Should the New Government be Indulging in Witch-Hunting?

The new government has a duty to identify wrongdoers from the outgoing administration and ensure they face legal consequences, including exemplary punishment

By Paramanund Soobarah

I have read with great interest the articles on this and related subjects in last week’s Mauritius Times. To me the electorate’s mandate is crystal-clear. They do not want a government that treats national assets (including assets of parastatal bodies and government-established companies) like personal property, a government that fools people with exaggerated freebies to get their votes, and that loots pension funds, and in the process devaluing our currency and also increasing the national debt and the load on generations yet unborn.

“The electorate does not want a government that plants false evidence on citizens, that arrests people on fabricated charges (and protects criminals), that inflicts physical pain, mental anguish and totally undeserved and unnecessary harassment on people. It is yet to be determined whether any politician or politically-protected person is involved in the infamous drug trade. The electorate also wants to be assured that no passing ships can approach our shores, exchange contraband goods including illegal drugs…” Pic – The Sun

They do not want a government that spies on the public, that uses information gathered by spying to inflict its biases on the population in the way it appoints people into government and parastatal bodies (based on their assessment of people’s party-affiliations, which may be correct but also often incorrect, and also often based on caste and community considerations, all regardless of personal merit. They do not want a government that stifles free speech indirectly by falsely implicating people who do not share views in crimes they have not committed. More importantly they do not want a government that plants false evidence on citizens, that arrests people on fabricated charges (and protects criminals), that inflicts physical pain, mental anguish and totally undeserved and unnecessary harassment on people.

It is yet to be determined whether any politician or politically-protected person is involved in the infamous drug trade. The electorate also wants to be assured that no passing ships can approach our shores, exchange contraband goods including illegal drugs, and that measures are in place to detect such malpractices in the high seas in our vicinity.

Were the public of Quatre Bornes consulted before inflicting such an ugly and calamitous contraption as a railway track in the middle of their favourite St Jean Road? In other cities endowed with tramways both the tramcars and ordinary vehicles live peaceably alongside one another. Why should they be segregated in such a narrow space here? And why St Jean Road? And if segregation is a must, then why not the old railway track at least up to Hillcrest Road?

These matters concern not just the outgoing politicians. Their tools are most often the political appointees who head other government-owned or government-controlled institutions. And sadly also, some regular civil servants who throw all considerations of ethics to the wind. They include some members of the Police Force.

The electorate have emphatically said they do not want such a government. They couldn’t be clearer. They certainly do not want the new government to indulge in the same practices. Assuming that the present government has learnt from the mistakes of the previous one, how can any future governments be dissuaded from engaging in similar evil malpractices? In my view the only way is to identify all wrongdoers in the outgoing government and subject them to the processes of the law, seeking exemplary punishment for them. The only people who can do that are the new government. They have a duty to do so, unless of course they want to prepare the ground for their own future similar actions. So much for witch-hunting.

Civil servants owe allegiance and respect to the elected government of the day. They also have to abide by a code of ethics – which in the colonial days used to be set out in the General Orders (Establishment) (GOE). I am not aware whether it has been replaced and by what. If nothing of the sort exists today, it is vital for the sake of good governance that something similar be brought out urgently.

Civil servants who work well and are competent at their jobs are bound to be noticed by their superiors. Consequently, they are often assigned special tasks which, in the view of their superiors, they are competent to carry out – whether these fall within their scheme of duties or not. Competent people never say no to a task, even if it is difficult and outside their scheme of service. Sadly, such people often come to be regarded as “favourites”. That is a cross that they have to bear. But incoming governments must be careful not to mistreat all those who were regarded as “favourites” with the previous administration because of their competence. Sadly, there are some people who will tell fabricated stories about colleagues. Ministers must be slow in accepting such stories.

Civil servants must always give ethically correct advice to their ministers. If a civil servant is asked to do something unethical, he must point out what is not correct about it. If his boss insists, he must first of all ensure that his own opinions are based on strong and absolutely valid grounds. That something has never been done before is not a valid reason for opposing any request. In the final analysis, a civil servant can carry out the desired action under protest or resign. He can also comply as required, at his own risk.Read More… Become a Subscriber

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 29 November 2024