The manner in which the government decided to terminate the contract with Betamax was arguably one of the most crooked acts ever taken in our name. Now we know it was also unlawful. It was executed with the same remarkable incompetence and disconcerting recklessness that have characterised most government decisions. And the Rs5 billion as damages  plus the hundreds of millions of rupees in legal costs we are called to fork out after the ruling of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre is just the beginning of a series of tabs we may have to pick up as the other cases start hitting the courts of justice.

A few months ago, some government ministers were happy to sit around the then prime minister and dazzle us, referring to section X and Y and what not of the statutes to justify their acts. We, mere mortals, in possession of only the sanitised information they decided to throw at us, sat and listened as they boasted about all ‘the hard work’ that had preceded this decision by cabinet! Today, they are either hiding in their funk holes or passing the buck.

There is no running away from the fact that everyone who was sitting in cabinet when the decision was taken is responsible for the damages the children of this country have to pay for. On the front line, there is the attorney general – whose greatest contribution to the legal system in this country has been to act as messenger in the Nandanee Soornack case by delivering a document to the Italian court after the deadline – and Anerood Jugnauth, who was frothing at the mouth with anger as he broke the great news to us. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, Ashit Gungah and Roshi Bhadain, who were quick to congratulate themselves for their foresight, are not far behind. Then all the ministers – past and present, whether they are still in government or not – have to bear responsibility for this disaster.

And this is just the beginning. Neotown has filed a claim for US$200 million! Add to that the US$1 billion claim by the British American Investment. Top it up with Soornack’s case and CT Power and crown it all with the dozens of cases lodged by private citizens who had been arrested, abused, made to strip naked in police stations in the same spree of revenge wrapped up in the provisional charges packaging and you will understand the extent of the damage done to our country and its economy.

This is not a case of officers making mistakes in the exercise of their duty. This is gross abuse of authority. The government deliberately ignored the advice of the State Law Office which had reportedly advised against the termination of the contract. It also ignored the stand of the State Trading Corporation which was based on the firm Stephenson Harwood’s report that advised to stick to the terms of the contract. It cannot therefore plead merely incompetence and ignorance. It is guilty of having deliberately put the economy of the country at risk to satisfy its own agenda.

After all this, the government spokesperson is now reporting that the government has – presumably on the advice of the same competent lawyers that had so competently advised it in the Betamax, Soornack, BAI, Neotown CT Power etc. – decided to “make an application to the Supreme Court to set aside this award”. What? Making an application to be allowed to become a rogue state?

While waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether we can get away with not enforcing a decision taken by an international arbitration court, around Rs600,000 interest A DAY is being added to the fine. In two years, the new sum we will have to settle will be about Rs6 billion! By then, forget about becoming an international arbitration centre and goodbye to being considered a safe investment destination.

But the government will have achieved one thing: kick the can down the road. As it has done with the Super Cash Back Gold policyholders. As it has done with the repayment of the Rs18 billion loan. As it has been doing with everything else. 

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