Government Information

Mauritius Times – 70 Years

Editorial

Subsequent to the recommendations made by the Government in Sessional Paper No. 8 of 1958: ‘The Luce Report: A Time for Decision’, the Central Office of Information was created. The Government recommended that a Government Information Department should be created which will reach every member of the public. That department would impress upon the public that it is a social duty to adopt the recommendations made in the Five-Year Plan and a social crime to Ignore its exhortations. To ensure that aim a campaign will have to be launched and carried out with the utmost imagination and ingenuity. The Information Department would have to impress upon the public the need for family limitations. The Sessional Paper made it clear that it was not for Government to advocate methods of birth control which would be offensive to important sections of the population. A campaign for an increase food production, coupled with advice as to how that could be reached; the need to abolish waste of water, electricity, food, petrol, land, etc.; to show the advantages of technical training and discourage the rush towards the grammar school type of education, all these would be the activities of that department, as visualised by that Sessional Paper.

Vintage Mauritius – Port Louis – Leoville L’Homme Street after Cyclone Carol – 1960

Another aim of the proposed Department would be to foster understanding between the public and the Government and to dispel the illusion that “Government is remote and inimical and available only to be pilfered from or swindled.”

The CIO was established in January last year with its head Mr K. Hazareesingh, who has had a thorough war-time training at the Information Office. In fact, it was the Public Relations Office which was expanded. Most of its staff were transferred to the newly formed department and its activities greatly widened. There is no doubt that the CIO has justified its existence. During the last two cyclones when the population was completely cut off from the rest of the world, and even people of one town did not know what was happening in the neighbouring town, the CIO, kept the public fairly well informed. Some of its staff had to work until very late in the evening to ensure a continuous and efficient flow of information which was so eagerly sought for. Even some of the opponents of that department were then compelled to praise the very good job it had done.

As soon as the CIO was created, the urgent and complicated task of informing the public of the mechanism of voting befell that department. For the first time 220,000 people were going to vote on the basis of universal adult suffrage. The CIO got the ready co-operation of the local press, to which even tailored materials had to be given concerning registration of electors and elections. The CIO for its own part printed pamphlets in English, French and Hindi and distributed them throughout the island. Through its Cinema Unit it spread information about the voting system. The election results were broadcast and communicated to the press and the public in a record time. The changes brought about by the new constitution in the administration were fairly well explained to the public. Statements made by Ministers were translated into French and made available to the press; the publicity of the Five-Year Plan was done on a vast scale. The CIO also managed to get some articles of the Plan published in some of the important papers of the UK.

Last year, 1308 Government press notices and communiqués were handled by the CIO: sixteen press conferences were convened on behalf of Government departments. The Mobile Cinema Unit was extensively used to provide entertainment and also to disseminate government policy. Three hundred and eighty-six shows were given, and which were attended by an estimated audience of 350,000 people. Four publicity campaigns were organised in connection with town cleanliness, anti-poliomyelitis vaccination, water and electricity wastage and road safety. Besides the news reels, the film library of the CIO consisted of 227 films of 16 and 35 mm. That office ran a press cutting service for the benefit of Ministries and Government departments. Five hundred and twenty-three cuttings were issued. A daily news report is prepared and circulated to Ministries and departments. A weekly summary of leading articles and important news items is sent to the Colonial Office. Ninety copies of a monthly news bulletin prepared by the CIO is sent to students in the UK.

Since the establishment of the CIO we find that hardly any or no rejoinder has been sent to the press to refute false information or allegations made against Government departments. Has the Government deliberately chosen to remain silent in that connection? Obviously, it is not advisable for the Government to get involved into controversy with the press, especially when there are some papers which are bent upon criticizing Government for everything that it undertakes or for anything that happens in a department. These papers would manage to have the last word in any controversy. But that cautiousness is doing the Government more harm than good. As there is no denial to the false news and allegations which these papers dish out to the public, the silence is misinterpreted by the masses. We think that just the bare facts about the case, written in a concise language, should be sent as a rejoinder to the papers involved. In great countries even diplomatic bodies deem it necessary to reply to allegations made against their country. Some time ago a reigning monarch, King Hussein of Jordan, replied to criticisms levelled against his country in the New York Times.

Now, can the CIO tell us how many recipients read the daily news report? We know some heads of department who don’t even open them. When one can read the newspapers in their original, why should one bother to read summaries? We think it is a sheer waste of time, energy and money to print them.

We learn that the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee has made a grant of Rs 31,000 for the purpose of establishing a Mobile Library Service. There are already 1,000 books in the Library of the Office. Can we know whether the scheme for the running of the Mobile Library has been implemented? The publication of Maurice Magazine has been a success, especially the Hindi edition. But as we have already pointed out that topicality is the touchstone of success of a paper, the Maurice Magazine has not always adhered to that principle though during the last cyclones it was printed in such a record time and come out with so many varied and useful information that it amazed the public and astonished the professional journalists.

We think it’s no use printing thousands of copies of papers, pamphlets and booklets unless the CIO can make proper circulation arrangements.

The monthly Maurice Magazine is published too far apart. Things are moving so fast in this island that even with all the goodwill displayed by the publishers, the news are bound to become outdated. There is another thing: Instead of printing the magazines pamphlet and booklets on fine printing paper, why are they not printed on cheaper paper? Even the Central Office of Information of the UK does not print luxurious booklets as we do. The US Consulate in Nairobi has his information sheets cyclostyled.

The rural contacts of the Government had been frightfully poor in the past. It is improving now; but considering the tremendous anti-government propaganda, which is carried out by detractors, there is a need for closer contact with the public by the CIO information machinery.

We very often hear members of the governing party say that the CIO has been a fiasco. While they do very little to inform the public about their party’s activities and even less to counter the propaganda of lies and calumnies spread by their detractors, they still expect others to fulfill what is their duty to do. Not that Government propaganda machinery can’t go beyond a certain limit, but it is also poorly staffed and financed.

The Information Departments occupy a very important place in Europe. They considerably help to uphold democratic governments. They are placed under a Ministry and provided with the best brains.

Why should we not do the same here? It is high time that the CIO be placed under a Ministry. In the meantime, we suggest that a Ministerial Committee be formed to direct the activities of that department.

We venture to make some more suggestions:

1. More funds and staff should be provided.
2. Important events should be filmed.
3. Fact sheets should be prepared on all the important departments and boards.
4. The CIO should summarise all important Ordinances passed by the Legislative Council, and Government Notices and send them to the press and to its distributing centres.
5. The publication of the Report on Mauritius should be entrusted to the CIO.
6. As far as possible, important CIO publications should be printed in the principal languages of the Colony.

   7th Year – No 298
   Friday 13th May 1960

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 7 March 2025