The Scandals Being Unearthed : What Now?

Opinion

By Jan Arden

Many incoming ministers will likely uncover the extent of the suspected murky realities left behind by their predecessors, their advisors, and higher-level administrative cadres. They may require time to sift through the situation and distinguish the wheat from the chaff. This challenge is especially pronounced at the Ministry of Finance (MOF), a portfolio held by the Prime Minister himself. Supported by Junior Minister Damry and a team of professionals at the PMO, the Ministry produced the much-anticipated State of the Economy report last Friday. This report serves as an absolutely essential prerequisite to evaluating the options, modalities, and potential impacts of the government’s iconic campaign pledges.

Meantime, the new BoM Governor Rama Sithanen and his deputies have been busy assessing thoroughly the nexus between the former MOF, the nominees at the BoM and other regulatory bodies (FSC) which have resulted in easy printing of helicopter monies to the tune of billions and the transformation of the Central Bank into an excitedly eager player in the business sector through the MIC. An informed analysis of these documents — shocking in the duplicities they reveal on many fronts — is best left to professionals here and elsewhere. However, a few critical questions must be raised from the perspective of the 62% of voters who cast their hopes for Change against a formidable opponent and its diverse allies.

• Will the defaulters, scammers and corrupt be vigorously taken to task in the appropriate setting of formal charges in courts of law and justice seen to be done, however powerful, well-connected or wealthy the active and passive proponents of defrauding the public purse?
• Will a legal/constitutional team be tasked with recommending all necessary amendments so that such blatant abuses by a close-knit coterie, working in concert, cannot ever take the country hostage again?
• How could the observed derailments occur under the nose, eyes and guardianship of our elite higher cadres of the civil service — once a source of national pride? How do we establish safer mechanisms to protect civil servants who offer their best advice rather than yielding to external pressures like bending willows in a storm? What tangible value have these cadres brought to Boards and parastatals, particularly the lucrative ones that consistently attract a rush of nominations from the top echelons? Shouldn’t allowances be capped or pooled for annual distribution among these leaders, thereby significantly curbing the indecent scramble for such positions?
• Our audit process, which needs to be strengthened, is unfortunately an after-the-fact mechanism that reports dismally on the billions of public funds wasted, with little or no action taken against the blatant culprits. Should it evolve into a branch with the primary mandate of supervising, monitoring, and raising alarm bells when significant deviations occur, such as the cancellation of public tenders?
• While we may sympathise with Dr Sithanen’s statements on the dim prospects of fraud recovery, where billions with local complicity and expert financial advice may have disappeared unto exotic destinations like Cayman Islands through « sociétés écrans » (shell companies), will every effort through international specialised firms and institutions be made to track and recover at least part of the illegal bounties ?

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An Education roadmap

Education has been a disaster running on steroids since 2016 and the forceful introduction of the Nine Year Schooling reform. Let’s see some of the key elements.

Engulfing some Rs 21 billion or nearly 9.5% of the national budget, the system, despite all the hard work put in by thousands of dedicated teaching and support personnel, is a fiasco at both ends of the spectrum. Some 3-5% of the academically-minded will emerge through years of continuous competition to reach University studies. That is simply an unacceptably low figure. As for those without the family support and a bent or interest in academic studies but certainly with a variety of other untapped skills and talents, some 35% are ejected as failures after nine years of academic schooling and, according to pedagogues, 50% without basic literacy and numeracy. That is equally unacceptable.

As for the notorious Extended Stream, designed for those found at the bottom of the academic scale after six years, it predictably failed to deliver any meaningful results. It is a structural failure that no amount of well-intentioned plastering can correct. We won’t bore readers with the familiar stories of education output mismatch, nor of the demoralisation of teachers treated by circular notices, nor of the PSEA’s absurdities, nor again of institutions closed for fear of rainy patches and overflowing drains, nor of the increasing trends of school-yard bullying or rowdy indiscipline that the new Minister of Education has inherited. A sad and sorry plight indeed.

To his credit, Mahend Gungapersad has been demonstrating tremendous energies on the education to secondary sector front, through a series of meetings and consultations with all interested parties, public and private, trade unions, stakeholders and institutions under his aegis. As a past rector, he would appreciate fully the need for key staff at IVTB House to ensure that the « rentrée scolaire » at pre-primary and primary goes through with minimum hitches. From text-books, teacher and head teacher availabilities, subject matter concerns, admissions procedures and processes to preparedness for heavy rains or cyclonic conditions, each and every level of responsibility must accept and share the overriding concern for educating our children in the best conditions with current resources.

Several well-received measures have been announced and some already implemented, including marching orders for the previous PSEA director and the previous Minister’s coterie of NYS advisors, an immediate end of the fiat that excluded 3-credit holders to pursue their HSC, while assuring stakeholders of his attachment to delivering high standards in learning. The Extended program will be abolished with transition measures for the coming year and mobiles will be prohibited during class-hours.Read More… Become a Subscriber

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 13 December 2024