Did You Say Air Corridor?

Getting flights from Changi to Plaisance won't hurt us. But Mauritius is unlikely to become the bridge between Asia and Africa that politicians want us to believe. As far as air traffic goes. You just need to look at the current flight patterns -- save that link to see how they change as the day progresses.

Good to also note that most of the air trips in Africa are between countries on the mainland. Besides we'll not get any of the flights that originate from west of the Atlantic coast of Mama Africa.

And then there are Dubai and Tambo and many others.

But heh, don't worry. No one can beat us when it comes to the dumb depreciation of our currency.

What Lutchmeenaraidoo Must Do, Fast

Increase top tax rates for individuals and for corporates in the next budget. So energy prices can come down to levels that reflect international conditions. And government can start help the economy humming nicely again. In a sustainable fashion. Smart Cities which are more like glorified IRS will not take us anywhere good. They are like the wrong type of FDI we've been getting since 2005: they don't help our young knowledge workers contribute their skills to push Mauritius forward but only make sure that another whole generation is buried. Alive.

Or Lepep and Vishnu -- who can't seem to tell the difference between a Black Swan and a White one -- stand to lose a lot more than bragging rights about delivering a second 'miracle'. They will inevitably be thrown out of office and voters will finally experience an aha moment when revisiting the 'first' one.

Pack Your Bags

ACIM Does its Homework

Obama Will Visit Cuba Next Month

For two days. Finally. Hopefully there will be that baseball match. And a special guest.

How You Know Valentine’s Day is Not Far

Kind of easy. It's raining and Mauritius is shutting down. Just like three years ago. One year before that the CWA announced harsher cuts right after we received tons of rain.

What does that say about our management skill?

See you in exactly one year!!!

Sookun To Sue Investigators

He just spent 10 days in jail after he was suspected of having something to do with a threatening email that was sent to the PMO. Ish came into the public eye when he opposed the controversial biometric id card.

BoM Releases nTan Report, This Time

Here it is. I hope the first one will be released too. In the name of transparency.

Collen Analysis of Many Issues Spot-on

Quite a refreshing interview. You don't want to miss this.

David Bowie Loses Battle With Cancer

Kind of sad to hear he died yesterday. Grew up while listening to his songs. He was married to Somali-born Iman. Here's one of my favourite Bowie songs: his first hit and apparently not written while sober.

Mauritius Adjusts to Ban of Plastic Bags

In one grocery store I checked there were no paper bags to put your bread in. Some people just placed theirs on the damp cashier conveyor belt. You can only guess the source of that humidity. Our sister island Rodrigues has banned plastic bags for 18 months now. I wonder if we've learned everything we could from their experience?

It's a good move to ban these plastic bags. We should get rid of this nuisance next.

Tant vakwa here I come.

2015: The Year in Review

Q1: Gerrard leaves Liverpool. Scrapping point system is wrong. Chinese economy largest for next 5 decades. Singapore turns 50 as LKY dies at 91.

Q2: BOM shuts down Bramer Bank. Say goodbye to our Tamarin salt pans. Two beautiful minds die in car crash. Dracula dead at 93.

Q3: How to thin-slice policy quality. Cecil shot. 5-year olds to get assessment. Journalist forgets inflation. 10 years of blogging.

Q4: Klopp predicts league title within 4 years. Canada gets another Trudeau. PM calls PR a komeraz. Waiting better than massive bat culling. Lomu dead at 40.

Unstoppable Jonah Lomu Dead at 40

I am no Rugby fan. I don't even know the rules of the game. I think there are two halves just like in football. The only thing I know about this sport is Jonah Lomu. And that too because he seemed to be on the front page of every major newspaper at one point in time. He had a rugby ball safely tucked between one hand and his chest. The other hand was probably busy getting an opponent out his way. While he was trying not to step on another one he had knocked down half a second earlier. It was an impressive sight. Just like when I watched games of basketball back in 1993 and noticed one guy that seems to be hanging in the air a little longer than everyone else.

So when I watched bits of World Cup matches recently I looked out for him in the All Blacks team. I saw one Dan Carter but no Jonah. And then the world heard the news of his sudden death. Kind of sad. RIP big guy.

Waiting Better Than Massive Bat Culling

Our flying fox had been red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because its population was expected to decline by about a third in the next twenty one years. Culling 18,000 bats is equivalent to exterminating 20% of the species -- in a few weeks -- if you think there are 90,000 of them. Additional pressure that the endemic bats might find impossible to bear. But wait. Not everybody agrees there are 90k bats: the IUCN puts the actual figure closer to 50,000. Which would mean that the operation under way will be eliminating a third of Zorro Volador Negro de Mauricio.

Projections of the IUCN may also be too optimistic as meteorological data appears to have become increasingly shaky: cyclones and hurricanes have been showing up in places great-grandmothers never thought possible. Plus we've seen several cyclones lining up in our neck of the ocean in the not-so-distant past.

The upshot of all this uncertainty is that we need to tread super cautiously. For sure there seems to be more bats now -- Mauritius has been spared by strong cyclones for several years -- but more people are netting their trees. Which should give government pause to consider other mitigating measures that have been tried elsewhere. Especially given that bats are not the only fruit predators in town. And in any case many of them will not survive a major cyclone.

SAJ's Comments on Electoral Reform Refreshing

Rightly calling PR a komeraz. Who wouldn't? After seeing what happened to election results in Rodrigues. It's the same feeling one got when going through the dumb and dangerous Sithanen electoral galimatia: a heap of rubbish that doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to demolish. A bit like his 2005 promise that a flat tax would generate average robust growth rates of 8% forever after: 2015 will be the 5th consecutive year growth rates will be less than half of that.

Besides PR is so unLabour: Phillippe Rozemont was expelled from the Labour Party when he voted in favour of it. And roughly six decades later Navin Ramgoolam lost power and his seat after he flirted with PR. When an overwhelming number of Mauritians -- using an attractive feature of our wonderful FPTP system but one that Sithanen wants to get rid of with party lists -- said no to an electoral proposal that is vote wise and outcome foolish. There is no need to use a bazooka to get rid of a very mild headache.

Refreshing indeed. Reminded me of what another of our PMs said back in May 2010: "Ki zot tile? Pran zot dan godi dir ayo papa Euro! Euro! donn zot bibron? Pa Pwena! Devaliasyon zame tienn solisyon. Nu bizin vinn pli konpetitif".

Meet Justin, Canada's New Prime Minister

Klopp Pretty Sure of Grabbing EPL Within 4 Years

Or else he's off to Switzerland. It's the first time I've listened to him. Made a good impression. Seems to be disinterested enough to produce the good results that Anfield has been longing for. Like he did with Borussia Dortmund. We'll find out soon as The Reds meet in-form clubs over the next five matches.

Tamasha To Hit Movie Theatres November 27

It's feeling like a cross between the critically-acclaimed Rockstar -- also directed by Imtiaz Ali and scored by A.R. Rahman -- and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, the 2013 blockbuster movie that starred the former lovebirds.

We'll find out in a few weeks.

2014: The Year in Review (Q4)

October: Parliament dissolved in trivial manner. Don't bet on Sithanen to eliminate poverty. June happy Pistorius gonna pay something. Mauritian democracy competitive again. Tackling unemployment: how do the zinkus stack up?

November: Indira's assassination: 30 years already. Suddenly, Labour/MMM to create 60k jobs. Something for you to sniff.

December: What voters want. 63% of poll says Ramgoolam not winning majority. Reform wasn't good for poor. Mauritius says no to wicked plan. Claudette's visit turns 35. Manou's dismissal is inelegant and silly.

Read the review for Q1, Q2 and Q3.

2014: The Year in Review (Q3)

July: How to live 3 years more. Why Sithanen should be dumped again. World Cup won by almost a third of host countries.

August: Stray dogs to work for food. Mrs. Doubtfire is dead. Local FB pages with most likes. Ramgoolam has no match, for now.

September: Apple returns to Flint, 30 years after. Loch Ness Monster may need new travel documents. Granny 1, Leopard 0. Labour/MMM alliance dangerous.

Read the review for Q1, Q2 and Q4.