“Many people are calling for change but this is not the time for a revolution. We need to first get back to a fair system where things work, elections are genuinely free and fair and institutions are independent. Once we have done that, we can talk about a real change.”

This week, we talk to Covilen Narsinghen, president of the Mauritius Global Diaspora (MGD), who is on a visit to Mauritius where he has met all the leaders of opposition parties. What has transpired from his meetings? What is the pulse of the population as he visited every nook and cranny of the island and talked to people from rural and urban areas? Can opposition political parties work together? Read on…

You are here for family reasons but also, as a political observer and president of the Mauritius Global Diaspora, to look at the situation on the ground. What is the mood of the people, according to you?
The mood in general is very sad. Just to give you an example, I went to the pharmacy to buy some medicines and I saw a lady returning some of the medicines to the pharmacist as she didn’t have enough money to pay for the full bill.

Do you mean people are hard up?
Yes. They have reached the lowest I have seen.

In terms of what?
Economically, many people don’t have money to eat, buy the essentials like medication etc. The prices have soared to unprecedented levels. What is even sadder is that people can’t even complain as they are so scared of retaliation.

As far as prices are concerned, isn’t it the situation the world over?It is a global phenomenon. In many countries in Europe and elsewhere, prices are soaring. However, when money is limited, you don’t take more loans for more white elephants and expect to improve the situation. The government is extending the tramway to Côte d’Or for example, but people are dying of cancer.

Why? Whatever happened to our hospitals?
To begin with, there is no PET scan! Only private clinics have a PET scan. So if you don’t have money, you die. Even medication is scarce. There are long queues for medication. On the other hand, we are putting money in a tramway to go to Côte d’Or. Tell me if the tramway is more important.

But the money for the tramway is coming from India. It’s a grant…
It’s not a grant. It’s a loan. And even if it were a grant, we could use it for things which are essential to improving the quality of life of our compatriots. And talking about grants and loans from India, we also have the right to know what is happening in Agalega. Pravind Jugnauth is the prime minister. He is not the owner of Mauritius. Why should such deals be done in secrecy?

As the president of the Mauritius Global Diaspora, what are the feelings of the diaspora that you are in contact with?
Whether in the UK, France, Canada or anywhere else, Mauritians abroad are very concerned. I have spent 17 years outside the country and it is the first time I have seen the diaspora protesting. Over here, people have stopped protesting because they are afraid. And when people start being afraid of the government, that is a clear sign of autocracy.

The idea some people have is that the diaspora have left the country and they now have no legitimacy to criticise what is going on. How do you react to that?
If you look at the money coming in from the diaspora in foreign currency, you will realise how much we are contributing to the country, though it is not tangible and people can’t readily see that contribution. Our interests and hearts are in this country and many of us would like to come back when the situation is better. So it is not fair to think that just because we left and maybe took on another nationality, we have lost our rights in our own country. We continue to contribute with money, experience and ideas. This is why the Mauritius Global Diaspora are united in thinking that the opposition has to come together to be able to oust this government.

 “It is not fair to think that just because we left and maybe took on another nationality, we have lost our rights in our own country. We continue to contribute with money, experience and ideas. This is why the Mauritius Global Diaspora are united in thinking that the opposition has to come together to be able to oust this government.”

How will you help towards that? You can’t even vote, can you?
Yes, but we have a great influence though sharing of ideas. Here people are scared of talking. We don’t live here so we can talk and we have nothing to fear. We also organise debates and invite politicians and other personalities to participate. Considering the vote, if I happen to be here and I am on the electoral register, I can vote. Of course, not everyone can afford to do that. That’s why I think it high time political leaders thought about granting the right to vote to the diaspora.

How would that work out in practice? I mean in which constituency would you vote?
I think that’s a very interesting question and many people have talked about it. There are many examples we can follow. We could follow the French example where they have what we call “un député outre-mer”, who can then sit in parliament. There are other ways that electoral experts like Rama Sithanen have suggested in the past. If political leaders are willing to bring that change, they could further the discussions and come up with a proposal in their manifesto for the next election.

And would you trust embassies enough to vote there and expect them to be neutral in handling the ballots in the current state of affairs?
I think that’s a very good point. Knowing what many of the nominees of this government stand for, the answer is I wouldn’t trust them to handle my vote. Even in Mauritius there is the perception that there were irregularities in the last election. Nobody has forgotten the T-square and how neatly those ballot papers had been stacked up.

But the Supreme Court didn’t find anything wrong with the last elections so far, judging from the outcome of the petitions heard so far…
With all due respect to the Supreme Court and the judgments rendered so far, in law you have to have evidence and I think there was not enough evidence to support some of the claims.

But if there is not enough evidence, there is no case, is there?
Yes, but it’s hard to find evidence when the government has the upper hand and has its nominees everywhere, including on the Electoral Supervisory Commission. That in itself is a travesty of the system. We also know that the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation played a very biased role. I don’t know what the strategy of the Suren Dayal’s legal team [They are about to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – Ed] is so we will have to wait and see.

What are the main points the Mauritius Global Diaspora is interested in fighting for?
We are interested in talking about the independence of institutions, the right to vote, the Freedom of Information Act, which is key to the media industry and citizens.

How is it though? Even if a bill was presented in parliament tomorrow and became an act of law, all the government will likely do is place a political nominee at the head of the institution that the law will have created and s/he will stymie anyone seeking information until the issue has been forgotten about.
That is why we are stressing the independence of institutions and the process of nominations. 

Political nominations are not new. We have had political nominations throughout our political history. But we saw a Labour government, for example, renew the mandate of former President Cassam Uteem, who had been a member of the MMM and was nominated by the party to the position. We have had Navin Ramgoolam nominate Jean Claude de l’Estrac, who describes himself as his “most intimate enemy” on the Indian Ocean Commission etc. What has gone wrong?
Well, there are political nominees and political nominees. If we want to show that we mean business and we want to stop corruption, we have to nominate people from abroad.

We have such nominees at the Integrity Reporting Agency and the Mauritius Revenue Authority, for example. What is different there?
This is a new culture that came with the MSM. We need a change in the mind-set. We need to appoint competent people who have already proven their competence and give institutions the independence required to carry out their work without fear or favour. That will have to come with a change of government.

How is the new government going to get to power? Right now, the opposition is scattered all over the place and is even at times shooting at each other, isn’t it?
It is rather sad. I have talked to several political leaders. They all need to find a consensus. Many people are calling for change but this is not the time for a revolution. We need to first get back to a fair system where things work, elections are genuinely free and fair and institutions are independent. Once we have done that, we can talk about a real change. To do that, only diamond cut diamond. Let’s be honest about that. If people want to work for their country, they should work towards that.

Last time there was a coalition between the Labour Party and the MMM, both parties registered their worst score ever. How is that different today even if you added the PMSD and smaller parties to the equation?
Last time, the context was different. First, there was l’usure du pouvoir of Dr Navin Ramgoolam. Then there was a very strong media, including social media, where Sir Anerood Jugnauth was all over the place talking about locking up Dr Navin Ramgoolam for having had someone killed in police custody etc. Everyone was also made to believe that Dr Ramgoolam had bought a private jet etc. And all the lies worked. I am sure many people today realise that they made a mistake. I have never seen a worse government ever. Nepotism, corruption, incompetence, opacity, mismanagement, you mention it, they are the worst at it.

After your conversation with opposition political leaders, do you think there is a chance for this so called 'united opposition front' to face the next election together?
After my meeting with all the opposition leaders, I have no doubt that one way or the other, they will come to their good senses and put their ego aside to oust this totalitarian government. I am sure good sense will prevail.

How do you think the electorate in the rural areas would react to a united front even if there was one?
My opinion, having been north, south east and west of the country is that there is a sense of fear even in rural areas and that people are not expressing their views or intentions openly. The fear that has been instilled in citizens is such that they are terrified of being arrested by the police that is acting a bit like the gestapo and Tonton Makoute. My feeling is that they will accept a united opposition as they know it is the last resort.

Roshi Bhadain seems to have attracted a large crowd at his last meeting. Do you see him as a challenger to Pravind Jugnauth in the current state of affairs?
Roshi Bhadain means well for this country. I have talked to him and asked him why he wants to become the prime minister and not someone from a bigger party or from another ethnic group. He wants to portray change but any change has to be communicated properly and without any hypocrisy. The crowd he attracted at his meeting, though with picnics and transport, is from all over the country. However, to be the challenger of Pravind Jugnauth in the current state of affairs is going to be very tough. He has a bright future if he joins the other leaders and waits for his turn. In the current situation, he can’t be a challenger to Pravind Jugnauth. The country is not ready yet. We need to change the electoral system first.

The MMM and PMSD seem to have accepted that Navin Ramgoolam lead the opposition for the next general election. Privately, however, they don't quite agree that he should stay on for five years. What do you think?
Navin Ramgoolam is a wise man. And so are the other two leaders. I am sure he will be able to work together with the MMM and the PMSD towards their replacement respectively.  I think they will come to agree and compromise to sort out the mess we are in. They owe it to us.

You have one foot in politics as the leader of the MGD. Have you decided which political party?
Right now, I am here as the president of the MGD to support the leaders of the opposition to oust this government. I will canvass the diaspora to canvass their families to oust this government. That is the only thing I am currently focused on.