Saoud BACCUS
14 September 2007
Port Louis — At a time when the bio-green earth debate is taking front and center stage in the world, Mauritius too is caught in the whirlwind.
The first major project swept by this new wave, and had to be sent back to the drawing board, was the Ferney road development.
Thanks in part to a popular uproar that did not want to see an indigenous area go the same way as the dodo.
While we keep talking about a sane environment, from noise to air pollution, from the call to prayer to loud music from nightclubs, from raw sewage to pesticides in waterways, very little is actually done to develop a comprehensive environmental framework.
In this respect, governments, past and present, need to shoulder their responsibility for not acting.
The ministry of Environment is mandated to act on behalf of the people when it comes to matters affecting the environment.
It boasts of a mission, unequivocally, which is to enable our Republic to attain the highest level of environmental quality as a means to enhance the quality of life of Mauritians, preserve our natural environment and advance our competitiveness". But does it live up to its billing?
The harvesting of sugar cane is still an ongoing affair. It is the bread and butter of the country, and most people understand that. Yet, it brings with it secondary effects that can be a significant inconvenience if not an outright antidote to enhancing "the quality of life of Mauritians". Putting fire to the crop can save time and money to plantation owners, and is harvesting-friendly, but it brings along a myriad of prejudices to people living around or near the fields on fire. Ashes produced from the burning leaves are windswept miles away from the fields, only to end up in places where we go to get some calm and tranquility. Home, it is called.
It is almost impossible to leave garden furniture outside without coming home to see black stains all over the place. I pity those people who have invested in a swimming pool; it just cannot be used for months on end. Leave the windows open to let fresh air in and you end up with ashes on your bed! Our quality of life is swiftly disrupted by impurities caused mostly by a few at the detriment of many others.
What is the ministry of Environment doing about protecting the citizens from this nuisance? The country has a police unit assigned to the environment, aptly named the police of the environment, dedicated to tackle environmentally unfriendly occurrences. It is a paper tiger - much like ICAC and HRC - which are good at making endless investigations without seemingly being able to stop anyone from ash-staining us black. So much for enhancing our quality of life!
Striking a fair balance among different competing interests is an acrobatic move that those with power vested in them are not willing to walk the tight ropes for fear of losing only they know what. It is left to individuals to group themselves to manifest their opposition or fight for repair in a court of law. Unless they are confronted by other groups which see in every action a hidden communal agenda. Back to square one. And they wonder why people are leaving the country in droves.
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