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) .
Now these politicians seem to be very concerned about the flash floods in the different areas . The opposition is blaming govt for failing to meet its targets quoting the Audit Report “ Out of the 968 drains projects earmarked, only 34 projects were in progress, representing 4 per cent of the total projects.” while the govt which had earmarked billions of rupees in successive budgets for building drains all over the island is now asserting/realising that building drains is not the 100% reliable solution to this new phenomenon of climate change.
Our politicians seem to be out of tune ….
Do not waste your time listening to their parliamentary debates or to their interventions on special radio programs …After the Sunday downpour and subsequent flooding , they are all over the place, popping up in the affected areas with the media in toe eager for breaking news, for the latest sensationalism .....and we have to bear with the usual theatrics as they remain fixated on either generating blame against opponents or trying to cover up the outcomes of their incompetence…..
Better listen to the ecologist parties, to the environment experts , consultants and organisations like Eco-Sud, Platform Moris Lenvironman (PML) and others , if u want to have a good grasp of the real issues…
it’s not just a question of construction of drains …Adi Teelock from PML, for e.g, has repeatedly been warning us that “ sans exutoire aucun drain ne sera suffisant pour contenir le storm water”. …”nou fer drain pou augment GDP “. Drains and drains that lead to nowhere …functionless drains …whether it is at Albion or Port Louis …There is no proper land-use planning for more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources…”there is lack of coherence and a holistic approach in strengthening resilience against climate change and other shocks and in lessening our economic and social vulnerabilities which is very dependent on the choice of our economic model” argues Adi Teelock on Liberation Moris .
On the same programme, Stefan Gua of ReA holds, along the same lines , that our model of development or bétonnage -the Metro express -implemented without a proper Strategic Environment Assessment(SEA)-, the Smart Cities, the RES, some infrastructural projects and land speculation- together with an absence of a long term vision on mitigation strategies are largely responsible for the present state of affairs .
Moreover in her comment on the Environment bill in Le Mauricien of 23rd April, the PML environment expert alerts us to the fact that an apex SEA “ is critical to addressing the interlinked challenges posed by pollution, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and conservation of biodiversity. Without this linchpin, cascading sectoral and area-based SEAs involving land and sea use will be, at best, ineffective and at worst, incoherent with conflicting and perverse outcomes. “
The World Bank report “ Mauritius Public Expenditure Review :From Resilience to Performance:” has noted that govt spending on environmental protection is too low to achieve the government’s 2030 climate targets while risks from climate change are rising. It recommends that Mts incorporates the ability to track green spending in the budget and reforms the systems for planning, appraising, executing, and reporting on climate-related projects. Our public investment management (PIM) process and policies do include references to incorporating climate resilient techniques in infrastructure development but lack any specifics, requirements, or allowances in the project bidding/procurement process. More robust policies and guidance documents on climate mitigation strategies need to be developed and integrated into the public financial management system.
These are some of the issues that our politicians should be focusing on instead of constantly boring us with their blame game or shamelessly trying to camouflage their propensity to commit blunders after blunders…
