God doesn’t play dice.
#6. Announce government resolve in fighting red tape at the start of the current mandate but at the same time create the worst manifestation of that plague in the history of independent Mauritius: The Empowerment Fund. The latter rapidly establishing itself as a beacon of... empowerment by spending barely 20% of the Rs 5 billion budgeted before doing something really major: changing its name!
Albert Einstein
Consider the following policies.
# 1. While oil prices went through the roof over a 3-year period, make the purchase of big cars more attractive.
#2. Cancel the school-feeding program which cost peanuts in a Rs 50 billion budget while granting a Rs 5 billion gift to a sunset industry that accounts for less than 3% of our economy.
#3. Rapidly depreciate our rupee in the second half of 2006 while at the same time bragging about the record FDI that was coming in. Subsequently explain at the launch of the Monetary Policy Committee that our rupee had been subject to a speculative attack although at the time of the event blurting out something entirely different: our national currency had not depreciated for a few years!
#4. Be in an absolute hurry to increase the rate of inflation – which kind of measures the speed at which poverty is created – twofold into a double-digit number in 12 short months while repeatedly flouting article 5.2a of the Bank of Mauritius Act 2004 by not having an inflation target. Mention that eradication of poverty is possible in 5-7 years after having created a massive amount of poverty similar to the previous government but in about half the time (cumulative headline inflation of 20.15% in 2.5 years vs. 23.90% in 4.75 years). Never mind if you have been in a privileged position for 7.25 years and if the real current unemployment rate is also in double-digits.
#5. Continually mislead the population into believing that rapidly increasing oil prices is an external shock while in fact it had been the real hero in balancing the books of first the STC and then of the government by generating billions of additional rupees – about seven since July 2005 – in terms of VAT receipts alone. Refrain from capping how much money government makes on rising oil prices even if that means putting the poor last and making Mauritius Inc. less competitive.
# 1. While oil prices went through the roof over a 3-year period, make the purchase of big cars more attractive.
#2. Cancel the school-feeding program which cost peanuts in a Rs 50 billion budget while granting a Rs 5 billion gift to a sunset industry that accounts for less than 3% of our economy.
#3. Rapidly depreciate our rupee in the second half of 2006 while at the same time bragging about the record FDI that was coming in. Subsequently explain at the launch of the Monetary Policy Committee that our rupee had been subject to a speculative attack although at the time of the event blurting out something entirely different: our national currency had not depreciated for a few years!
#4. Be in an absolute hurry to increase the rate of inflation – which kind of measures the speed at which poverty is created – twofold into a double-digit number in 12 short months while repeatedly flouting article 5.2a of the Bank of Mauritius Act 2004 by not having an inflation target. Mention that eradication of poverty is possible in 5-7 years after having created a massive amount of poverty similar to the previous government but in about half the time (cumulative headline inflation of 20.15% in 2.5 years vs. 23.90% in 4.75 years). Never mind if you have been in a privileged position for 7.25 years and if the real current unemployment rate is also in double-digits.
#5. Continually mislead the population into believing that rapidly increasing oil prices is an external shock while in fact it had been the real hero in balancing the books of first the STC and then of the government by generating billions of additional rupees – about seven since July 2005 – in terms of VAT receipts alone. Refrain from capping how much money government makes on rising oil prices even if that means putting the poor last and making Mauritius Inc. less competitive.
#6. Announce government resolve in fighting red tape at the start of the current mandate but at the same time create the worst manifestation of that plague in the history of independent Mauritius: The Empowerment Fund. The latter rapidly establishing itself as a beacon of... empowerment by spending barely 20% of the Rs 5 billion budgeted before doing something really major: changing its name!
A familiar machine and one simple rule
If you were expecting something like IBM’s Deep Blue you’re gonna be deceived. Indeed the machine side is represented by a Rs 5 coin. The year it was actually minted is not really that important although I would strongly recommend anything before September 1991. The rule is quite simple too: implement the policy only if head comes up. And of course, keep score. Ready? Flip the coin 6 times.
This is what I got: Head, Tail, Head, Tail, Tail and Tail. In other words we would have implemented policies #1 and #3 only. More importantly we would not have gone ahead with policies #2, #4, #5 and #6. That would have meant having Rs 10 billion available to improve the competitiveness of Mauritius like building a new reservoir, investing in a sufficiently comfortable public transportation system, granting a 100% subsidy for the SC and HSC exam fees, having an inflation target consistent with price stability, capping the VAT on gas prices to something like USD 10 per barrel and beefing up our infrastructure.
Don’t you think our Prime Minister should close his eyes for just one short moment and imagine what kind of situation he would have had on his hands right now if he had trusted a Rs 5 coin or a dice for that matter instead? Afterall, didn’t Deng Xiaoping teach us that “It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice”? And what that would have meant for 2010?
What about da man?
Well, he has implemented all 6 policies straight-faced which seems to lend some support to the view that he may be endowed with a rare strain of what might be called a reverse Midas touch: turning everything that he touches into crap.
© Sanjay Jagatsingh, 2008
5 comments:
you're so right on all counts" " If our parliamentarians had their feet in the mud they would have understood long ago that "the rate of inflation ...measures the speed at which poverty is created. filipF
And that's not all, Filip. The inflation rate varies according to income level. For instance in South Africa they have estimated that the inflation rate hitting the poorest segment is 3% higher than the headline figure. If we assume that it is about the same here, then the poorest in Mauritius have been hammered with a cumulative rate of inflation of about 34% over the last three years. Looks like poverty has been created by the truckload to me.
I think that the reverse Midas touch applies pretty much to all the ministers and political appointees of the present administration.
Indeed, slowly but surely, we are being robbed of our pride in our country by cascades of unprecedented scandals and negative added-value.
@ SanjivP:
How is it that 8 years later in 2017, your comment still carries its weight of relevance...? By how much has our country lagged?
8 wasted years...
Pretty horrible list of blunders accumulated in 2-3 years don't you think? I already knew that the guy was massively incompetent back in October 2005. I sounded the alarm bell but very few listened.
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