Africa-Press – Mauritius. Everything seems to indicate that Pravind Jugnauth would have finally won his case in the MedPoint case, according to the draft judgment of the Law Lords of the Privy Council which is circulating in a restricted circle of lawyers, and reported in the press.
. Your comments ?
Jack Bizlall: I said in a weekly that the country would lose either way: if the Privy Council overturns the Supreme Court judgment or approves it. * Why ?
I think Jugnauth should go, give the Sun Trust building to the state as compensation, make MSM a republican political party and liberate the country from the Jugnauth dynasty.
Ramgoolam should do the same. If they don’t leave, every Democrat in the country should get them out. The country will go backwards democratically. Besides, we are already not quite a Republic….
We will have a dynasty which will establish itself in the country with the help of certain political parties which were only waiting for this, to conclude an electoral alliance with the Jugnauth family. If the citizens of this country do not know who they are dealing with in politics, it will be known.
I guess intellectuals realize that electoral alliances are no longer partisan, but dynastic; and that we will pay the consequences of this practice, if there is not a coherent opposition against this situation.
On the other hand, we will – in fact – lose confidence in our laws and our institutions, and worse, act brutally and indiscriminately to reverse the course of political events other than by the next elections.
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. The country cannot afford to go to general elections to choose between Ramgoolam and Jugnauth. Both were disqualified.
* Do you think that the judgment of the Privy Council could have been different from the rumors circulating about it?
I was convinced that the Privy Council could only uphold the judgment of the Intermediate Court for three reasons. The judgment of the Intermediate Court convicting Jugnauth respects the spirit and the letter of the POCA.
It is in truth an exceptional judgment and thus anthological. It will stay in people’s memory. The Privy Council never questions the laws passed by a Parliament if these are not unconstitutional, and
The nature of POCA leaves no freedom for a judge to legally branch off. This law aims to put an end to conflicts of interest and all forms of corruption. There are several forms. For these three reasons, I maintain that there is no way out for Jugnauth.
That being said, one will have to read the Privy Council “judgment” to understand its logic in upholding the Supreme Court judgment OR raising another point of law or procedure.
* So you insist that the judgment of the Intermediate Court is unbreakable? On what grounds do you make such a claim?
I suggest that you read this judgment in its entirety, and I particularly insist on the following three excerpts: … it cannot be clearer that – a case of conflict of interest may not also be a case of corruption.
Conflict of interest is tantamount to a breach of public duty that a public official owes to the public. In the present matter, there is ample evidence that Accused willfully and recklessly took part in the decision making process albeit at the penultimate stage.
According to him, there was no other choice than to sign and approve since all decisions had already been taken. It is incorrect to state that the Accused had no other choice in the given circumstances.
In fact, there is evidence on record from Mr. Yip to the effect that the Minister of Finance could delegate his powers to the Financial Secretary- vide page 35 of transcript of proceedings 22-01-15.
Accused seems to have been under the wrong and misguided impression that his act of approving and signing minute (7) was acceptable and normal in the given circumstances. But as stated in our judgment, it is not whether what he believed was right.
The concrete fact is that he participated in the decision making process as regards re-allocation of funds wherein his relative had a personal interest, and this actual taking part in these given circumstances is absolutely prohibited under section 13(2) POCA.
In so doing, Accused has created a situation of conflict of interest so that there is a perception of influence or bias 3. We therefore order that Accused be sentenced to twelve months imprisonment.
However, in virtue of section 3(1)(b) Community Service Order Act, the above Sentence of imprisonment of TWELVE MONTHS is SUSPENDED pending a Community Service Suitability Report from the Probation Office.
I don’t think it’s all over yet. * So do you think there are other ways to continue to fight legally? You know, I’m going to compile all the statements of the government auditor to hold him accountable for the MedPoint scandal.
This clinic has been totally abandoned since its purchase and has been stripped of its equipment. Its value has never amounted to more than 70 million.
Today, another building is being built next to the first, which will cost us millions more. Every year, I make it a point to visit the place. Recently I had everything that happens there filmed.
The video is on my Facebook. I never give up a case when I consider it valid for the citizen to fight. The MedPoint file, I know it by heart. Moreover, I published several texts on this clinic to which I gave the name of “Deflower Clinic”
* What analysis do you make of the political consequences of this judgment in favor of Pravind Jugnauth on the political future of the MSM in the immediate and medium term?
MSM does not exist. So there will be no change. Members of the MSM know this. There will certainly be a revolt since the son wants to get rid of his father’s followers.
No more. There would eventually be a break-up of this family. In the practice of history, a dynasty never stays in power forever. There is an end to everything.
Will Jugnauth son use state money to buy people’s conscience? Will he push the aberration so far as to finance the capitalists within the framework of the application of the national minimum wage? No one realizes that the State subsidizes the Free Zone sector and all the employers in the country. . .
This financing is possible through sustained inflation (through the Repo rate which is the rate of borrowing by commercial banks at the central bank in the event of a lack of funds), which brings in a fortune to the State through the VAT.
Yet the Bank of Mauritius is responsible for controlling inflation. Why does this bank have no control over household debt? Furthermore, it would not be economically impossible to increase universal social benefits, such as pensions for the elderly.
Because by monetary and economic measures, we can annihilate such enhancements. It is in this context that I contacted a group of intellectuals to take stock of our economic situation.
* An unfavorable decision for Pravind Jugnauth would have removed the uncertainty hanging over the future prospects of the PTr.
However, things are likely to get complicated for Labor with this judgment by the Law Lords because it is likely that the MSM will pull out all the stops in terms of the campaign to smear the direct adversary – the PTr and mainly its leader – and the announcement of other ‘freebies’ before the next legislative elections.
What impact would such initiatives have on the electorate, in your opinion? You know it: political parties are in a state of decay. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it is.
Jugnauth senior did everything to feed the charges against Ramgoolam while keeping him at the head of the Labor Party through intermediaries. Who will vote for Ramgoolam? Do you believe for a moment that Ramgoolam will return to power with the PTr as the only political force? Not possible.
Labor knows it. But those who could have taken over are hardly showing up. . . * And what about the MMM? When I joined the MMM, the majority of its members and supporters came from the countryside.
Bérenger made everyone leave or expelled. Base as direction. We have never seen such a thing. Adding insult to injury, he has been complaining since 1983 that people attack him because he is white.
We still have to remember the quip: “Who is the other white man? by Hervé Masson. He does not realize his many wrongs. I don’t trust him. The campaign no longer trusts him.
“Its cities” either, in the presence of so many pretenders to represent the minority ethnic groups. I see that the daughter is trying to replace the father.
But is she different from her father? Would she be too maneuverable to plant trees with Oodiah? To be in contact with the October 13 Committee through a small group that has made entryism its Trojan Horse?
The next campaign will be – in my opinion – a campaign of reciprocal denunciations. There is no doubt about it. * An unfavorable decision for Pravind Jugnauth would have further complicated things for the MSM, making an alliance with the MMM unlikely.
Do you see things developing differently in this case? You believe that politicians respect the strength of others. It is when the adversary is weak that alliances are built.
I believe that it is the silence of the PMSD that must be analyzed within the framework of the alliances between the powerful political parties. There are 4: PTr, MMM, MSM and PMSD.
At one point, the PMSD wanted to play in the big leagues. He has backed down since he left the government. Then we have political parties that are organically attached to the “big” political parties and whose popular support does not rest on anything like the ML.
It will be necessary to consider the other political parties which are present, those of the left as well as those of the centre. There are a few who have not displayed their trends in terms of alliances.
In fact for the latter, there would be four possibilities. 1) Present a very limited number of candidates, no more than 3 to have government or extra-parliamentary spokespersons in the National Assembly.
I have been in extra-parliamentary power for years and I must tell you that extra-parliamentary power has made a lot of progress against the capitalist state.
You must not be a parliamentarist in the sense of believing that the State is the government. If we create a State-Government duality, we can change a lot of things without being reformist.
2) We can target the parliamentary opposition and then present one candidate per constituency. Some political parties will.
It is a viable strategy only if we manage to build a homogeneous, serious team that adequately represents women and men, young and old, oppressed social categories and especially the class of true producers that are the workers.
3) The third possibility is to put 21 candidates and let the other parties do the same and then apply critical support to each other.
If the debate is not handicapped by the impulses of the middle class (I talk about it on my Facebook page), we can advance and level the ideology of the left. Within the framework of such a strategy, one cannot aim at “parliamentary power”. That would be watering down his wine for nothing.
4) Insofar as society needs major changes and that these changes will not come from a revolution expected for years, it is to gather, always gather for coherence and political action accepted in advance. No question of anyone saying: “afterwards we will see”.
In this last framework, we are not aiming at “Power” as a force for imposing a social class on the whole country by a “dictatorship”, as is the case today with the bourgeoisie or political parties in Venezuela, for example.
It is to say what we want and what we can do. Conjugate and associate two verbs: Want and Power. This is transcribed in unequivocal publications on the constitution, education, the economy at the service of the social and very specific decisions on the social, ecological, cultural level.
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. Moreover, it is not certain that a favorable decision for Pravind Jugnauth will facilitate the realization of an alliance with the MMM.
Paul Bérenger could favor, in this perspective, a three-way fight, hoping that a revitalized MSM will accentuate the dispersion of votes between the PTr and the MSM to the advantage of the MMM.
What do you think ? We must not think in terms of what Bérenger, Jugnauth, and Ramgoolam would do. This would be to condone dynastic politics. I have already told you that the right seems to be reduced to a representation of three for the next elections.
For my part, it would be necessary to know if there is no other way. Often, people talk to me about me as an observer when I am politically engaged. Am I an “engaged observer”. This term is an oxymoron and I hate oxymorons.
My opinion is this: insofar as the right-wing parties will go separately to the elections, serious thought will have to be given to the other way in terms of policy, program, and changes.
This is what I have been doing within the MPM since its existence. We participated in the elections several times. A debate on the Movement’s strategy is expected in the coming months. There are many events that have influenced our Movement. We will see what these events will create in terms of strategies.
*In the end, having known and closely followed the functioning, methods and political strategies of Paul Bérenger, do you think that he is tempted by the blow of a three-way fight or will he choose to take the less risky route, i.
e. an “MMM-MSM Remake”? Paul Bérenger is faced with three concrete realities: 1) what does he propose to say about Ramgoolam and his extravagances and especially the Presidential Republic?
We cannot and must not propose a Presidential Republic just because we want to share power. This is unacceptable. 2) what does he propose to say about Jugnauth, the MedPoint affair and the Dynastic Republic? If he gives in on these plans, he will make an unacceptable political compromise.
He has already come out of the consciousness of the masses as a man of the left, does he think he will go down in history as a reactionary? If he wants to go alone, he is free to do so.
But does he believe he can find independent individuals to submit to him? He would benefit from modifying the constitution of the MMM, removing the post of Leader and restoring people’s confidence in him.
I insist: we should now stop with this shameful assertion propagated by some to the effect that some do not like him because he is white. There is another that we do not talk about: Arvin Boolell.
He needs to revise his personality. Just like Bodah and more. There is a list of people who are in a situation where they need to reflect on themselves.
* While the multiple scandals involving various members of the MSM or those of its allies acted as a foil since the beginning of the mandate of the Lepep Alliance, you have probably noticed the different opinion that the average Mauritian has had for some time now on the current Government: “Zotte even louse return.
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“, meaning that it is the MSM which will again be at the helm after the next legislative elections. What is your opinion of that? The voter has no memory. Panem et circenses. I translate from Latin: Bread and circus games.
Do we have to go back to the contemptuous declarations of Juvenal, a first-century poet, to understand what is happening? I will make you laugh…. . yellow.
The people despise all these little demigods. They are the ones who manipulate their leaders. The young people believe that they have a political future through the Jugnauths, the Berengers and the Ramgoolams.
They need to understand that voters are not ready for participatory democracy…. deliberative……consultative…. . We must not overestimate or underestimate the voters….
Aware of this, I adopted a behavior based on “I owe you nothing and you owe me nothing”. This allows me to talk to them by addressing the citizen and not the voter. Paradoxically, they understand better outside the election period.
* How would you react if you were told that the renewal of our political staff, so far a challenge, will actually take place during the first years following these general elections, whatever the outcome of the next legislative elections?
It is an obligation that there is renewal in terms of people but by listening and looking around me, I do not yet see any qualitative change. There would be a lot of analysis to be done on the changes underway.
I published a booklet entitled It’s tomorrow 2033. I opened a debate on the drives of the middle class, on intellectual Fordism; on technocracy…etc. Young people see politics as a profession.
They are neither right nor left, and they are proud to be so. They do not want to make any sacrifice to train and commit…. Thus, we are under an obligation to protect what we have built from their opportunism and their grabbing.
* With regard to scandals, the latest concerns the poor performance of Air Mauritius during the first nine months of the fiscal year 2018/2019.
Management says the airline badly needs a new business model. The PMSD hastened to demand its privatization and the MMM speaks in terms of a planned crash. What actually happens? Apparently, a business model already exists. The situation is serious but not yet catastrophic.
The Intersyndical of trade unions of MK is soon organizing a conference on the management and the future of MK and awaits the contribution of several intellectuals.
Let’s wait and see. I must say that several people and institutions are responsible for the current situation. They will have to be identified and removed. There is a price to pay for his failings.
There are others – by means of people who act behind the backs of others – they conspire, they sow discord… often by sending anonymous letters, etc… They create an unlivable situation.
But this situation is no different in casinos and in other state companies. This is Jugnauth’s style of management. I had published a text entitled “Le savoir-faire” on Ramgoolam. I intend to write a text on Jugnauth.
Moreover, if you follow with interest the rebuffs experienced by the CEB in relation to its ‘Combined Cycle Gas Turbine’ project, it seems that the shelving of Ivan Collendavelloo’s Muvman Liberater is already scheduled.
It’s hard to see Pravind Jugnauth sacrificing an alliance with the MMM to save the Collendavelloos, Gayan and Rutnah, right? Jugnauth will eliminate all the people chosen by his father for fear that his sister will have a hold on the Government.
It is the people supported by his wife who will replace them. It must be realized that in a dynastic structure, questions of good governance and economic orientations, for example, only arise in the context of inheritance.
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