Wishful thinking

During the past days we have witnessed an escalation of tension within the political class. Politicians of all stripes have suddenly raised the tone of their voices and have indulged in threats and intimidations.  Undoubtedly the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Public Utilities Mr. Ivan Collendavelloo tops the list with his repeated public warnings against MP Mr. Bashir Jahangeer. Although Mr. Collendavelloo has not mentioned the name of the MP in public, descriptions that he has made so far would suffice to identify the person he has been aiming at. It all started at Rivière des Anguilles on the occasion of the laying of foundation stone of a village hall in this locality on Wednesday 20 April 2016. What was an official function was transformed into a political platform due to circumstances. First the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo rejoiced prematurely regarding a stand taken by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Euro Loan case. But what really shocked each and every one was the virulent speech of Mr. Collendavelloo. He stated in no uncertain terms that “there are a few scatter-brained, dirty and liars in this country who indulge in some works.” He added that “they do not necessarily hail from the Opposition and they indulge in a mudslinging operation. Vishnu has gone through and I am going through also.” He then warned that he would deal with his detractors the hard way. Obviously MP Mr Bashir Jahangeer felt very upset and insulted. He confirmed to the media that he understood that he had been targeted because in his opening remarks, the Vice Prime Minister Mr. Ivan Collendavelloo omitted to mention his name.

“ Causing hindrance to the work of an elected Member of the National Assembly is a dangerous precedent. After all, are Ministers, including the Prime Minister, not supposed to reply to parliamentary questions, whether they are embarrassing or not? "

The next day at a congress held at Universal College in Rivière du Rempart, Mr. Collendavelloo was to reoffend. This time he went a step further and referred to an MP from the south of the country, again without mentioning his name. “Pa koné kouma li finne gagne ticket pé lev are moi (we do not know how he got an electoral ticket and now he is arguing with me),” said Mr. Collendavelloo. For the second time, he warned the MP. “I have been in politics for the past thirty five years. I am giving him a warning. He does not know who I am.” This sounds like a new version of Mrs. Nandanee Soornack’s now famous question: “Ou konner ki moi? (Do you know who I am?) to then agent of the MSM, and now Minister of Youth and Sports Mr Yogida Sawminaden. The behaviour displayed by Mr. Ivan Collendavelloo has shocked many but the decision taken to silence MP Mr. Bashir Jahangeer has caused further deception. The double “warnings” from Mr. Collendavelloo ought to have been disciplined and disapproved by the leaders of the Alliance Lepep because he has not only publicly “warned” (not to say threatened) an MP but he has also cast a doubt on the competence of the leader of the MSM Mr. Pravind Jugnauth by asking ironically how Mr. Jahangeer got his ticket. Press reports indicate that debates were very lively and full of tensions at the meeting of the parliamentary group on Monday. Both Mr. Collendavelloo and Mr. Jahangeer had the opportunity to express their views. It must be underlined that the bone of contention is the decision of the government to purchase new gas turbines. While MP Mr. Jahangeer seems to suggest that the new tender have been tailor made to suit some prospective suppliers, the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities Mr. Collendavelloo insists that he trusts World Bank experts on this issue. Ultimately, MP Mr. Jahangeer accepted to withdraw his question to the Minister on this issue, in a bid to calm down things. It would appear that the Prime Minister and leader of the Alliance Lepep Alliance Sir Anerood Jugnauth made it clear that he does not want one of his MPs to behave like a member of the Opposition! We do not know whether this is a cause for laughter or for tears. Being the most senior member of the National Assembly, Sir Anerood Jugnauth should know that this is precisely the role of a backbencher, whether he or she is from the Government side or from the Opposition. Causing hindrance to the work of an elected Member of the National Assembly is a dangerous precedent. After all, are Ministers, including the Prime Minister, not supposed to reply to parliamentary questions, whether they are embarrassing or not?

Tension and conflicts

Mr. Jahangeer should count himself lucky that he is not the only one to be on the hit list of Mr. Collendavelloo. According to press reports, some PMSD MPs boycotted Monday’s parliamentary meeting as a protest against the way Mr. Collendavelloo treated MP Mr. Patrice Armance (a member of the PMSD). The leader of Labour MPs at the National Assembly Mr. Shakeel Mohamed must be commended for his initiative to write to Madam the Speaker, Mrs. Maya Hanoomanjee to urge her to take appropriate actions as per the provisions of National Assembly (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act 1953. He is right to point out that nobody has the right to threaten a Member of the National Assembly. However we fail to understand why our politicians are selective in their approach. Why didn’t Mr. Mohamed take any step when his own father Me. Yousouf Mohamed gave some public warnings in the wake of the arrest by the police of the former Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations? Only a few days ago(on Friday 22 April,2016), speaking at a congress at Bambous Virieux the leader of the Mauritius Labour Party Dr Navin Ramgoolam blasted his former close friend Mr. Rakesh Gooljaury, stating that he will make him sweat in court. Dr. Ramgoolam even advised him to bring along a SAMU ambulance. Would Mr. Mohamed register a complaint against his leader for threatening a witness? The same tension could be felt at the National Assembly on Tuesday. Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Housing and Lands Mr. Showkutally Soodhun crossed swords with MMM front bencher Mr. Reza Uteem over land leases in “pas géométriques”. Also a serious conflict between the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Paul Bérenger and the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms Mr Roshi Bhadain cropped up when a question was put on the BAI issue. At one point of time, they challenged each other to “tombe dehors” (go outside, usually to settle scores in a physical way). We were wrong to think that those days are over. Even the Prime Minister made some nasty remarks against the United States of America. “USA does not govern the world,” said Sir Anerood Jugnauth when he was asked about the State Department country report, adding a “I don’t care about the report.” However nobody can match Minister of Ocean Economy Mr. Prem Koonjoo. The week before, he had amused everybody with his replies on the lease of government fish ponds. He candidly replied to a supplementary question from MP Mr. Shakeel Mohamed that “the “barachois” (fish ponds) are the property of the government and that they do not make publicity for that.” On Tuesday, he improved his performance by telling an MP to contact the Ministry of Public Infrastructure for more details. To which, MP Mr. Adil Ameer Meea asked: “May I have the contact details please?” Now the Minister of Health and Quality of Life Mr. Anil Gayan has given a very simplistic definition of Government House (l’Hôtel du Gouvernement in French). He told the media that the Government House is not a house but a hotel where the occupants stay temporarily. He was replying to a question with regards to his candidature to the post of chairperson of the African Union. He readily added that he was prepared to leave his post as minister. Mrs. Danielle Selvon too could ask for political asylum. Recently she has come into the limelight after she courageously supported the hawkers. On Sunday, the Alliance Lepep will be the only political group to organise a public meeting to mark Labour Day. Incidentally, the Labour Party is not holding a public meeting while the MMM has preferred to organize a “journée de réflexion”. In the current socio-economic context, the slogan of the Alliance Lepep “Ensam Nu Pu Resi (Together we will succeed)” looks more like wishful thinking.