Platform Komun Syndikal Fin Ekrir A Ban Parlmanter

Dan en let sinq paz, zot fin explike, sif a lapwi, ki BRP e nu welfer steyt sutenab me seki pa sutenab se sa pwazon de flat tax 15% ki Sithanen ti servi popilasion apartir 2006. Zot fin dir ki rasio BRP/GDP ki fin okip deba piblik dernie 13 mwa pu bese ek en BRP de 100 milyar rupi an 2035 pu tu to krwasans aniel mwayin siperyer a 2.2% ki en to vreman insinifian konsideran potansiel Moris.

PKS fin osi expos dega katastrofik ki flat tax 15% Sithanen in fer a Moris depi 2006 e kuma sa fin fer an sort ki nu lekonomi de fwa edmi pli tipti ki seki li bizin ete an 2026.

PKS fin osi fer plizir propozision pu ogmant reveni guvernman e fin termin let la par dir ki zot ti va prefer ena ban konsiltasion sinser ek guvernman e fer ban parlmanter remarke ki laful dan manifestasion le 11 Ziyet 2026 dan Por-Lwi in fini vot pu en lagrev zeneral.

U kav lir let la isi.

The Jag! After 2016

The last time we took stock of the output there we had just finished the fifth part in our series on electoral reform. Since then we've added four more pieces in that thread and thirty-nine other posts till now. There were no articles last year though, the first time since 2016 but it's not the longest drought period on that blog. I have a good excuse. 2024 looks better with already two and both of them are in kreol. The first one was an analysis on six pledges of the LP/MMM/PMSD alliance – it uses four of our clips – and the last on why six titans of the Mauritius Labour Party are unlikely to vote for Navin Ramgoolam in 2024 or for the other two main parties for that matter.

Of course Covid-19 happened during this 7-year period which explains why we had pieces on the vaccination status and jabs to buy in 2022 after we had become less ignorant about viruses. That was also the year of the 75th anniversary of India's independence. We published one piece on the Gentle Elephant when it was Midnight on August 15 in Bharat. Two days earlier we wrote a post on faith which started with a tribute to an extraordinary actor that said goodbye during the pandemic. We also investigated who's been the longest-serving General Secretary of the MLP. 

Other pieces included celebrating the 90th anniversary of a maverick, the Pope's visit, ideas to roll back drug use, an interesting piece on transport policy, comments on the offerings in the 2019 general election, fact-checking a toxic politician, decolonisation, the Central Water Authority, the World Bank and economic miracles. Plus one on the importance of the national currency in determining the wealth of a nation and another on an infamous anniversary. And more.

That's a lot of good stuff to read don't you think?

Latest IMF Staff Report is Another Big Time-waster

I’m definitely not spending more than a few minutes on a report (it’s not the only one) that says right off the bat that our economic performance was solid before the pandemic appeared. In 2020 COVID-19 caused a damage of about 100 billion rupees to the Mauritian economy while the GDP shortfall of the 15% flat tax (a Bretton Woods best practice implemented by one of the boys) between 2006 and end of last year was over Rs2.1 trillion. That’s more than 21 times the economic loss from the pandemic.

It’s no surprise then than the IMF/WB have created famine and failed to predict huge uprisings. How much is that litre of oil again now?

Si Rapor Komisyon Ladrog Fini Deor

Ankor ek sa lavites la, be sa rapor la bank mondyal lor afermaz CWA la pa kav pa vinn piblik deswit.

Pa Tigit Zordir Nun Tande Lor CWA

Collendavelloo ti truve ki bizin privatiz CWA parski li pa kontan so hotline. Apre lin dir striktir CWA ki pa bon. Lerla lin dir ki lin konpran ki bizin labank mondial pu develop nu sekter delo. Pa komik sa? En pake pei fin remet an kestyon striktir labank mondial depi si pa komie banane. An plis se en institision ki an deklin – an 2011 Lasin ti pe deza don plis lohn Lafrik ki labank mondial.

En lot so ban argiman bidon se ki person pa pu perdi travay. Lol! En mari dialog sa. Be eski nu pu privatiz ADSU ek lakur siprem osi lontan ki person pa pu perdi zot plas? Mo sir pwena dimun interese zer sa de institision la. Sof ki gran mazorite sitwayin pa pu dakor. Parey kuma person pa dakor pu mont pri dilo uswa zet en ta nu kas dan en kontra afermaz debil.

24/7 Water For All Should Happen in 2023

If the rate of progress achieved between 2015 and 2017 – see chart – is maintained. Earlier probably as the big Bagatelle Dam will go live soon. Or if more money is pumped into our network. All of this has been achieved with the existing structure and people in place and without any dumb affermage contract as recommended by an international loan shark. And despite the continuous bad-mouthing from a massively incompetent Minister. Recall elections are seriously overdue.

Chuttoo Panse Collendavelloo Pe Rod Enn Kudpye Onorab

Parski li kone ki li pa pu dan prosin lalyans Lepep. Se pa inposib etan done ki Collendavelloo finn enn bann minis pli inkonpetan ki nun gayne. An plis li lider enn mari ti parti kot ena manb finn konpar zurnalis a femel lisyen. Jayen Chellum ki ti usi lor plato inn poz enn kestyon interesan: eski labank mondyal se bondye sa?

Bann lezot pwin interesan ki sa de la finn suleve inklir ki nu finn deza kontribye par milyar a traver Build Mauritius Fund pu sanz tiyo, ki reveni CWA pu ogmante a mezir plis dimunn gayn delo pandan plis letan tulezur, ki sa fu si delo inpe bon marse parski nu gayne telma lapli ek ki ti bizin reget bann water rights.

Prem Saddul, enn ansyen Chairman CWA truve ki ti bizin ogmant delo par 10% sak lane parksi nwena linflasyon ek li pur enn partner strategik. Dan lansanb so bann argiman byen byen feb sirtu pu enn ansyen Chairman.

Radhakrishna Sadien osi ti tenir enn pwin de pres kot linn dimand PM pran kont bann azisman bann manb so guvernman ki pe pratik enn politik neoliberal. Sadien finn osi dimand la popilasyon lev zot lavwa aster lamem. Tiena enn zoli poster dan sa pwin de pres la: "kare kare agent la banque mondial".

What The PM Should Do About The CWA

Put the names of his deputy, the chairman of the CWA, the other board members and that of the General Manager on little pieces of paper in a jar. Then every week take a couple out of the jar and immediately fire and/or replace them. Then listen carefully to the kind of sounds that comes out from the new board and the parent ministry in the following few days. If common sense is back – that is the unpatriotic and stupid ideas of raising the price of water and paying for its management by a private firm are cancelled – stop pulling out new names. If it is not take out a few more.

There is of course no reason why the whole process cannot be completed in a few hours. 

What an Average Performance Would Look Like

For Mauritius. 5-6% real GDP growth, a stable currency of Rs25/USD and progressive taxation. Energy costs sensitive to decreases and increases in international prices. Unemployment brought down to 6-7% once it is measured properly. Underemployment heading south too. Savings reverting to average pre-Shaitanomics levels of 25%. Productive investments encouraged. Speculative investments discouraged. Reducing national frustration with some basic policies. Like proclaiming beaches as public spaces. Not deproclaiming any beaches. Preserving the views of Mauritius. Waging total war against diabetes. Not doing anything blatantly stupid like signing TISA. That too behind our backs.

And what would an economic miracle look like? I guess lowering the retirement age to 55 or less. Definitely a surging currency: a good start would be an average 2% annual appreciation against the USD from the base above. Along with higher growth rates. Plus an infinite number of thoughtful little things.

Miracle not happening for sure. In fact an average performance looks increasingly out of reach. There's too much ambient stupidity. But that can be reduced. Like by releasing the water sector reform report of the World Bank. For a start.

Basu Says Mauritius Doesn't Save Enough

He is the Chief Economist of the World Bank. Too bad he didn't visit us before two Voodoo economists – one hailing from the Bretton Wood sisters – started messing it up with their trickle-down economics in 2006. But he could have looked at a chart or done his homework. Then again one of his predecessors didn't exactly dazzle us when he visited Mauritius. 

How Long Things Take

1. Presentation of Financial Secretary to one MPC meeting -- about three quarters of an hour
2. Presentation of one UK budget by Gordon Brown -- about forty-five minutes
3. Implementation of free education in Mauritius -- literally overnight
4. Creation of the world -- 7 days
5. Kurukshetra War -- 18 days
6. Creation of the American middle-class -- 7 years
7. 2005 economic reform in Mauritius -- 8-year poop and still waiting for Godot
8. Deactivation of Mauritian demographic bomb -- 10 years
9. Malawi following famine-creating policies courtesy of the World Bank -- 2 decades

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.

US Picks Dartmouth President For World Bank

He was nominated today by President Obama and given that the US has the greatest number of votes he should be succeeding Robert Zoellick. Developing countries who don't agree on nationality as criteria for the job have until today 18h00 EST to line up their candidates.

China Not In A Hurry To Bailout Europe

Listen to this very interesting interview of Jin Liqun, Chairman of the China Investment Corporation. Where he is essentially saying that Europe is not sustainable as it is.

China Giving More Loans To Africa

Than the World Bank. I heard Stephen Sackur mention this yesterday on Hardtalk. He was grilling Obi Ezekwisili the Bretton Woods institution's VP for Africa. The latter said something interesting: inequality is a time bomb that destroys your society. Couldn't agree more. Which has been after all the basic trigger for the Arab Spring. That would explain why The House of Saud is spending USD130 billion to buy peace in the Kingdom.

Here too, bean-counting policies have seriously harmed the fabric of our society during the last five years. For some thoughts on this check our little multimedia collection. No subscriptions required.

Water Problems Confirm Ramgoolam's Economic Model is Junk

Abusive electricity and petroleum prices over the last five years brought a lot of money to the government till. Especially as the VAT rate was kept at 15% during a period oil prices went through the roof and their subsequent collapse was not passed on to us. Rs4.7 billion was mysteriously lost at the STC which doesn't have any oil price risk to hedge.

Record amounts of debt was borrowed -- including Rs9 billion from the World Bank -- while government did not build schools on a scale we saw between 2000 and 2005.

And Ramgoolam did not solve our recurring water problems: he was too busy making speeches while waiting for robust growth rates which never arrived.

Lion Ill-Advised To Beg on Tiger's Behalf

Like recently heading to L'Elysée for a godi or asking for scholarships and brains in Singapore. And whilst it's nice that India has drawn a map of our exclusive economic zone for free we're rich enough to pay for it and for everything else that we need to swiftly get our main national problems out of the way.

Yep, we must be quite rich and particularly crazy for having contracted Rs9 billion of foreign debt we don't need from the World Bank. Any guess how much interest we've been paying to this loan shark since 2006?

Rezistans Organises Evening Debate on Poverty

The Debate Can Now Happen

Between the two zinku who have been Minister of Finance given that the last hurdle that was preventing it to happen has now been overcome: the junior one is now also not even a member of a district council.

As I've said before I am prepared to be the moderator for this debate between our two former chancellors. Possible topics include:

1. How much gold should go in our reserves portfolio?
2. The fallacy of the triple external shocks argument
3. The relationship between tax rates and growth rates
4. The effect of a flat tax on income distribution
5. Inflation, the worst enemy of the poor
6. Chronic rupee depreciation and living standards
7. How to destabilize the Governor of the Central Bank
8. The effect of savat leponz and gato pima on the eradication of poverty
9. Putting incompetent buddies in positions of high responsibility
10. Borrowing billions we don't need from the World Bank and what it's like being a Bretton-Woods puppet

That's a tentative list of course. So gentlemen, how fast can it happen?

What Killed Many IRS Projects

Depreciating currency and dullness of Mauritian evenings are two reasons we identified last year. Overpricing is a third one. Here are a few more:

1. Getting someone from the World Bank(WB) as Financial Secretary who promises to adapt WB policies to Mauritius. Investors know very well what happens when government allow Bretton-Woods-formatted cowboys to run the show: they screw up public finances and the economy, people eventually take to the streets and governments lose power along the way. That usually doesn't help real estate values to firm up. 
2. An eyebrow-raising event: WB opens an office here in 2008 based on totally fallacious arguments. We didn't need a WB office in the 1970s when we went through very turbulent economic waters so how come we needed one 4 decades later when conditions are infinitely more manageable? Investors definitely interpret this as a signal that a few idiots have decided to send our country to the dogs.
3. Investors were attracted by sexy ingredients that are the foundations for our country's reputation as the poster child of economic development: success in defusing the demographic bomb, rapid industrialisation, progressive taxation, free education and other carefully thought-out components of our welfare state. With the introduction of the Sithanen-Mansoor-Scott-Ramgoolam flat-tax they fear Mauritius may have lost her magic touch and know government will have no money to maintain standards or solve any national problem. Which is essentially what happened over the past 5 years. And that doesn't sell properties.

Guess you've noticed that the policy spaghetti that killed these IRS also killed our savings and made our economy more vulnerable. Things could get out of hand pretty quickly.