political analysts.

Pada’s manipulation of GDP figures !

Our Pada is bragging that Mauritius is one of the few countries in the world to have improved its growth forecasts. “In 2023, the IMF had forecast growth of 5%, but we have achieved growth of 7%…"

But Pada should also be telling us that we are one of the few countries where published data from its Central Bank (BoM's BoP 2023) differs markedly from that of its Statistics Office .(SM's Table 11 of the NA March 2024).

Ki Nouvo Moris !

Boukou ban ki kont sa rézim là zot enkor sou lenpriz identity politics , zot kombat sey remplas “ Them” by “ Us” …

Zot zot kroir ki remplas “zot ban” by “nou ban” , sey chanzman …

At the Open Constitutional Conference, all the political parties should pledge that “ Our whole real estate policy should be scrapped”.

The recent sale of a luxury villa for over Rs 626 million by Pam Golding Properties (Mauritius) in Poste-de-Flacq made the headlines in our real estate sector. The sale was described as a first, given the amount paid by the European buyer. Last year, Mauritius Sotheby's International Realty sold a property for over Rs 500 million. Specialists in real estate in Mauritius are of the opinion that the country has become the best destination for foreigners compared to other competing destinations.

The Rs 25 billion from MIC…Ken Arian confirms!

In December 2021, Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC), a subsidiary of the BoM, invested Rs 25 bn in Airport Holdings Ltd (AHL).

Massaging of GDP figures !

After Sushil’s article titled “Moody’s Call for Action “ where he repeated his arguments about GDP overestimation , several economists namely Rajeev Hasnah, Eric Ng, Dr Takesh Luckho, and now Sameer Sharma have supported these arguments that the GDP figures published by Statistics Mauritius(SM)are not reliable; these “National Accounts figures are hard to trust these days”.

Le double standards de certain zournalus!

Kan sa rézim choizir so ban cronies pou enn post importan, ban zournalus tapé for for ki péna meritocracy , pé met chatwas partou.

Enough is Enough ! Ran nou nou Grand Bassin !

Nou byen triste may nou ossi en koler !

Nou ti kapav évit sa drame lá !

Towards a more robust, inclusive, and resilient economy !

The press release of the IMF Article IV Mission conveying the preliminary findings on the economy was quite diplomatic as expected , highlighting fiscal consolidation as a priority. A primary fiscal deficit (exc. capital spending) of 2.9% of GDP in 23/24 is quite high, by IMF standards. Growth in 2024 is less optimistic at 4.9% compared with official forecast of 6.5%.

The 1999 riots, 25 years later, what has changed ?

Most of the participants at the ICJM conference on the above title and some of our top opinion leaders are of the view that nothing much has changed and that the country is not immune to such riots in the future.

Why ?

The nomination of cronies on Boards !

I cannot understand the present outcry at the nomination of a certain Dulthumun - brought to national prominence and fame by the “katori” incident- as Director on the board of.....

How many of the Directors nominated on the boards of BoM, SBM, DBM, MauBank, MT, Air Mts.... and the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) /parastatals deserve to be on these boards ?

PM, l’homme du secteur privé !

Have a look at today’s headlines : profits de 7.8 millards pour le groupe MCB; Le chiffre d'affaires d'IBL passe à Rs 52 milliards ; Groupe CIEL : bénéfices nets en hausse de 37 %; malgré les risques inhérents au Caudan Waterfront les profits ont eu le dernier mot.

Mauritianism : We are regressing….!!!

My comments on Nad Sivaramen’s editorial in today’s l’express: "The Perpetuation of Ethnicity and Loyalty"

Some extracts :

“…This year, it seems, the same ethnic formula will likely follow… …These politicians who plow their constituency know that it's not on the level of ideas that a legislative campaign is played out. When they "go down" to the field, when they go door-to-door, they appeal to the lowest instincts of the population, those that divide people while promoting a supposed discourse of national unity. ……In short, it appears that nothing is changing despite all the talk of change. So, what exactly is change?”

Wrong economic model for Mauritius and Singapore : increased gentrification in recent years.

Mr Chee Soon Juan will be launching his book titled "It Starts With A Dream” on the 17th of this month . What is it all about ?

It is about the wrong economic model adopted by Singapore which is the cause of its high cost of living and gentrification in the island. He argues that “……productivity growth is the only way forward to ensure a better life. .… without productivity, we can't improve our quality of life in Singapore.The PAP, the governing party , has taken the easy way out to grow our economy. How? By attracting wealthy families from overseas and turning Singapore into a tax haven…. with dangerous consequences for our society..."

"Notre environnement est malade de notre modèle économique .."

A must read in today’s Le Défi, the article ” Les réalités environnementales sont nos contraintes, mais aussi nos opportunités” by Nalini Burn, chercheuse et consultante en environnement.

The opposition parties’ proposals on the reform of our education system : Mere tinkering at the edges.

Following the 2023 HSC results and the proclamation of the list of laureates, the education committees and education spokespersons of different opposition political parties, via their press conferences and comments, gave us some indications of their main proposals on the reform of our education system.

Celebrating the failure of an elitist education system !!!

Some thoughts on our elitist education system: The whole education system is skewed towards elitism; all our resources are focussed on producing laureates at the cost of addressing efficiency and equity issues in the system . Now on top of all that, we are now celebrating the failure of the system , how stupid ?

"Strong” growth forecasts but FX shortages and depreciation of the rupee !!!

Refer to our post of the 20th Dec 2023 titled “Recent BoM Forex Interventions !” and yesterday’s article in L’express titled “PÉNURIES DE DEVISES:La Banque de Maurice ne vend plus des dollars, mais en achète”

A reform agenda for the rainbow nation.

When multiethnic countries face critical junctures, which are by definition times of high uncertainty, we would expect that the support for radical reforms would compel us to choose between class politics and identity politics, social democracy and multiculturalism, redistribution and recognition. “These, however, are false antitheses. Justice today requires both redistribution and recognition. Neither alone is sufficient.” Nancy Fraser’s working paper “Social Justice in the Age of Identity Politics: Redistribution, Recognition, Participation”

Hypocrisy of African leaders, including ours !

Is our commitment to humanity , to justice , to protection against genocide selective, myopic and politically influenced ?

Where did we go wrong ?

A recent post from our talented Harish refers to “MIC p donne milliards banne ti-copains mais Soodhun p dire PM finne dire li mendier avec Sheikh Dubai !

La honte!”

CJ interim ruling : a deception !

The ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but not to end the war .

The main issue : The effectiveness of our drains !

In addition to our earlier posts, we wish to add what our environment experts have been saying for years on the effectiveness of our drains. They are not being wiser after the event. In fact, they have been predicting these unfortunate events. For years , they have been sounding the alarm on the many anomalies that exist in the law and to what is being done in practice, but in vain.

State of preparedness of the country for disaster and risk mangement !

This is a moment when the country needs answers !

Pagaille à SSR Airport !

Pinocchio, dépésé rod enn bouc émissaire ek dir zot pas blié tir enn communiqué pou kachiet zot incompétans !

Ram Dhurmea refuses to be a scapegoat !

Zot fané, mais zot rod met tou blâm lor DG Meteo (MMS)!

A regime that has failed us …incompetent, weak leadership, vision deficiency…!

No, No and No to Pinochiio and team ! Blaming the director of Mauritius Meteorological Services or finding other scapegoats is not the solution !