[Democracy Watch Mauritius] Preparing 2024 Elections

Some of the key issues which Mauritius must address in the coming 5 years.

We are calling upon your party/alliance to show how you will address these issues in your ELECTORAL PROGRAMME/MANIFESTO being developed for 2024-29.

  • Achieving food and renewable energy SELF-SUFFICIENCY; continuous monitoring of prices and cost of living backed by increased local production (Made in Moris) of many items of necessity from our own resources, especially marine; the preservation of agricultural land, crucial for the future;
  • Increasing our productivity and overall production of agricultural, industrial and online goods.
  • Fresh water management to reduce waste, and make best use of our rainfall, including new technologies such as desalination, water-vapour capture etc;
  • Meritocracy to replace nepotism. Review, both in Government and parastatal bodies and the private sector, the directors and cadres in place  to put the best available talents and expertise at the head, thereby reversing the destructive tendency by many of those in power (during 2019-24  mandate, but also  during the 2010-14 and  2014-19  mandates ) of naming  their own people, independent of ability (i.e. Meritocracy to replace nepotism); review recruitment into the public service and the Police to achieve and respect socio-economic diversity of Mauritius;
  • For a fully functional, creative and dynamic Parliament, a key seat of Democracy, with full effective action from the opposition, an independent speaker and a Shadow Cabinet; electoral integrity guarantees;
  • Space for meaningful civil society and youth participation in an ongoing  consultation process of decision making; governance through evidence- based decision making;
  • Consolidating the actions of regional alliances (such as SADC, COI,) as well as strengthening our commercial and political relationships with other Indian Ocean islands, friendly countries such as China, India,  Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Middle-east countries, EU, USA and ALL Southern and Eastern African countries etc;
  • The Planet’s climate crisis CANNOT be solved by single countries acting alone, however big they are. Even more so for SIDS. Mauritius has an important role as a leader of the SIDS (Small Islands Developing States, most vulnerable to the climate crisis) todrive the efforts for implementing fully the Paris Agreement and the one  from COP 28;
  • A wake-up call to forecast/predict/prepare( through a strengthened catastrophe committee) for future risks and catastrophes, including pandemics, extremes of weather, war, intense cyclones and so on;
  • In promoting good governance, the government of Mauritius will attach great importance to efficiency, accountability and transparency in the management and utilisation of public funds and resources; strong auditing of government funds, followed by remedial actions. Extremely rigid control in calling for and attributing tenders for supplies/services from Government;
  • Continued reform of the education system at all levels, for use of modern pedagogies of teaching and learning curricula geared to leading healthy and successful lives in the 30s and 40s of this century.

Furthermore, the outgoing MSM government will surely, list the NUMEROUS REALISATIONS they have achieved during   the present mandate of 2019-24.

We invite that outgoing MSM government to ALSO undertake a serious evaluation of these 5 years and list the ERRORS/BAD DECISIONS TAKEN. And before coming to the electorate to ask for another 5 years to ADMIT AND CORRECT THESE ERRORS.

Let us just list 2 examples:

  •  MBC. Non-respect for the MBC Act (whose main objectives is to provide independent and impartial broadcasting services of information, education, culture, and entertainment in different languages etc) especially towards the end of this 2019-24 mandate. Also true during the 2010-14 and 2014-19 mandates. Who can forget the MBC news during a previous mandate almost always starting by the phrase “Navin Chandra Ramgoolam….”?  So much for independent and impartial broadcasting!
  • MTC. The accaparement of racing at Champ de Mars from the MTC (who have successfully ran racing there for 210 years). Such an action can put at risk the ownership and right of operation of other private even very well established companies /organisations, if someone close to Government wants to take them over. A move entirely outside the electoral programme of 2019 which was accepted by 35% of the electorate.

Inhuman treatment of refugees on Diego Garcia

Various local and international newspapers have reported on the dramatic plight of some sixty Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, held in confinement on Diego Garcia. How did they land there? 

It is a sad tale. Sometime in 2021, a group of Sri Lankan Tamils, in an attempt to flee their country, on grounds of unbearable persecution by the Buddhist majority, embarked on a perilous boat trip to seek political asylum from a friendly country, possibly Canada. Unfortunately, their boat ran into difficulty in the waters of the Chagos Archipelago. They were rescued by US military on the 3rd October, 2021and kept on the island of Diego Garcia in the worst possible conditions. It is even reported that women and children have been raped. They have since then been subjected to horrible physical and moral abuse. A few have died and some, in utter despair, have contemplated suicide.

It is against this background that a request was made to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to find a safe haven for them. According to official sources, the UNHCR submitted a report on the worsening living conditions of the refugees and is still in search of a country willing to accept them as political refugees.

The British government did nothing to find an acceptable solution. It simply stated that the island could not sustain human settlements. When London lawyers were hired to defend the refugees they were prevented to have access to their clients on Diego Garcia, but they managed to lodge a case before a London Court. The case is still pending.

Democracy Watch wishes to know why the Mauritius government has remained silent when the incredible details of the harrowing treatment meted out to the refugees on Diego Garcia, considered as Mauritian territory, were made public. The Prime Minister has rightly claimed in many high level international fora that the Chagos Archipelago belong to the State of Mauritius. This claim has been backed by the International Court of Justice, the UN General Assembly and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. Therefore, why has the Prime Minister not raised the serious concern of the Government of Mauritius at what is happening on our own territory in matters relating to the observance of basic human rights? Regrettably, we have not seen any statement from either our Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Prime Minister’s Office on this matter.

Doing nothing may lead to unwanted consequences not only for our sovereignty claim, but also for our human rights status. Democracy Watch expects that this wakeup call will be heard by the Government House.

Overseas bases and facilities

Let us review the case of India, a Mauritius friendly state, as an example. Here is a list of overseas military bases of India abroad. The majority of these Indian military bases and facilities are located in the Indian ocean region (Source: WIKIPEDIA).

Our source, WIKIPEDIA, states that ALL big powers (USA, UK, FRANCE, CHINA, INDIA, RUSSIA), BUT ALSO over 60 other countries have overseas military bases or facilities. In all cases the reason for obtaining and maintaining such bases is given as defense purposes.  The host country usually gets paid or receives important benefits for the facility offered. An often cited example is that of Diego Garcia for which the USA pays UK (not Mauritius!) an annual rent.

Diego and Agalega: there are similarities in that facilities have been accorded (or may be accorded in the case of Agalega) in both cases over part of Mauritian territory. But the two cases are different, as pointed out by Milan Meetarbhan: “In one case, there was excision of Mauritian territory by the colonial power prior to independence whereas, in the second case, the government of independent Mauritius may have granted facilities over its territory”.  In the case of Agalega facilities granted to India in exchange for considerable improvement to these islands with the airport and port.

At the inauguration of the AGALEGA facilities on 29th February 2024, jointly by Mauritian PM JUGNAUTH and Indian PM MODI, the population of Mauritius (and in particular the Agaleans) will know the truth as to where we stand.                                   

Par DWM Team

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