Following the communiqué from Air Mauritius, the Board of Directors has suddenly woken up following their incredibly poor performance since the ‘mini-enron’ scandal, the hedging catastrophe and now the appalling nine months’ results to 31st December 2011.

My previous criticisms as well as those made by the other shareholder representatives resulted in some cosmetic changes at Air Mauritius, however the composition of its Board and structural problems remained unresolved. Time and again, I emphasized the need to wind up Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd, the vehicle by which the Government controls 51% of Air Mauritius Ltd and initiates the appointment and re-appointment of Directors.

In 2005 during the change of Government, it was a disappointment for not having re-appointed the outgoing chairman who did a decent job further to the ‘mini-enron’ scandal. It is imperative that Seabury, the American Consultancy firm managing Air Mauritius over the next 6 months, succeeds in yielding results and includes major structural changes for the benefit of all the stakeholders.

Moreover, it no doubt transpires that Air Mauritius is in need of a strategic partner which will certainly involve a review of the current model of controlling Air Mauritius Ltd. This could eventually lead to the dissolution of Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd. In so far as the Tourism sector is concerned, the Ministry of Tourism and the other stakeholders within the private sector have the right vision in targeting emerging markets such as India and China, but unfortunately, they are not knocking at the right doors.

Faced with such major issues as stagnation in tourist arrivals , I strongly believe a joint effort by both the public and private sectors are essential to include the following initiatives:
(a) Visitors/Tourists from India and China staying for less than two weeks to have a visa free of charge at SSR Airport provided they meet the conditions/requirements (similar to Mauritians visiting Reunion Island or Europe).
(b) The Landing rights and departure times of Air Mauritius to and from Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai at around 3.00 a.m. - 5.00 a.m. to be renegotiated by our Government on behalf of Air Mauritius with the Government of India and the relevant Indian authorities to ensure reasonable hours for departures.

This will be a win-win situation for both countries as this will ensure an increase in passenger footfall at both destinations by factoring in greater flexibility for both Mauritians and Indians.
The impact that these two measures would significantly achieve our vision in the expansion and diversification of our Tourism sector with the emerging countries where our nation also shares a cultural heritage.

Time is of essence and it is imperative that these measures be achieved in the public interest by our Prime Minister and the relevant authorities.

Dev POONYTH