Lessons of humility

Mauritius has had the honour and priviledge to welcome the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-moon, who was the chief guest at the International Council for Commercial Arbitration Congress held at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre, Pailles, from 8 to 11 May, 2016. Earlier, during his official visit, the distinguished guest had a meeting with stakeholders engaged in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals - The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He was accompanied by his spouse Madam Yoo (Ban) Soon-taek and he headed a delegation of thirteen members. Obviously, the eighth Secretary General of the United Nations participated in various official functions and met with several dignitaries. The fact that Mauritius welcomed an international personality like Mr. Ban Ki-moon constitutes a unique opportunity for the country to be in the limelight on the international scene. Coverage in the international media of the official visit of the Secretary General of the United Nations to Mauritius sufficed to place the country under the world’s spotlight and helped in promoting our image. Moreover, given his stature, Mr. Ban Ki-moon’s statements carry weight and do have an impact worldwide. In a context where Mauritius is struggling to achieve a second economic miracle, this visit was indeed very timely, although Mauritius was not his unique destination in the Indian Ocean region. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, his spouse and the delegation were in Seychelles and were to visit Madagascar also. Despite the fact that he is an international player, Mr. Ban Ki-moon depicted that he is a humble person. His facial expressions when he visited the Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape speak volume of his sincerity of purpose. “Courtly and deliberate, with an easy smile, Ban, 62, is an unknown at the United Nations, particularly compared with the high-profile globe-trotting diplomat he is succeeding,” Warren Hoge wrote in the International Herald Tribune when Mr. Ban Ki-moon was to succeed to Mr. Kofi Anan. His presence ought to have inspired our local politicians, who are either indulged in navel-gazing or speculative projects, if they are not proposing new relaxation techniques like “baigne dans c.c.”. The time for navel-gazing is over and we cannot overlook the globalization of our economies. Neither can we afford to gamble with our future.

THE END OF OUR GLOBAL BUSINESS SECTOR?

We would have thought that the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms Mr. Roshi Bhadain had suddenly been hit by a strong sense of humility when he decided to seek the advice of former Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mr. Rama Sithanen on the thorny issue of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)with India. Mr. Sithanen was more humble, far away from the days he stated in no uncertain terms that he was the best Minister of Finance the country could afford. “Ou konner ki cène là meilleur ministre des Finances? Li appelle Rama Sithanen et li pé assize devant ou (Do you know who is the best Minister of Finance ? He is called Rama Sithanen and he is sitting in front of you)”, had he told the stunned presenter during a television programme on MBC/Tv. At that time, he had rivaled with popular soap bar “National”, which was commercially promoted as the best one available on the market. Mr. Sithanen was very professional in his approach and made several suggestions to Mr. Bhadain, whom he has forgiven for his harsh critics against him. However, when he was questioned by the media, Mr. Bhadain bluntly stated that some of the suggestions made by Mr. Sithanen were mere “nonsense”, but he admitted that others were valuable. True it is that Mr. Bhadain had announced the holding of a press conference for soon and that news had reached the media that the new agreement between Mauritius and India would be signed in the days to come but it came like an ice-cold shower when the Minister of Financial Services gave details of the conditions of the new agreement. Former Minister of Finance Mr. Rama Sithanen stated straight away that what has happened is mere political irresponsibility. “It is the end of our global business; I would never have thought that such an important sector would be sold off. They are selling off for 350 million US $ a sector which is worth 6,5 to 8 billion US $. Roshi Bhadain has sacrificed the Global Business sector to finance a speculative project, namely Heritage City”, said Mr. Sithanen. He added that several international banks will leave the country. What is the trade-off Mr. Sithanen and other personalities are referring to? In fact, as announced by Minister Bhadain at his press conference on Tuesday, India will grant a sum of Rs 12,7 billion to Mauritius to finance various projects namely Heritage City (Rs 3,7 billion), an International Convention Centre (Rs 1,8 billion), a Financial Services City and a project worth Rs 3,6 billion to be announced by the Minister of Finance in his Budget Speech. If Bhadain is insisting that it is the best deal ever reached between two countries, most of the operators in this sector have expressed their deep concern. One of the operators asked a very pertinent question: “Do we have to understand that the government needed billions of rupees to repay Super Cash Back Gold policy holders that it has had to sell out the Global Business sector for some billion rupees?” The Leader of the Opposition Mr. Paul Bérenger termed the new agreement as being “a fiasco à la Bhadain” while former Foreign Affairs minister Dr. Arvin Boolell (Mauritius Labour Party) said that it is a win-lose situation. Headlines in most of the local media referred to this situation as leading to the death of the Global Business Sector.

HITTING A VERY SENSITIVE SPOT

The arguments of Dr. Arvin Boolell deserve our comments. He criticized Minister Bhadain for not involving the operators in the process of negotiations. According to him, Mr Bhadain feigned consultations by meeting Mr. Sithanen. More importantly, Dr. Boolell hits a very sensitive spot. He argued that given our privileged relations with India, we should have had the right to an equal partnership. “Unfortunately, the Indian authorities have imposed their will on us, just like the British had imposed on Mauritius the creation of a protected marine park around the Chagos Archipelago”. Coming from the mouth of someone who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, this statement is bound to create a stir. At least two Indian Prime Ministers, namely Sri Manmohan Singh and Sri Narendra Modi have promised that “India will never do anything that will harm the interests of Mauritius”. Where is that promise? What has happened to the repeated rhetoric about our blood ties and so on? How come that the privileged and personal relations between our Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth and his Indian counterpart Sri Narendra Modi could not change the course of things? It is obvious that neither traditional diplomacy nor economic diplomacy could help. Fortunately there are a few good news like the Air Corridor, linking Asia to Africa via Mauritius, which is taking shape. Similarly, several companies have made profits and show sign of good health. We wonder why we still have unrealistic situations like four ministers, including a Deputy Prime Minister and a Vice Prime Minister, inaugurating a parking lot in Quatre Bornes, a Prime Minister who is unaware of the rituals of a specific group of his fellow countrymen and ministers who have become globe-trotters at the expense of taxpayers. After all, it is a question of fashion and style!