(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 .
Would you believe it, the EDB , modelling itself on the phoney new Environment Bill of the Ministry of Envt, is constructing a new make-believe discourse of its own . “.…we will sharpen our focus on climate change and sustainability as well as the ESG practices being deployed in the country.”(sic) ?
Meanwhile , Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) permits are being issued at breakneck pace. Between February 8 and May 2, according to information published on the Ministry of the Environment's website, 17 EIA permits were granted, with major residential projects and clinics taking the lion's share.
The pace at which permits are being granted raises questions about the depth of these assessments and the ability to take into account all the dimensions of sustainability and environmental preservation and mitigation strategies in a short space of time. We should not forget that the earlier this year, the Supreme Court backed Rezistans ek Alternativ's (ReA) bid to preserve the Wetland 76 ESA at Salines Rivière-Noire challenging the award of the EIA permit.
Seven of the permits granted are for large-scale residential projects. These include villas and apartments in Anahita Beau Champs Smart City, residential developments in Savannah Connected Countryside Smart City in Gros-Bois, a parcelling project in Moka by Courchamps Properties Ltd, the division of a freehold land of 30 hectares and 1,720 square meters into 565 residential plots, 17 residential/commercial plots and two green spaces at Roches-Brunes by Medine Ltd, the development of land into residential plots for subdivision at Case-Noyale by South West Safari Group Limited, the residential land subdivision project at Côte-d'Or by Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd, the Mont Piton II (Phase 3) real estate project at Mont-Piton, Pamplemousses, by Alteo Agri Ltd. The ‘bétonnage “ of the island continues unabated at an accelerated pace
The foreign investment facilitator boy was bragging about the all-time record of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows estimated at Rs 37 billion for the year 2023. See table below : record inflows exclusively for real estate and tourism sectors as in previous years whereas most of our productive sectors-ICT, Manufacturing and Financial services -are registering declining shares of the yearly total foreign direct investment flows.
We cannot allow the EDB to get off the hook so easily. Is that the net result of the marketing campaigns -out of the number of fairs, workshops, exhibitions & roadshows conducted over the years in target countries , including source, niche and emerging markets ?
Clearly the EDB has failed to deliver, except when it is about promotion of Real Estate Schemes and selling our prized assets to foreigners, the construction of hotels and Smart cities, the encroachment of our public beaches and the continuing “bétonnage; of our “once pristine” island. Is that what EDB means when it claims that it is “adapting to the transformative tide of our time (climate change ) and remain as steadfast as ever”
Our rampant ‘development’ - the proliferation of an unsustainable number of hotels , smart cities and real estate schemes , driven by our landed plutocrats/conglomerates and foreign capital with government (both past and present)facilitation, is ruining our livelihoods.
This leads us to question some of the present commentators/bloggers who see behind the PTR-MMM-ND's 20 measures (what we have termed as competitive welfarism which is not credible as long as these have not been costed including the accompanying measures and the impact on the budget and debt level) a new vision for the country ?
a. Does this new vision mean that there will be fundamental policy changes in the promotion of long-term sustainable growth ?
b. Does it mean a policy paradigm shift to enhance long-term productivity which is key to ensuring our country’s future-FDI directed to productive sectors ?
c. Mauritius has so far avoided making hard choices, one of these hard choices is a politics of rupture with the RES and similar models (silver economy for e.g). Are they prepared for a new economic model ? and
d.Are they prepared to re-examine the use of our land in relation to the country’s needs, including social and community needs, the natural environment and the impact of property development on our environment?
