Today Rajesh Bhagwan, Secretary-general of the MMM and ex-Minister of the Environment, confronts Rajesh Jeetah, Minister of Health. They exchange views on such questions as political nominees, ethnic voting and verbal violence. Naturally, both are confident of victory for their party… Read on…

¦ What are, according to you, the main points of your programme?

> Rajesh Bhagwan: Our priority is to respond to the aspirations of the population and deal with the problems which we face. Enough of the grand discourse, pompous words and big expressions. We have to be with the population and engage with them to solve the problems they face on a daily basis. The problems of insecurity, indiscipline and problems of leadership. We need to give the population confidence in leaders again. People are terrified to go out in the evening. They are even scared of going out of their offices because they might get attacked. We also need to deal with social problems such as drugs and prostitution. My heart aches when I see these young girls in Rose Hill, where I have been a mayor on three occasions, selling their bodies out of need.

In the poor areas, there is a problem of alcohol which wreaks havoc. We need to work with NGOs and have a rehabilitation programme. Fraud is another problem. We need to reassure the population by setting the right example. Interference in public institutions is inacceptable. It needs to come to an end. Laws against fraud and corruption must be pitiless. Also, the police need to be given the means to fight crime.

As far as education is concerned, we will continue with Steve Obeegadoo’s reforms. We will correct the mistakes that have been made and put everything back on track. We will also create a Ministry for the Environment with a global approach to deal with the big challenges.

> Rajesh Jeetah: Our programme is about putting everything in place at all levels to allow the young, (because l’Alliance de l’Avenir is about the young) to have a better life in this country. And we are doing just that. Take Health Centre, for example, because that is a sector I can talk about with ease, we are doing everything to cater for the 22 000 patients who visit our hospitals every day. We are already building the New Jeetoo Hospital in Port-Louis, we are setting up a new C block in the Flacq hospital, an operating theatre is being built in Victoria Hospital and an emergency unit in SSR Hospital. We are also planning a cardiac unit and a renal transplant centre. Our programme intends to go further and give special care to women and the elderly by building two additional hospitals, one for women and one for geriatrics.

Education is also an important sector we have devoted attention to. We have already increased the enrollment rate from 38% to 50% at tertiary level. We have created the Open University and we will continue in that direction. At the economic level, we will work towards increasing the contribution of the health sector to the GNP (General National Product) from its current 3% to 5% through medical tourism. We already have 10 000 patients a year coming from abroad. We aim to increase that to 100 000 by the year 2015.

¦ Why has your manifesto been unveiled so close to polling day?

> RJ: Everything was planned long in advance. Unveiling it later is a strategy. We have, within the Labour Party, a big intellectual capacity and decisions are taken in an organized way. For us, it is clear that we want the country to move forward with everyone onboard everyone having equal opportunities.

> RB: Many parts of our programme were revealed during the MMM’s 40th anniversary. After the dissolution of parliament, we needed to discuss many issues with NGOs, unions and other stakeholders. Many of these still come to see us and we listen to everybody to be able to come up with a complete programme.

¦ How is the battle on the ground looking?

> RB: There was a perception at the beginning that Navin Ramgoolam was very strong. Today, I leave it to you as a citizen to see that the MMM has plenty of wind in its sails. Bérenger will be the next Prime Minister, supported by a strong team.

> RJ: Excellent! Our meetings are no longer political meetings but real celebrations. Our constituents are already celebrating the renewal of Dr. Ramgoolam’s mandate. People have understood the real issues. Since independence, free education, free health care, free transport…all these carry the fingerprints of the Labour Party and its various alliances.

¦ What do you think will play in your favour?

> RJ: In everything this country has achieved, the Labour Party has been involved one way or the other. What has Mr. Bérenger contributed to the building of this nation, apart from scientific division? He goes down in history as the father of communal division in Mauritius. When the Labour Party offered free education, it was for everyone. Not for a particular segment of the community. The MMM has, on the other hand, offered division, instability, anger and strikes.

> RB: Our formidable team inspires confidence and the opinion polls on your site show that.

Some people say that it will be a close fight. What do you think?

> RB: Let’s remember that at the beginning, Ramgoolam said, ‘nou pa pou loin de 60-0!’ Now he admits that Faugoo is in diffi culty. He knows that the MMM is in a strong position because he gets reports from the NIU.

> RJ: I can reassure you that according to what I see around me and to the feedback I get in the debriefing sessions, we are heading for a big victory.

¦ Some comments made by a number of candidates are outrageous. Questioning the paternity of someone and comparing another to an animal to be sacrificed are but a few. Do you condemn the ones made by the candidate in your alliance?

> RJ: I condemn the violence of the comments made by one MMM candidate. It is unacceptable. Mr. Baichoo has to take the responsibility for the comments he made.

> RB: I condemn all the comments which do not honour the person uttering them. In fact, Baichoo himself apologized. I also find unacceptable the PM’s comments which have racial undertones like saying that the battle is between him and Bérenger.

¦ Some political analysts say that the programme is the same and that the elections will be won or lost on personalities and their ethnic profile. Is that a view shared by you?

> RB: No. The vote will be for the party, the alliance and the candidates. Not on the basis of any ethnic profile. Take my example, I was elected top of the list three times. And I was standing against Gaëtan Duval and Xavier Duval in Beau-Bassin where there is a large percentage of population générale! You reap what you sow.

> RJ: Ethnicity is a reality in this country, but people’s votes will be based on what they have seen and experienced. We have been through several crises, oil, fi nancial, economic and sanitary (Deng fever and the H1A1 virus). We have been through the dismantling of the MutliFiber Agreement that could have cost us the entire textile industry. We have been through a reduction in the price of sugar by 36%. In spite of all this, we have registered a positive growth rate in the economy! We have had no massive job losses, no shortage of food, no unrest. That is a measure of how well we have handled the economy.

¦ Both parties use big words like ‘meritocracy’ and ‘equal opportunity’. How can this be put into practice when a big chunk of the budget is swallowed by political nominees who do not have to fulfill any criteria other than being close to those in power?

> RJ: You are absolutely right. Political nominees cost the country huge amounts of money. Go and ask Mr. Bérenger how many advisors he had. I know because I asked the question in parliament and he systematically refused to answer. He had, we eventually found out, 277 advisors according to an answer to a parliamentary question. 227! Now, I have done a rough calculation, which you can also do and the sum this must have cost the country between 2000 and 2005 is 400 million! That is abuse. We too have advisors and chairmen of parastal bodies, but there is no such abuse. I have only one advisor and one press attaché.

> RB: Political nominees are not a crime. You need the right man in the right place and if you want someone competent, you need to give him a competitive package to attract him to the public sector. Of course, there should not be any abuse. We should not be in a situation like now where there are people earning royal salaries but not doing a thing.

¦ One ministry for social integration on the one hand and a ministry for solidarity on the other. Cynics say it is another way of creating more ministerial posts and other related for cronies. What is your reaction?

> RB: No. There are new problems. We need the right set-up to deal with them and as far as that is concerned, I trust Paul Bérenger. We need a new product to meet the high expectations.

> RJ: You know we were in fact the first government to reduce the number of ministries. Now, if we are intending to create one, it is because there is a need for it. We cannot continue to deal with poverty in a fragmented way. We need an integrated approach.

Interviewed by Touria Prayag