Referendum Legislation Could Save Lepep From Electoral Mayhem

Beyond satisfying an electoral pledge it would provide it with important feedback on pressing national issues and opportunities to course correct. For example there is a very wide consensus in our country that we don't need the Metro Express just like saddling the CWA with a management contract is an act of zero governance. While it's true that Government can reverse immediately these two crazy decisions without organising a referendum there are other matters of utmost national interest that it would not want to lump together with a general election. These include electoral reform and the full legalisation of abortion.

Lepep has nothing to lose and everything to gain from deepening our democracy with such a legislation. It knows how smart voters are in seeing through all kinds of wicked schemes. Like the one that was put in front of them in December 2014. And of course a referendum organised before the next by-election would steal a lot of the opposition's thunder plus allow Mauritius to strike something off her bucket list.

Government To Destroy Biometric Database

This piece of good news was announced yesterday in the 2015-2019 Programme Speech. Along with a number of laudable intentions like

• making SC/HSC exams free;
• an SME bank which will invest Rs10 billion over the next five years;
• a minimum wage bill;
• focus on job creation for Mauritians: 15,000 will be created every year with many in the public sector;
• a football academy will be set up;
• ensuring competitive energy prices;
• setting up a vascular surgery unit to reduce the number of amputations;
• and organising referendums on crucial national issues. 

There are also some very vague promises such as 'inflation will be kept under control'. Hmm. An inflation target is a must for two reasons: one to preserve the hard-won anti-inflation capital and two to keep depreciation-happy Basant Roi on a tight leash. Government also wants to include a dose of PR in our electoral system. That's a dangerous proposition that needs extensive debate and a referendum.

Let's see how well this plan is implemented.

Cure For Insomnia Discovered

And it's free too. Just read the Government Programme delivered on Monday. And get ready to literally fall into a coma. For sure there are some good suggestions in there like the bill to cater for referenda. And it's simply awesome that government has now discovered that we are surrounded by an ocean. But the main trouble with this document is that it is a stack dump of ideas and statistics that have been cherry-picked. Little to do with the reality of 99% of the population. Besides it doesn't flow nicely. It's not integrated. It's policy spaghetti. The only thing that's missing on the cover is c'est un plaisir.

How much of it will actually be implemented? And will that make a difference? Don't hold your breath. Instead get an idea of where we're heading by going through the latest letter of development policy: "the fiscal position remains stretched and a counter-cyclical policy will be difficult to implement if the external threats materialize" writes Xavier-Luc Duval.

Government Plans For 2010-2015 Known

You can download the program here. Paragraph 2 (that's how far I have read) couldn't be any further from the truth. If Ramgoolam is still Prime Minister it's because he dumped Sithanen while the MMM wanted to continue the bean-counter's toxic policies. The population never endorsed these crappy policies.

The Prime Minister need to act and to act fast otherwise he has already lost the 2015 polls.