ENDY JAY
As we start this new year with lurking doubts and fears, indeed that persistent inner feeling of malaise, we cannot forget we have left behind a really tumultuous one fraught with woes, scandals and abuses, but above all a ruling team drifting more and more off-track and frighteningly with dictatorial tendencies, – (and here it is clear ‘on n’est pas au bout de nos surprises’ inasmuch as the tendency suggests there will be further attempts to spread the tentacles, to stifle opposition) –, which inevitably, sooner rather than later, will attract multi-faceted reactions on both the political and social fronts, with sparks to fly, the seeds of dissension having been so widely sown during that past year, the red line so often crossed. And the tone and language have already gone up and the recriminations spreading with inevitable spillovers into the current year. Not only for us Mauritians, 2021 cannot simply be relegated to history, so replete was it with lessons, signs and omens that could not lie as to what to expect just immediately ahead, a time of extremely fast changes which end up causing anxiety and stress at levels never seen before, still exacerbated by the behaviours of political masters, worldwide.
On the local front, the older generations cannot even imagine some constants of today ever happening when SSR or SAJ were at the helm, even during their sombre days. As matters stand now, more particularly since 2017, we are no longer a fully functioning democracy, with already some characteristics of a banana republic. Today we have this ‘dictature de la majorité’ – obtained with just above one-third of the votes in a system we still call democracy –, abuses of power using in the process key institutions at the beck and call of the political masters of the day, (such subservience considered by many a national tragedy), nomination of relatives/sidekicks in key positions often square pegs in round holes, the shameful twisting of established practices, the downgrading of the National Arena, sorry Assembly, where Zorro rides wild to show his ‘goodwill’ – other downgradings we cannot even mention by name –, diversion tactics, the latest ones unqualifiably base, dithering in the face of crucial matters, but bold on schemes that serve their dubious agenda. And what have we…!
A ruling team who believes it has the monopoly of wisdom and virtue, a team with two or three supposedly ‘strong men’, as it were, sent on the frontline whenever their skies become overcast, albeit often they don’t know anywhere near enough to make definitive statements, always ready to rush to the rescue of the Boss, making use of ‘their’ MBC with the same balderdash often to justify the unjustifiable, but so mealy-mouthed on their errings, without forgetting the inevitable ‘song and dance’. As a case in point, one of the ‘bhai’ recently declared, when the Molcovir scandal surfaced, ‘gouvernman pe pran sa o serie’. So seriously that the Minister, without any in-depth investigation, ‘li pa konn nanye’, the administrative head of the ministry allowed to retire, with full benefits, in fourth gear, her subordinates interdicted! And here another sample of what more to expect ahead with the prevailing trend of recurrent errings. What next while we wait for another whistleblower to come forward? And what about the role of the Public Service Commission in these lightning retirement and interdictions, this exercise ‘kwi vide’. Respect of our institutions they so often utter in their bluffs and bravadoes!
A team cunningly assembled and with a large chunk of neophytes, some full-of-themselves and arrogant, and turncoats to ensure fealty, not to say fawning. A team of which the common man does not know for sure who is/are the locomotor(s), while it is clear who the wagons are. A team which has institutionalized, as it were, the distorted concept of ‘some are more equal’. A team composed of some who seem to relish being thrown under the spotlight to be blamed, even ridiculed. A team wrapped-up in recurrent scandals and dubious dealings. A team hell-bent on maintaining course, even accelerating, however much they are running into the wall!
At the same time, and in all fairness, I need stress not all in that governing team are nuts. Far from that; some of them are bright and well-educated – though lacking that maturity required to govern in these crucial times (it appears the Minister of Health is a striking example since ‘li pa konn nanye’ of a major scandal taking place under his nose, so to speak) –, which render them oblivious of their responsibility vis-à-vis History, if at all they care, oblivious of the principle of collective responsibility where the ‘pa mwa sa, li sa’ has no currency, oblivious that ‘evil remains evil, even when it is on the side of the majority’, while it is clear where the country is headed for, clear forerunner signs that give added weight to the recent remarks of that high-profile dissenter – who attracted attention through his telltale resignation – who declared ‘Pravind Jugnauth mène le pays à la ruine’. It is clear some are not going to accept that without putting up a fight. We are not Afghanistan after all!
But the tragedy remains that we seem to be stuck in a ‘cul-de-sac’. After the ‘b… zot deor’ of some time back, now we are often having ‘the guys must go’. Boot them out, how? And to be replaced by whom, that supposed alternative cut from the same cloth, albeit one plain, the other chequered? While not forgetting the tapping into the seam of rampant discontent in an attempt to reclaim the helm, only to restart the same cycle of sideslippings and mediocrity. A situation where incumbents and Oppositions are on the same side of the fence, albeit in different roles, however much they ignore it, as we will soon see, notwithstanding the incessant bickerings and being on different wavelengths. And we can’t opt for new faces without the right stuff. Our present experience with the hordes of neophytes on the majority benches is enough to show that newcomers cannot be the solution. Yet, the real and lasting solution is coming, that radical change so often invoked to drastically turn things around and, more importantly, to last, and which may never happen through the ballot box, indeed with human rulers. Here I concede that remains a tough sell, especially for those who, naively, believe science, technology, experts have the solution to all our woes and problems, that human rulers are a necessary evil to last forever. But, on this score, that much so far, so as not to get the sceptics to frown, even attracting such remarks as ‘which planet is this guy on’? Yet, I’ll be back to prove the point, not on my merits as a special seer, but on faith, faith not only that God can do certain things, but that He ‘will’ unfailingly do things to put matters right once and for all, not in a millenium but any time now!
In relation to my reference above to the tone of dissent rising and the language more biting, I had particularly in mind that article which appeared in these columns on 19/11/21 (Forum – Le Mauricien : Devil on its rampage), a reference to the type of governance now underway – something unprecedented in our post-Independence history as opposed to whatever spells of weak or bad governance we have known during our sovereign existence -, when the author appropriately illustrated that level of frustration, delusion, even wrath, that now pervade the whole island. And here I would like to relate a fact, unbeknownst to most, that the real Devil is also now on the rampage and so for quite a stretch of time, as the Bible, in its last book ‘Revelation’, clearly sets out: ‘…On this account, be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them. Woe for the earth and sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short time’. (Revelation 12:12). Indeed a short time for him now, according to Bible chronology, and for his ‘suppôts terrestres’ as well. Interesting to know up to where the local ones will go, how they navigate in the stormy waters they have themselves whipped up, and consistently at that! ‘What a man sows, so he will reap’, reminds the Bible.
Often in my previous notes, I quoted Bible teachings and prophecies, among them two that stand out, one relating to the ‘Great Tribulation’ with which, at this point of time, we stand face to face, literally speaking, the other to ‘carefully hidden things to come out in the open’. But I have purposely refrained, so far, to mention another of those crucial ones for our times, that will stun the whole world, written in the Bible book of Daniel, and which relates to ‘human rulership’, the real source of most of humanity’s woes and sufferings. This one I reserve for the ‘grand finale’. Attendons voir!
To conclude, this little quote for the shrewd reader to determine the relevance:
‘Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat’!
P.S.: Again to remind that nothing in the above, however biting and crude, should be interpreted as any attempt to take sides. To do so would defeat the purpose of many of my previous notes when I only attracted attention to signs and omens of our unprecedented times.