Open Letter to the Honourable Minister Alan Ganoo, Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail
Zanzak Arjoon
Dear Honourable Minister,
Please ignore me as someone from the constituency number 14 and/or a political rival. Here, it is the citizen Zanzak Arjoon who is addressing the authority you represent concerning road traffic safety.
This issue should have also been the concern of your colleague, Minister Jagutpal because for the World Health Organisation road traffic safety is a public health concern. But in Mauritius confusion is our daily dish under the umbrella of “Pa mwa sa li sa”.
While going through the audit report of 2021 under the title “The National Audit Office Performance Report of 2021’’ (Please refer to Final_Road_Safety_Report 2021.pdf (govmu.org), it is painful to admit the number of drawbacks highlighted by the report pertaining to the way such a serious issue has been handled, specially by a career-oriented politician and above all a lawyer.
This letter, bear with me dear minister, won’t add insult to injury because injuries yielding to death are counted above hundreds yearly. (see Road Traffic Accidents in Mauritius (worldlifeexpectancy.com)
From 155 total accidents in 2016, the curve has desperately taken an upward trend. I do agree with the sentence which quotes “Mauritian roads have become the scene of an ever-escalating tragedy” spelt out by Fatshimetrie.org.
Honourable Minister, such a serious issue is beyond the navels of the two of us. Your Ministry is pointed out by the report to be the coordinator of various stakeholders in the road traffic management.
Therefore, it is high time to prevent Mauritian families from mourning and burial into bitterness because of the loss of a cherished child, father, mother, brother, sister, and close friend. A loss is a loss and we cannot act as if our country deserves a quota of marginal death as in the army.
A government has the responsibility of its people as well as a sustainable development. The profile of our dead is getting younger and it is dangerous for a country of an ageing population.
Honourable Minister, the year is drawing to its end. I am on my knees begging you in the name of our compatriots to deploy all the means, sciences, and technology to prevent road traffic injuries to be considered as a fatalistic epidemic.
Honourable Minister, as a citizen, I urge you to re-evaluate the report and readjust your policies and campaigns accordingly.
In tears sir.
