There can be no lingering doubt that we are living in an age plagued by the desire to succeed as quickly as possible, no matter the consequences. As a result, you get the relatively younger generation falling prey to political parties promising the El Dorado, not least during the reign of this current regime.

In spite of the overwhelming irony, the venue for some of the most absurd practices — not including the Trilochun saga — has been the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). Recently, it was brought to public attention that one of its employees was not actually eligible for the position she was holding and thus had to resign. The issue was that she did not have the required experience. What the employee — who had recently been nominated at the EOC to make sure everyone was given a fair chance — could boast of though, is her unflinching support of the MSM. Talk about equal opportunities!

Young professional joins political parties for gratification. It is almost a trope of the political life of Mauritius. A similar case could be made for Youshreen Choomka, who joined the MSM and suddenly became a reference, enough for her to be propelled to the head of the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Doubts about her eligibility for the job also made the headlines and a complaint was even lodged against her at the EOC. 

“What of the case against Choomka at the EOC then? Take a guess!”

What of the case against Choomka at the EOC then? Take a guess! Well it was pushed to the back of the pile by the arguably qualified staff at the EOC. Obviously the MSM connection had nothing to do with it because that would be wrong on so many levels. Let’s be clear, we are not accusing anyone of anything because the Alliance Lepep members are known to be easily offended and prone to childish retaliation. 

We are just pointing out facts and the fact is that we are stuck in a seemingly endless vicious circle of political incompetence. It does not take a lot of intelligence — so most of the government members can still understand it — to see that this random coalition at the head of the country is the worst thing to have happened to Mauritius in decades. It is the worst thing because they were supposed to be the change that we, as a people, needed from the evils of mainstream politics. If this is the change, then we are in deep trouble.

It would be unfair to blame all of it on political nominees. They are not something that happened overnight. They have been a stalwart of our socio-political landscape for as long as we can remember; a weakness that we all hoped would fade away as the political class renews itself. It’s the hope that kills you.

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