Some described it as putting on one’s shoes, going for a run and then slipping on one’s socks. An apt description of the commission of inquiry to be set up to investigate the circumstances in which the contract was given to Betamax and rescinded.

Had the commission of inquiry been instituted before rescinding the contract, it would have been most welcome as it would perhaps have saved us the billions of rupees we have had to fork out at a time when there is tremendous pressure on our public purse. Any culprits would have had to face justice in a serene way or we would have known better than to rescind a contract against the findings of the commission and incidentally against the advice of the State Law Office. But we didn’t. Our eyes were so full of revenge and hatred that we charged ahead, going for the kill. Today, we are throwing good money after bad.

What are we trying to achieve through a commission of inquiry that will cost millions of rupees which will be added to all the excesses and mismanagement of public funds? Incidentally, what did the commission set up to investigate Former President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim achieve? Are we any wiser? Is the former president guilty? Can she legitimately continue to draw her pension and fringe benefits at the taxpayers’ expense? Anyone else in Government was aware of – and perhaps benefiting from – what was going on? What did we get in return for our buck?

What did the Britam commission achieve? Months of investigation, money paid or to be paid to – among others – Sattar Hajee Abdoola, after having been one of the assessors in the Britam sale for which he claimed Rs26 million. Now he is taking care of the grounded Air Mauritius, apparently claiming Rs10 million more. And we are none the wiser.

What happened to the Paul Lam Shang Leen commission of inquiry that yielded concrete results, published findings and recommendations? Some of those close to Government, like Former Minister Roubina Jadoo Jaunbocus, by way of a Judicial Review, challenged a number of specific findings of the commission and the Supreme Court clearly concluded that “it cannot be said that there is in the circumstances of the present case a justifiable complaint of procedural unfairness or breach of the rules of natural justice for any of the reasons advanced by the applicant” and that “there is equally no merit in the argument that the commission’s finding was biased, arbitrary and tainted with impartiality”. Did the police or any other relevant authorities initiate any inquiry into this as recommended by the commission? Has the ADSU been dismantled? Or was it, instead, congratulated by none other than the prime minister himself? So what was the point of the commission in the first place?

Or maybe we should opt for a fact finding committee and reach a quick conclusion. As in the case of Youshreen Choomka, Vijaya Sumputh, the dialysis patients…

If the aim of the commission on Betamax is to enlighten those who have had to pay for others rescinding the contract, there is a very simple and inexpensive way of doing that: tell us exactly how much we were paying for the transport of our petroleum products before the contract with Betamax was signed, how much we paid Betamax and how much we paid after the contact was rescinded? That would tell us where we got value for money and where we were ripped off. Why doesn’t the government want to disclose that? And why is the opposition not pushing for that information to be made public? Who is hiding what from the dindon de la farce that we are?!