MK's Attitude is Grotesque

They want Rs300,000 from Awadh Balluck, a representative of our airline's small shareholders' association, to include his common sense motions on the agenda of the July 22 meeting. These motions include that the CEO's salary be brought to Rs1,000 per month until MK returns to profitability, a reduction in the number of board members to seven with one from the small shareholders' group, directors getting 2 free tickets per year only while serving the company, that a hedging specialist be hired and that a commission of inquiry be instituted to find out about the hedging scandal. These are very reasonable motions consistent with basic notions of corporate governance.

The funny thing is that a couple of years ago he didn't have to pay anything for similar motions. Hmm, what's exactly is going on here? Here's one way out of this. Get the NPF to pay the Rs300k for corporate governance's sake - a bit like what CalPers has been doing for ages. The Prime Minister, of course, has to share some responsibility in this given that he pulled the CEO out of his hat.

Thanks George, But I Think We'll Pass

I am referring to what looked like an assurance given by the economist and MEXA boss this afternoon on a private radio about the apparent prudence with which the National Pension Fund (NPF) invests workers' money. He was up against Ashok Subron who knows infinitely more about how the economy of Mauritius works than Sithanen and his university buddy, Mansoor, lumped together.

Indeed, standard corporate governance practice suggest that the people of this country be provided with all the information and given the opportunity to make that determination by themselves. That should be relatively easy for the Financial Secretary, who chairs the investment committee of the NPF, to do: the cost of disseminating information is close to zero nowadays. 

Besides, there's a moral obligation for the government to rapidly become more transparent in this and some other areas given that the MCB-NPF scandal is still fresh in everyone's mind. There are also so many great models for pension fund governance. Click here and get ready to say Wow!