A Decade of Daylight Robbery

Editorial

A recent announcement in Parliament is so shocking that it should cause a national scandal, not just a simple debate. In response to a parliamentary question, the Prime Minister disclosed a figure that defies both logic and fiscal decency: between 2014 and 2024, the State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) wrote off a staggering Rs 14.34 billion in toxic loans.

To put this in perspective, during the preceding decade (2004–2013), write-offs totalled a relatively modest Rs 1.12 billion. We are witnessing a more than tenfold increase — a geometric explosion of “loss” that suggests something far more sinister than simple market fluctuation. This was not a systemic failure of the banking sector; this was the systematic dismemberment of a national institution.

The Myth of the “Professional”

For years, the public was led to believe that the SBM was in the hands of the “best and brightest” — seasoned financiers and career bankers. Current data raises questions about the effectiveness of their management and decision-making during this period.

When Rs 9 billion of that toxic debt is concentrated in just three foreign entities — NMC Healthcare, Pabari Group, and Renish Petrochem FZE — granted without adequate collateral, the narrative of “bad luck” evaporates. It is replaced by a grim reality of “crony lending.” These were not errors in judgment; they appear to be deliberate acts of dilapidation. While the bank’s profitability plummeted to a pathetic Rs 15 million in 2019 (down from Rs 2.7 billion in 2013), a select circle of “friends,” relatives, and political protégés were reportedly being minted as millionaires and billionaires at the shareholder’s — and taxpayer’s — expense.

The Turning Tide: Corrective Measures

However, there are signs of a shift in the institution’s trajectory. Since his appointment, Chairman Manou Bheenick has spearheaded a rigorous campaign to restore integrity and strengthen governance at the State Bank of Mauritius. Under this new leadership, the bank has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward malpractice, most recently demonstrated in April 2026 by the suspension of twelve employees, including several high-ranking managers. This decisive move followed an internal investigation into “massive and unusual” withdrawals reportedly linked to the bank’s reward system.

This internal “cleanup” is part of a broader effort to address the legacy of nearly Rs 5 billion in toxic loans issued between 2018 and 2020. By establishing formal disciplinary committees and cooperating closely with the Financial Crimes Commission, the Board is working to dismantle the culture of “tacit complicity” that previously compromised the institution. The bank’s leadership has made it clear that these investigations will proceed without interference, signalling a firm return to strict banking principles and the safeguarding of public deposits.

The Silence of the Watchdogs

Despite these recent steps, the most damning aspect of this decade of decadence remains the historical collapse of oversight. Where was the Bank of Mauritius? The Central Bank is the ultimate sentry of our financial borders, yet it seemingly stood by while the vaults were emptied in broad daylight. How is it possible to dilapidate a Tier-1 bank for ten consecutive years without the regulator sounding a single alarm?

The rot, however, does not stop at the regulator’s door. We must scrutinize the entire architecture of our state institutions:

* The Board of Directors and Senior Management: Those who occupied the seats of the Board Credit Committee and the Management Credit Forum held a fiduciary duty to safeguard the bank’s assets. Instead, it looks very much like they oversaw a “total disregard of basic banking principles.”

* The Audit Trail: Where were the internal and external auditors? A write-off of Rs 1.3 billion annually should have triggered red alerts in every reporting cycle.

* The Institutional “Icons”: The MRA, the Ministry of Finance, and the now-defunct ICAC — an institution that became an icon of incompetence, a “laisser-faire” monument that allowed fraud to flourish by looking the other way.

A Pattern of Kleptocracy

The SBM saga is not an isolated incident; it is a symptom of a deeper malady that has infected our State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). From the suspicious leasing decisions at Air Mauritius to the collateral-free giveaways at the Development Bank of Mauritius, the pattern is identical: political appointees acting with impunity to serve their “political masters” rather than the long-term viability of the nation.

Our SOEs, once the “Jewels in the Crown,” have been transformed into private ATM machines for the well-connected. The result is a capital base so eroded that it requires fresh injections of public money — money that should be going toward hospitals, schools, and infrastructure — just to keep the doors open.

The Hour of Reckoning

The Prime Minister has promised that “such crimes will not go unpunished” and that a special investigative team is at work. While the recovery of Rs 2.6 billion is a start, it is a drop in the ocean of the Rs 14 billion lost. The population must demand more than just “investigations” that drag on until the next election cycle. We need:

1. Asset Seizure: The patrimony of those who authorized these loans and the “friends” who benefited must be reclaimed.

2. Accountability Beyond Employment: Perpetrators must face the full force of the law regardless of whether they have already left the bank. There must be no “golden parachutes” for those who steered the ship into an iceberg.

3. Border Controls: We cannot allow those responsible for this decade of plunder to flee the country with their ill-gotten gains.

A Call to the People

Perhaps the most painful realization is that this happened because we, the population, have accepted “dilapidation” as a standard feature of governance. We have watched as institutions were hollowed out, assuming that someone else would fix it.

The “revolution” required is one of radical accountability. We must demand a permanent, independent Select Committee to oversee SOEs to ensure that never again can billions of rupees vanish behind a veil of “commercial confidentiality.” The time for passive observation has ended. If we do not demand justice today, we are merely inviting the next generation of “experts” to finish what their predecessors started.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 24 April 2026