Africa-Press – Mauritius. The speaker’s repeated insults against a member of the opposition, the absence of parliamentary debates while serious decisions related to the management of health and economic crises are taken, the absence of debates around the appointments of chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers in public institutions and companies and parastatal organizations, the demonstration of the diaspora so that Mauritius deviates from the path of autocratization, freedom of the press and freedom of expression, nepotism and political financing occult, the absence of transparency at practically all levels are as many reasons and criteria which must push us to rethink our parliamentary democracy, our Constitution and, consequently, to progress towards a Second Republic.
These are, in essence, the points of convergence between Kailash Purryag, Jack Bizlall and Nad Sivaramen, gathered on Saturday evening, during the debate organized by the Mauritius Global Diaspora, and moderated by the lawyer Covilen Narsinghen.
The Mauritius Global Diaspora and the Vitiligo Society will demonstrate next Saturday in London, to demand the departure of speaker Sooroojdev Phokeer from our once august National Assembly.
“We will go to the end so that Parliament is rid of this speaker who is a national disgrace,” said Covilen Narsinghen.
Former President of the Republic and former speaker, Kailash Purryag, did not mince his words against Sooroojdev Phokeer, either. He regrets the time when the debates were civilized and of good quality.
“Before, there were great Democrats. Today, there is no longer a desire for transparency in Parliament. We give back kilometer-long answers so as not to answer questions from the opposition. Yet the regulations are clear.
Long answers should be circulated so as not to waste time reading these answers which often have nothing to do with the questions asked. The announcer does nothing to ensure that Erskine May’s standing orders and principles are respected, ”said Kailash Purryag.
Unionist and former parliamentarian Jack Bizlall agreed. “There is no possible debate. The announcer must leave. Phokeer set down the wrong track! We are doing work in this direction with former parliamentarians such as Alain Laridon, Bashir Khodabux, Armoogum Parsuramen, among others.
It is encouraging that the Mauritius Global Diaspora is taking over in London, not far from Westminister. The movement should reach other cities in France, Italy, Belgium .
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Nad Sivaramen recalled that the government, when it runs out of arguments, treats journalists and citizens as anti-patriotic, “as if the Jugnauth dynasty, elected with 37% of the vote, has a monopoly on patriotism.
” According to him, it is a pity that the legislature has been “taken hostage” by the executive or rather the Prime Minister’s Office, because this Constitution gives all the powers to the Prime Minister, “who is and takes himself for a monarch of ‘yesteryear, both Prime Minister and Leader of the House, therefore the one who recalls or closes Parliament while being the one who, as party leader, appoints the announcer when he does not appoint them ambassadors… ”
MM. Purryag, Bizlall and Sivaramen have listed proposals to “mauricianize the Constitution and make the functioning of the National Assembly more efficient” in relation to its prerogatives or its visibility among citizens. Together with Covilen Narsinghen, they reviewed the undemocratic clauses of the Constitution we inherited from the former British colonial power.
If we want to save democracy and make our institutions independent and free companies like Air Mauritius / Airport Holdings, Mauritius Telecom or State Bank of Mauritius from the grip of the MSM, we must readjust the Constitution to the current aspirations and standards of democracy and good governance. Otherwise, we will continue to live under a dictatorship, embodied by a monarch at the head of a political party, maintained the speakers.
