Apropos Government Expenditure & Confinement
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According to the constitution, Mauritius has 34 ministers made up of the PM, 23 cabinet ministers and 10 junior ministers also known as private parliamentary secretaries. Consequently almost half of parliament is composed of ministers. Another proud world record for little Mauritius!
Now each one of these 34 honourables is entitled to an official car; and obviously they all opt for one with a big engine capacity that guzzles huge amounts of fuel. All paid for by the taxpayer. But what many people may not know is that these hard working honourables are apparently entitled to a personalised number plate as well, at a cost of Rs 40,000 each. That adds up to a total of Rs1,360,000.
Now one MAY (the capital letters are deliberate) concede that, besides their disproportionate salaries and perks, the taxpayer needs to provide each one of them with a big car to deliver the dubious goods in several instances, but one wonders in what way these personalised number plates enhance their output.
Wasn’t it only last week that we heard the PM say that Government must reduce its expenditure by 10%? Revising MPs salaries and inordinate perks downwards might be a good start.
By R.B.
Quatre Bornes
Confinement…
Heaven for some,
Hell for others
Still, together
We are bound to kneel
In front of the wrath of Mother Earth
And reflect on our despicable acts
We’ve been constantly assassinating her progenies
With our scandalous actions
Leading to their premature extinction
Today, human beings feel ‘imprisoned’ in their own concrete ‘nests’
Fearing that once they’ll step outside from their bubbles
And get back into their routines
They’ll end up as the perfect host
Of the deadly Coronavirus
Life is thus resumed to a set of possibilities
We can think of
To control this anguish
From spreading its vicious poisonous tentacles
Into our existence
We should learn to appreciate each breath we take
Realizing the importance of another day loaned to us
To make a positive difference in the world
We should learn to love selflessly
Those we’ve been taking for granted so far
We should learn to reflect on our own existence
And together learn to rectify our shameful acts
To make it a better world
For You and For Me.
By Kushida D. Fulena
* Published in print edition on 25 March 2020
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