Saoud BACCUS
18 October 2007
column
Port Louis — Bringing in expatriates to run the country's most important agencies is a breath of fresh air and this, despite widespread opposition and numerous attempts to get them to go away. Messrs Lal and Cunningham are the highest profile foreigners hired to run the tax and customs departments. They are doing a wonderful job for the country and for which we should be grateful.
People complain about the salary and benefits they are drawing. True, they are paid handsomely well and are getting princely benefits but, in return, they are bringing in revenue that would otherwise not have been collected. What we are paying them is an insignificant percentage of what they are bringing in. We can choose not to pay them, as long as we also agree to forego the revenue.
Their tenure, however, is more than dollars and cents. These expatriates come with an added advantage. There is no emotional attachment that comes with the job, in that they don't owe anybody any personal favours. You can rest assured that no one will be lining up at their house early in the morning waiting to talk to them about striking a deal too good to turn down.
Prior to the arrival of Mr. Cunningham, customs was a zoo mired in known corrupt practices. Goods imported were undervalued, duties were not paid by many business owners, falsified documents were common and remittances were discussed at private residences. It is granted that corruption is not completely wiped out, but the prognosis is good for the long term. The customs department is now operating with a semblance of order. It is no more a free-for-all, dog-eat-dog world. No Mauritian would have been able to match that accomplishment.
The tax department was another underperforming agency. Many people simply paid very little or no income tax at all. For a fee, tax collectors doubled up as magicians; tax monies owed simply disappeared or lowered by a hefty percentage.
Some people are openly concerned by the aggressive tactics employed by Mr. Lal. Let's see who might those people be? Teachers engaged in private tuition, lawyers, doctors, dentists and other self-employed people like street food merchants, vegetable planters and all those who deal in cash? Or perhaps those with many different bank accounts under fictitious names who are now in the open with mandatory bank-collected tax on interest? If we take these categories of people out of the equation, is there anyone who can argue with MRA about its approach? All fair-minded and responsible citizens would have no qualms in agreeing that we should all pay our share of taxes on income earned.
For all its good work though, we still need to wait and see whether it is truly independent and can target all the people all the time such as well-heeled politicians or well-connected businessmen for tax evasion. Or will Mr. Lal's effort be thwarted by the powers in charge of running the country when their personal interests are at stake? That will be the litmus test.
Another agency that needs an expatriate is Icac. The anti-corruption agency cannot be run by a Mauritian. There are too many personal relationships that get in the way to stay neutral. The big question though remains whether any prime minister would be gutsy enough to name a foreigner to run Icac, someone who is not dependent on a political party for his nomination. That will be the true test of determination to fight corruption.
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Saoud Baccus is so right when he daringly states that certain sectors within the Mauritian industries cannot rely on the local higher management workforce to eradicate corruption and inefficiencies.
As a small country where social interactions are so communal,family-based and caste orientated or religious orientated, it is almost impossible to maintain some form of neutrality and objectivity at higher levels in sensible areas such as the ICAC, Customs 7 Excise, Prisons, Law Enforcement, Housing and almost any area one could think of.
Bringing in outside experts and expatriate is one of the options to tackle corruptions and inefficiencies. Other countries in the West have been doing it for a number of years now and this has proved to be a workable solution in many cases.
Quite rightly as he pointed out, only those ones at higher echelons are threatened at losing their lucrative corrupted niche will protest. The vast majority of the population will benefit from this approach and no doubt, this will boost the confidence of overseas investors and donor agencies.
Raj Boyjoonauth (UK)