Pauline Etienne
15 November 2007
Port Louis — This is not about who's right and who's wrong. The idea is not to get into the heart of the subject but simply to see how negotiations are being made.
I am, of course, talking about the most burning issue of the moment: the hard and lengthy negotiations between the government and the sugar industry.
What can we think of a Prime minister who says he is the one who puts people together but who seizes every single opportunity to demonise sugar producers. Navin Ramgoolam could be right in the content of his speech and criticisms made to the sugar industry may be justified. This is not the point.
The point is rather the way and the place he chooses to make announcements against those people. Honestly, I had thought his speech in Union Park a few months back was a faux-pas - like a slip of the tongue - by a PM who just can't stand injustice. However, months later, he sticks to the same language - and in the same circumstances.
If the Prime minister is convinced that sugar producers overstep the bounds of their position and do too much profit that is detrimental to the whole population, he must tell them - but he can do so within the four walls of his office. These negotiations are so important and delicate that they must be done with all the necessary hindsight. Making announcements during religious celebrations or political rallies does not enable the PM to look at the issue and tell it in an objective and dispassionate way.
During such celebrations, politicians - whoever they are - want to please the audience and appear as popular as possible. This is certainly not the place to talk of such an important issue that will pave the way for a brighter or darker Mauritius. The negotiations will probably lead to a new agreement between the government and the industry - and the European Union won't allocate any funds to rebuild the country and reorient the economy as long as both parties do not find a compromise. So, our funds are blocked in Europe and we are running the risk of losing some of the global amount if the negotiators are not quick to reach an agreement.
And the PM is still choosing popular public gatherings to do politics and win the public to his cause. People have not been long to conclude that he had a (almost) hidden agenda and that he had chosen a specific audience to give his speech. Even if it is hat he was looking for, he won't stop people from interpreting his actions. Just as the inadequate use of "nou bann" each time he is given the opportunity, the choice of his audience is interpreted in a sectarian way. And even if he did not mean it, he should know that the most important thing is the perception people will have of his sayings.
The quest for popularity does not always pay It can lead one to dangerous avenues if the public plays the game.
If the PM wants to be remembered as someone who took ambitious decisions, fair enough - the more so, if they can lead Mauritius to a brighter tomorrow.
But he must not sacrifice citizens who may already feel they can no longer find a place in their own country.
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