A banal road traffic accident involving the Minister of Justice and another driver has brought about a seismic change in this country which was not a “plaisir” for all those were made to be afraid of the  politically powerful. There were eyewitnesses to the incident who apparently were afraid to come forward as witnesses of truth for fear of reprisals. It was only when the Prime Minister declared that no one should be afraid to come as a witness in the accident case that witnesses did come forward.

This confirms that people are afraid to stand in the way of the politically-connected. What has happened in the MITD case and the unhealthy practice to resort to ad-hoc Fact Finding Committees (FFC) undermine the role of established institutions. A FFC will only find facts that are brought before it as it does not have the powers of a Commission of Enquiry. People tend not to attach any credibility to the findings of FFCs.

The Prime Minister must be given credit for having given the reassurance that no one needs to have any fear about doing what is right in a criminal investigation. The pity is that he had to say it. Nevertheless I hope that his message will go to all those who are responsible for publicly-funded institutions that they have to treat every person equally and that they have to operate in an environment of integrity. The very thought of being a victim of retaliation as a result of doing what any normal person in any normal country would do – like being a witness in a public order situation – was so ingrained in the mind of the ordinary Mauritian. No wonder that this was the case since those close to the political masters have demonstrated in the recent past that they have a licence to act with impunity even when public funds are being squandered.

Last week the USA was embroiled in a situation where the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) targeted certain organizations that were on the right of the Democrats for special scrutiny. In fact those who were perceived to be against President Obama were singled out. As soon as the news broke, there was outrage in the USA and President Obama condemned the IRS whose head lost his job. Institutions must have independence and integrity.

The Prime Minister must now go forward and put a stop to the unpatriotic role of sectarian and obscurantist forces which are no “force” in fact. For too long this country has been hostage to lobbyists of all sorts and, in the process, the ideals of professionalism, competence and meritocracy have suffered the fate of the “dodo”...

Modernising the country demands a fresh approach. The staying in the box approach of governance will kill us all. Those at the head of institutions who are doing a disservice to the nation by adopting censorship and political apartheid as methods of management must be swept in a Tsunami as promised by the Prime Minister. Following in the footsteps of the likes of President Obama is the way forward. Otherwise tsunami will continue as a Japanese word.