Ameenah Gurib-Fakim quietly steps down as President of the Republic 

The Platinum Card case, which has been making headlines since the beginning of March and caused much uproar around the President of the Republic’s resignation, is drawing to an end. After announcing that she had no intention of resigning on Wednesday 14 March and the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry to shed light on the case and clear her name, the President of the Republic has finally decided to step down from her post.

Indeed, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim’s lawyer Yousuf Mohamed announced on Saturday 17 March that the latter will be stepping down on Friday 23 March at noon. The lawyer uttered that the President has taken this decision “in order to avoid a constitutional crisis in the country and she does not want to see the country, the economy and the people in general suffer and also in the interest of her family.” He also added that Ameenah Gurib-Fakim now feels “relieved.” He explained that the President of the Republic had sent her letter of resignation to the Speaker’s (Maya Hanoomanjee) office on the same day. “The letter has been signed by the President in our presence,” uttered the lawyer. 

In a press conference held earlier on the same day, the Minister of Tourism stated that a motion of destitution will be presented to the National Assembly at the start of parliamentary session. Anil Gayan demanded the resignation of Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and also invited her to hold a press conference to provide information on the Sobrinho case. “If the President wants the public to know the truth about Alvaro Sobrinho, she should explain herself at a press conference,” stated Anil Gayan.

The Prime Minister was questioned about the resignation announcement in an event held on Saturday evening at Bois Cheri. “If she wishes to resign, let her come and announce it. Why go through lawyers? She could have said it through a statement,” uttered Pravind Jugnauth, who further added that he had not yet received any information about the matter from the Speaker of the National Assembly. The Prime Minister in fact declared that he cannot rely on what he is being told, “especially in regards that the President has given him (the Prime Minister) her word (that she would resign) and finally did the complete opposite.”

“I have suffered an affront once and I do not wish to venture myself without seeing this resignation letter in black and white... I would have gone public with the accusations I have against her. She has violated the Constitution by setting up an illegal Commission of Inquiry and if some people act as accomplices to perform an illegal act, there will be repercussions,” warned the Head of government. 

Following the announcement, all political parties stated that they are in favour of an investigation that will shed light on the whole affair surrounding Alvaro Sobrinho. The leader of the PMSD Xavier-Luc Duval stated that the resignation of the President is putting the country’s reputation in jeopardy at the international level. “We would have preferred that she faced a court and defended herself before this body,” he affirmed. The Leader of the Opposition insisted on the need for a Commission of Inquiry. “We want her to come and tell the truth about this whole affair,” uttered Xavier-Luc Duval.

On the other hand, the President of the Mouvement Patriotique (MP), Alan Ganoo, stated that the resignation of Ameenah Gurib-Fakim does not change the fact that she has misused her prerogatives as President of the Republic. “She has violated the Constitution and should answer in court... Resignation is better than dismissal. In terms of procedure, she has made a mistake.” Alan Ganoo added that the Prime Minister now has the moral duty to appoint a Commission of Inquiry. “Ameenah Gurib-Fakim alone must not wear the hat. We all know under what circumstances Alvaro Sobrinho came to Mauritius,” he said.  

The secretary general of the MMM, Ajay Gunness, said that they strongly believe that a Commission of Inquiry should be established. “The government should not think that it is going to get out of this easily. It is necessary to investigate how Alvaro Sobrinho had benefited from VIP treatment.”

Ajay Gunness added that if the government does not do so, Ameena Gurib-Fakim will have to reveal everything on the Alvaro Sobrinho case. The Labour Party also shared the same opinion. The president of the party, Patrick Assirvaden, stated that Pravind Jugnauth has the obligation to establish a Commission of Inquiry.

“If he says there is no reason to have a Commission of Inquiry, it will mean that he is afraid of the collateral damage that this case could bring to his government. People have the right to know who got bungalows, cars, trips and how Alvaro Sobrinho received VIP treatment,” he said. He also wondered about the involvement and role of Ivan Collendavelloo and Roshi Bhadain in the whole affair.

Opposition parties working together to shed light on Alvaro Sobrinho case

Opposition parties, with the exception of the MMM, are working closely together to shed light on the whole Alvaro Sobrinho case. The MPs met on Wednesday 21 March at the Government House on the initiative of the Leader of the Opposition, Xavier-Luc Duval, who also headed the meeting. Arvin Boolell from the Labour Party, Alan Ganoo from the MP and Kavi Ramano, independent MP, amongst others, were present to discuss about finding a common strategy to put pressure on the Alliance Lepep government to set up a Commission of Inquiry on the Alvaro Sobrinho affair.

According to some sources, the Opposition MPs have the task to gather as much information as possible about the investments of the founder of the Planet Earth Institute in Mauritius and about those who helped him. Following this meeting, the Opposition MPs held a joint press conference in which they deplored the absence of MMM representatives. “I seriously doubt that the MMM is still part of the Opposition,” said the Leader of the Opposition Xavier-Luc Duval. 

He claims that he advised President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim to speak out about everything she knows concerning the Sobrinho case and that she had agreed to bring more clarity to the Angolan banker. “I met her over a year ago and I told her to come clean. She took the decision to go ahead with a measure, the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry, to bring more clarity to this case,” he uttered. 

The leader of the Labour Party at the parliament said, on his part, that since the President has decided to resign, there will be no motion to dismiss. “If the president resigns this Friday, the motion will not take place. It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister is not listening to the people. We would have been happy if Reza Uteem had circulated his motion to members of the Opposition. If the MMM was present, we would have developed another strategy,” said Shakeel Mohamed. 

The majority of MPs are of the opinion that the first Private Notice Question (PNQ) for the return to parliament on 27 March should focus on the Alvaro Sobrinho affair. Some have opted for a motion of blame against the government while waiting for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry. However the leader of the PMSD Xavier-Luc Duval said that they will have to wait and see. As for the MMM, it is claimed that the matter has not been mentioned. “We demanded for a Commission of Inquiry. She resigned, we do not see how a parliamentary question would be useful,” said one the members of the MMM. 

Online petition launched to demand Commission of Inquiry

An online petition entitled ‘Open a public Commission of Inquiry on the Alvaro Sobrinho saga’ was launched on Tuesday 20 March on the change.org website by the group Nou Repiblik. The aim is to demand the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to shed light on the Sobrinho affair. The petition had collected as at Thursday nearly one thousand signatures. The initiators of the petition claimed that “it is not possible that the President and the Prime Minister were able to undermine the stability of the country without the population being informed of the real circumstances that caused the constitutional crisis.”

The Think Tank underlined that the links between the Angolan businessman Alvaro Sobrinho and Ameenah Gurib-Fakim have been mentioned several times in the press but also highlighted that “the information about Alvaro Sobrinho associates the person with a vast financial scandal which his political support in Mauritius tried to minimize.” This petition will be delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office on 26 March the day before the return to Parliament.