Defining unexplained wealth

While the press and those opposed to some of the provisions of the Good Governance and Integrity Reporting Bill are maintaining that the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms Mr. Roshi Bhadain has bowed down to the pressure of public opinion and has already announced three amendments, the Minister argues that he had purposely scheduled the second reading of the bill for 4 and 5 December next to allow debates and representations from all quarters. On Monday, Mr. Roshi Bhadain announced that three amendments would be brought to the Good Governance and Integrity Reporting Bill. First, a threshold of Rs 10 million will be established regarding the value of property on which a privilege can be inscribed in favor of the Government of Mauritius, should the proprietor “be unable to give a satisfactory account of his unexplained wealth”. Earlier, the bill did not provide for a clear definition of “wealth”. [blockquote]“Another extremely important issue will undoubtedly occupy frontline in the days to come: the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Mauritius. Both Mr. Bérenger and Dr. Ramgoolam have severely criticized Sir Anerood Jugnauth for having chosen to thread on sentimental grounds to convince the Indian government.[/blockquote] Similarly, in the original version of the Bill, it is proposed that Chairperson of the Integrity Reporting Board (who shall be a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of Mauritius or of any other Commonwealth State) shall be appointed by the Prime Minister; and that “other members who shall be persons having sufficient knowledge and experience in the field of law, accountancy, finance, financial services, public administration, economics or fraud detection, to be appointed by the Minister”. In the proposed amendment, the chairperson will be appointed by the President of the Republic, upon recommendation of the Prime Minister and after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Originally, the Director of the Integrity Reporting Services Agency was to be appointed, subject to the approval of the Prime Minister, by the  Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms. The appointment of the Director of the Integrity Reporting Services Agency will most probably be made the same way it will be done for the Chairperson of the Integrity Reporting Board. Speaking to Mr. Nawaz Noorbux on Radio Plus on Monday, Minister Bhadain stated that he does not exclude the possibility that some of the key posts in these new institutions will be publicly advertised, so as to ensure transparency. The third amendment has to do with a delay of six weeks that will be imposed on the Integrity Reporting Services Agency to complete its enquiry and refer the matter to the Supreme Court to proceed with the inscription of the property. It must be recalled that if at first only the opposition and members of the legal profession, in particular the president of the Mauritius Bar Council, Mr. Antoine Domingue, denounced some of the provisions of the Good Governance and Integrity Reporting Bill, MPs of the majority, namely Mr.Sudesh Rughoobar, Mr. Bashir Jahangeer, Mrs Danielle Selvon (all three from the MSM), Mr. Sangeet Fowdar(Muvman Liberater) and Mr. Salim Abbas Mamode (PMSD) joined the band-wagon and started to criticize the bill openly. Although Mr. Sudesh Ruhoobar was the first MP from the majority to criticize publicly some of the provisions of the bill, Mrs. Danielle Selvon was probably bolder because she mentioned about her probable resignation from the MSM, which she did on Sunday. She did not attend the meeting of the politburo of the MSM held on Saturday morning, during which it was revealed that some amendments would be brought to the bill. Meanwhile on Sunday, in a statement to the media, the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth gave the reasons for introducing the bill. In the same breath, he said that Mrs Selvon had excluded herself from the MSM. On Monday, things went very fast. As revealed by Minister Bhadain himself on Radio Plus, he went straight to meet the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth as soon as reached Mauritius after an overseas trip. Obviously the whole issue pertaining to the bill was discussed and in the afternoon, MPs of the majority expressed their satisfaction after they participated in the parliamentary meeting. The amendments were officially announced to them. Now, Mrs Selvon (who also participated in “la deuxième partie du Grand Journal on Radio Plus on Tuesday) announced that she would vote in favour of the bill because she claims that her resignation from the MSM has somehow forced Mr. Bhadain to come forward with the amendments. There are mixed feelings regarding her resignation from the MSM. The former Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party DR. Navin Ramgoolam publicly congratulated her for her “bold move”, while the MMM, through its secretary general Mr Ajay Gunness, opened its arms to the MP, arguing that “birds of the same feathers flock together”. Some political observers insist that Mrs Selvon’s resignation from the MSM was pre-planned and that the controversial bill provided her with a good excuse to quit. The Leader of the Opposition and of the MMM, Mr Paul Bérenger has stated at a press conference at the end of last week, that the bill will not be voted until and unless amendments are brought to it. The Deputy Leader of the MMM Mr Reza Uteem has told Le Defi Quotidien ( Thursday 12 November 2015) that there are still a few fundamental issues that require clarification, like the right to property as enshrined in article 8 of our Constitution. On Friday, all eyes will be riveted on the special meeting of the Mauritius Bar Council during which the Good Governance and Integrity Reporting Bill will be discussed at length. The Mauritius Bar Council has rejected the request of Mr. Roshi Bhadain to participate in the meeting. It would appear that things have taken an ugly turn when a senior adviser has tried to seek information regarding the fees paid to Me Domingue SC by SICOM. On the other hand, Me Maxime Sauzier SC , who represents ICAC in the case of Sun Tan Hotels, has recommended that the CCID takes over the enquiry. This “case” had triggered yet another conflict between the DPP Mr. Satyajit Boolell SC and the government. For his part, the former Prime Minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolam, who was the chief guest at a function held on Wednesday in Triolet in the context of Divali, termed the proposed amendments to the Good Governance and Integrity Reporting Bill as being “cosmetic”. He insisted that the new bill is anti-constitutional. Interestingly enough, the former Prime Minister made his first public appearance in his former stronghold (constituency number 5 Pamplemousses and Triolet) after almost one year after his defeat at the general elections ( held on 10 December,2014). The Dival Nite was organized by the Gahlot Suryavanshi Rajput Sabha. None other than Minister Bhadain has told the press that further amendments will be brought to the Good Governance and Integrity Reporting Bill prior to its second reading scheduled on 4 and 5 December next. Another extremely important issue will undoubtedly occupy frontline in the days to come: the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Mauritius. Both Mr. Bérenger and Dr. Ramgoolam have severely criticized Sir Anerood Jugnauth for having chosen to thread on sentimental grounds to convince the Indian government. Both leaders seem to say that Sir Anerood Jugnauth ought not to have presented Mauritius as “Chota Bharat” (little India) and “Chota Bhai” (younger brother). Obviously diplomatic negations should have been preferred to sentimental arguments, so typical to Bollywood movies. Who knows that Sir Anerood Jugnauth has another card up his sleeves? The grapevine has it that he has developed a special friendship with Indian Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi and he could be the chief guest of the Indian government at the celebrations of Republic Day next January.