Anyone who is imbued even with an iota of the sense of fairness and justice will be greatly dismayed by the sudden request for an early retirement by Mrs R.N. Her frustration can be understood as she has been evicted from a promotion she really deserves since long after having loyally served the Mauritius Standards Bureau (MSB) in a competent and professional way as Acting CEO for the last 8 years.
This phenomenon is not new and has been practised by different governments. Often years of service, qualifications, actingship, meritocracy, past records and so on have purposely been ignored in selecting the right person in the right place. In this particular case, nonetheless, the method adopted is really disturbing and is unprecedented. A professional is being sacrificed in order to appoint a person without the proper know-how in the subject matter. In the past I used to represent my Ministry in some Board meetings of the MSB and I can say with assurance that this exercise involves a lot of technicalities.
In a spirit of preserving her dignity, the officer has taken the bold decision of asking for her retirement in a way to express her resentment to what she has been made to undergo. Rightly so, but in the national interest, she is advised to withdraw her retirement letter and face this objectionable situation by having recourse to legal actions. She should seek legal advice and fight this case to the end, if not for herself, but at least to prevent similar situations to arise again. Such an action on her part will enhance not only her dignity further, but it will also give hope to other hardworking officers in reassuring them to achieve their dreams they have cherished.
Can all those organizations and federations who claim to be fighting for women rights and justice for all make their voice heard on such a clear injustice towards a woman who should be feeling lonely?
The comment of the leader of the opposition in this regard is indeed highly appreciated. Given the signal this intriguing issue is giving to the dedicated serving officers, can he look into the possibility of asking a PNQ the soonest for the benefit of all our citizens?
Can those who have benefitted from the best loser system also remind the cabinet that reviewing the above decision is in the interest of our rainbow nation as it will not only contribute to prevent brain drain, but it will also help our motherland move out of the black list of the EU?
May justice have precedence on all other considerations.
Long live Mauritius.
Basir Mohabuth.
