Gulal aur Sona (Holi Colours and Gold)

The mini cabinet reshuffle did not mean the end of troubles for the Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth. After more than a month of near procrastination over the Lutchmeenaraidoo issue, the Head of Government has had to take more drastic actions regarding another one of his ministers, Mr Raj Dayal.   Sir Anerood Jugnauth has barely finished dealing with the case of Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo that he has had to face another embarrassing situation involving a very visible member of his government, Mr. Raj Dayal. The latter had been serving as Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and Disaster and Beach Management since the Lepep Alliance won the general elections in December 2014. This time, the Prime Minister was faster to react than in the case of his former Minister of Finance and Economic Development. He straightaway urged Mr. Raj Dayal to step down as Minister of Environment at midday on Wednesday. In a statement to the press in the afternoon on the same day, Mr. Dayal said that he had taken cognizance of what has been broadcasted on radios and published in the press and that he considered these to be serious. “It concerns the allegations of one Shakel Nawab Soobhany, also known as Patrick, and whose lawyer is Me. Yousouf Mohamed”. For Mr. Dayal , it is a conspiracy to prevent him from working and constitutes at the same time a character assassination against him, with the objective of destabilizing the government at the eve of the resumption of the National Assembly. “I was on the hit list but I have the support of my colleagues in government as the truth lies in the official file of the EIA Committee of the Ministry of Environment”, said Mr. Dayal. The whole story broke out on Wednesday, when Le Defi Quotidien revealed that a statement has been made on Tuesday against the Minister of Environment at the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC). This institution has in its possession a voice recording, excerpts of which were later broadcasted on Radio Plus. We can hear a voice, which could be that of Mr. Raj Dayal, saying that he does not want anything but that he would not refuse some assistance in the context of his political activities. The fundamental question is whether the Minister has solicited or not a non-financial support in the context of his political activities in the context of the celebration of Holi on Thursday,in exchange of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) License for a property development project at Gros Cailloux? This is what the investigators will have to find out following the statement given to ICAC by a businessman on Tuesday afternoon, in the presence of his lawyer, Me Yousouf Mohamed SC. On listening to the voice recording, we can hear the voice of the businessman: “I do have money. I can give you a plot of land”. Then, the other person (who could be the Minister, replies: “I do not want anything. I hold political activities. For Maha Shivaratree, I have spent one million rupees only in my constituency. Government does not give me funds for that. I have activities. You must support me. I need fifty bags of coloured powder (for Holi)”. L’Express also published the news but the daily was more cautious and did not reveal the identity of the Minister involved in the case. LUTCHMEENARAIDOO EXTENDS SICK LEAVE That leads us to the Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo. At first, he gave the impression that he was quite happy with his new ministerial portfolio and that he was back in action. On Wednesday 16 March last, he even had a meeting with the top brass of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade and priorities of the ministry were indentified. Then, suddenly, the minister started to have qualms and shared his inner feelings on Facebook. “Taking advantage of my sickness and my silence, a calumnious campaign of lies has been orchestrated to tarnish my image and destabilize myself politically. Ask yourself the question. Who benefits from the crime? Enough is enough! I have decided to act to establish the truth, urge for justice and unveil the plots and those who plot”, wrote Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo on his wall post on Facebook on Friday last. Earlier, he had attended the meeting of the cabinet of ministers after a month’s absence. On Saturday, Mr Lutchmeenaraidoo participated in the meeting of the politburo of the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM). There, he apparently did share with some of his friends that he might take a new sick leave, which he did. On the same day, he again posted on Facebook that he was taking ten days’ sick leave as from this Monday. “I have had a difficult recovery phase with the risks of a third relapse. On medical advice, I will be on a week’s sick leave as from Monday. Thank you for understanding that my retreat of silence continues. In view of restoring truth and urge for justice, the legal machinery has already been started. You will be informed. Thank you for everything”, wrote the new minister of Foreign Affairs. Almost at the same time, the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms Mr. Roshi Bhadain made the following comment on his wall post on Facebook: “Cleaning is good but not to make dirty is still better.” It would appear that Facebook has become the favourite social media for ministers of the Lepep Alliance government to express their inner feelings. And that Mr. Bhadain has become a “dhobi de classe” (a classy washer man). To date, it would appear that Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo has hired the services of attorney-at-law Mr. Narendra Appa Jallah, who has already started legal actions against some publications. As we mentioned last week, ICAC has achieved a major breakthrough on Thursday 17 March last as the Judge in Chambers Mr. Iqbal Maghooa has acceded to its request to have access to the SBM bank account of Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo in view of their preliminary enquiry on the Euro Loan. The investigators at ICAC had seven days to make use of the Judge’s Order, which means that by now the forensic auditing of the bank documents must have progressed considerably. In clear, it would mean that Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo could be quizzed by ICAC soon. But the Euro Loan (€ 1,1 million or Rs 400,000 ?) is not the only issue currently being investigated by ICAC. It would appear that a consultancy contract for the e-Health Platform Project for the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life awarded by State Informatics Ltd, without going through tendering exercise, to a company whose director is a close relative of the former Minister of Finance, is also being investigated. ICAC is also investigating on the project of the Pailles Smart City, a joint venture between Yihai International and the State Investment Corporation and requiring investment to the tune of Rs 16, 8 billion. It does not augur well for the Lepep Alliance government as the National Assembly resumes on Tuesday. The former Minister of Finance has been shifted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but nobody knows for how long he will keep his post. Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who talked to Radio Plus on Tuesday stated that he preferred to wait for the outcome of the ICAC enquiry before deciding on further actions. He however stated in no uncertain terms that he is neither scared of Dr Navin Ramgoolam nor of Mr. Paul Bérenger and that he will bravely face a by-election in the event that Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo resigns as MP. Both Sir Anerood Jugnauth and Mr. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo are playing extra time. The Prime Minister cannot afford to proceed with a major cabinet reshuffle because his son, Mr. Pravind Jugnauth is still awaiting a court decision regarding his appeal against the judgment in the MedPoint case. Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo is probably waiting for the right time to settle some scores before he ultimately quits. In any case, it is the end of the road regarding his political career. Meanwhile MP Mr. Sangeet Fowdar is still blowing hot and cold, at times threatening to resign from the National Assembly. By the way, some of the ministers (and former ones too) in the cabinet led by Sir Anerood Jugnauth have very strange tastes and needs. While one cannot resist the glitter of gold, another one seems to be preoccupied with the colours of Holi.