By Dr Samuel Nicholas Duymun
Neither our government nor the Speaker in our Parliament is functioning as it should be under a democratically country like Mauritius. The general public is very disappointed with the Speaker for her delaying tactics for not taking any sanction against a government member of Parliament ( Kalyan Tarolah) for his indecent behaviour by exhibiting his personal anatomy on his mobile phone by using the wifi of Parliament in the vicinity of the said Parliament. There is also a general perception by the public that the Speaker does not deliver an equity and balance of her judgment and directive in her assessment of a debate and intervention between government and Opposition. According to many political observers, this is the worse Speaker the country has ever had since Independence.
This country is going to the dogs. In every nook and corner of the streets, people are talking the same language where they regret of having voted for the Jugnauth government. Nearly three years have already elapsed, poverty is still augmenting where the gap between the rich and the poor is widening day by day. The streets are now protesting against this dictatorial government. As never before, we had the streets participating in such protestation against a repressive government. The recent hunger strike in Port-louis and other parts of the country would have exploded in the face of the government had not the PM come out with a sort of refunding programme which is in the air of uncertainty.
Perhaps we should not read our daily political news with all its current affairs lightly. There is something cooking politically in the kitchen of the Jugnauth government for some time now since the Jugnauth government took power in 2014. We all know and history has already proved it how Anerood Jugnauth, our actual Mentor Minister when he was PM in the past liked to tamper with the Constitution of this country. Was it not Anerood Jugnauth as PM who defied the ruling of a high court Judge on the deportation of a pregnant Sri-Lankan woman a few years ago, resulting into the resignation of that judge who happened to be the late Robert Ahnee? We have to look further than our nose and assess the political strategy of the Jugnauths in consortium with certain of his high class profile relatives and close friends that keep helping the MSM in a different dirction from our democracy which we all cherish.
What about the strategy of Anerood Jugnauth for having been replaced by his son, Pravind in the office of Prime Minister? Such a drastic move has got lots of meanings and political implications that need to be decoded, rather than take it lighly as a simple ordinary news.
Why did SAJ stay as a Minister of State rather than resigning as an MP or remaining as an ordinary MP in the back seat? Believe me, this is a bit fishy because there is no way an Anerood Jugnauth will stoop down from his high position just to be a simple ordinary MP. The answer is simple because Anerood Jugnauth knows that if he resigns as a Member of Parliament, he would lose a by-election in his Constituency. That is why he refuses to resign as an MP in order not to provoke a by-election in his Constituency No 7.
Nepotism has played a great part under this government. Today one can say that the Jugnauths are doing their best to safeguard their own interests and secure their positions by employing their own relatives and good friends to high positions in both employment, diplomatic institutions, governmental bodies, and other key departments.
Even in our National Assembly, many Opposition members find it difficult to adapt themselves with the way and manner the Speaker of the house, Mrs Hanoomanjee is functioning. There is a general perception that the motions tabled by the Opposition members are not taken too seriously. On many occasions the Opposition has had to do a walk out because democracy has not been fulfilled by our National Assembly.
The MBC works for the government and only eulogizes politicians within the government and the Opposition parties do not have their say. The news bulletin is mostly about this government, for this government and by the government. Ordinary lay man has no news despite he contributes a lot for the maintenance of the MBC.
The writings are on the wall for this incompetent government. Even certain bookmakers that I come across at Tombeau Bay last week told me that this government is declining speedily because whatever they have done is to do with capitalist development since they have been in power. The MSM lives on a dynasty system as the only way this party has to govern this country in a disguised dictatorship to soi-disant democracy. The future looks bleak and dim for the MSM and the Jugnauths.
