Endy Jay
In the last public outing of l’Alliance de l’Espoir in Plaine Verte, one of the leaders said, inter alia, ‘pou bizin rann kont’. It is most likely such a warning would have hardly attracted attention it being commonplace for challengers to brandish such threat in the running to any General Elections, but never any follow-up in earnest once they ‘get through’. ‘D’autres chats à fouetter’.
But this time it should, given what an MSM-led government introduced in our political culture as from 2014, something never seen before, when they started to systematically harass the Leader of the preceding regime, which led one of the top guns of Labour (il se reconnaitra) to say: ‘Ramgoolam a certes commis des erreurs, mais il ne s’est jamais acharné contre ses adversaires’. Which any impartial observer knows to be true, while admittedly most chose to stay aloof, ‘manz pistas get sinema’. At that time there was an imperative need to ‘fini li’, the one with the right profile to pose a real threat to the dynasty. The irony is that he is back as a roaring ‘lion’, in an unprecedented coalition. Heavy artillery?
This ‘rann kont’ this time assumes a different proportion given the string of scandals the present rulers have been dabbling in with arrogance and impunity for years running, added to the ‘folle chevauchée’ that gathered increased momentum beginning 2017 when the Tsar took the reins, one of the major consequences being the advent of ‘Zorro’. The start of our worst woes, that guy coming from nowhere just to ‘fou lapagay’! Anyone in his right mind can easily forecast what would be the political panorama should Ramgoolam accede again to the supreme seat, ‘dife lor bann la’, given the humiliations he was made to suffer at their hands, he a former Prime Minister having served three mandates, albeit manifestly not the most successful ones in our post-Independence political history. Yet…!
When l’Alliance de l’Espoir started to take real shape, showing it was a real living concern, one of the members of the shouting brigade of the MSM had this to say, inpe dekouyone: ‘Ramgoolam pe rod pouvwar par vanzans – one may rightly ask ‘vanzans’ against what?’ -, ek pou ranpli so kof’. This can only be partially true, inasmuch as what would be the point to ‘ranpli enn kof ki deza byen ranpli? To recuperate it for sure. But the ‘par vanzans’ is another story. It is no secret that with Ramgoolam back in the driving seat, there will be some scores to settle, bate rande, what! Enough to give some sleepless nights to quite a few, indeed ‘p… dan kalson’. Yet, hopefully so, the mitigating influences of Bérenger and Duval, not similarly motivated as Ramgoolam, will act as some sort of brake on any tendency of the latter, understandably so, to attempt to go to the full length of ‘tir zot manze’! There will be sufficient other challenges to focus on. Nevertheless, all three certainly with a common determination to ‘fer rann kont’, again hopefully, in a civilized manner, unlike the abusive and rough methods of the present rulers to circumvent hurdles whenever they were cornered, and their Gestapo-like methods using whom we know to attempt to silence opposers. In the process with possibly new stories to be uncovered and piecing together the puzzle of hidden and dubious transactions. Ramgoolam back in the driving seat, most likely a procession of whistleblowers to stir up and give added momentum to any ‘rann kont’ exercises. The few cases of whistleblowing we have known so far only ‘enn reklam’. Marke, garde! (Here I deem it appropriate to refresh the memory of the regular reader to that Bible prophecy I have often mentioned in previous notes to the effect ‘there is nothing carefully hidden not to come out in the open’).
To the extent any possibility a new political configuration affords, the ‘rann kont’ will be welcomed across the electorate so long as it helps to clean the dirt accumulated during the present reign, sanction any guilty ones, inside and outside government, without sparing anyone of ‘royal blood’. But more importantly come up with the right measures to abrogate any abusive legislations, reverse controversial measures taken to favour sidekicks that flew in the face of all reason. In short the right steps to prevent any recurrence of what Ramgoolam himself called ‘State capture’, that quasi-dictatorship wrapped up in astute and condemnable manoeuvres. To ensure no recurrence of any transfer of power in the ill-famous ‘deal papa-piti’ mode (that well-concocted scheme to achieve what we have witnessed over the past years), or anything alike. And to live up to their promises not only to punish, but also to serve as precedents that should give second thoughts to future rulers, not to emulate ‘bann ki meyer dan kokin’, as they said in Plaine Verte. And restore Mauritius as a really functioning democracy. Indeed ‘reget tousala’ (Ramgoolam dixit). Wishful thinking? Can Ramgoolam stage a come-back to dethrone the Tsar and, along with the other leaders of the ‘Alliance’, liberate us from the claws of a few in positions of authority who do not, manifestly, really have ‘letof’ (not even ‘khaki’), top of the list the ‘Heir’ and ‘Zorro’ for all his clowneries, and, more importantly, attempt a shot at redemption to make us forget ‘Macarena’ and other like antics? No person in his right mind will be expecting ‘El Dorado’, but ‘une atmosphère assainie’. If Ramgoolam, along with his two collaborators, can really liberate us from that suffocating and fearful atmosphere established by the present regime, something totally alien to the democratic traditions that have been ours, even under the worst regime we may have known in the past, he would efface many past wrong doings! The future will tell.
This said, it is precisely that threat of ‘bizin rann kont’ that led me to write in a previous note (Time for only manz pistas get sinema’ – Forum, Le Mauricien 21/8/23): ‘ …The Tsar has no other option than to retain power, ‘whatever it takes’.* Losing may be for him a ‘descente aux enfers’. Yet, he has not yet said his last word’.
‘Il y aura des secousses dans l’air’. Buckle your seat belt!!!
(*Imagine the ammunition now at his disposal with the Privy Council’s ruling. Here it would be interesting to see if ‘l’Espoir’ falls into the trap of irrational outbidding).
P.S.: (1)The above may give the impression I am taking sides. I am only laying bare living facts and expressing the dominant feeling there must be a ‘change of oil’ to the machinery before it collapses. Whatever it gives, it just cannot be worse!
(2) it may sound paradoxical to rely on Ramgoolam to ‘liberate’ us, but is there a better alternative than the present coalition to topple the reigning panjandrums? We are in an unprecedented situation; there is a ‘State to free from the capture’, the priority of priorities. The ‘ni Navin, ni Pravind’ may make sense, but the prevailing situation dictates that we deal with one at a time. One ‘Mauritian reality’ gives sense that Ramgoolam should lead the assault for the coalition to have any real chance of success. It will be a case of the end justifying the means.
