It is now official and it calls for celebration. We have a brand new industry: it is called borrowing or debt, if you prefer. This year’s Audit Report has just highlighted that of all the sources of Government revenue, borrowing represents about half (47%). We borrowed Rs135 billion last year alone and another Rs55 billion (19%) came from the Bank of Mauritius, which now specialises in gifts and donations to the government. Taxes represented only 30% – down by 13 per cent – and “others” represented 4% of Government revenue last year. 

Now, when you are in a situation where you have to borrow to make ends meet, the first thing any responsible government would do is cut down on its own expenditure. A number of governments not nearly as indebted as we are have led the way by closing some embassies and parastatals, putting an end to official cars, useless trips and junketeering etc. Not here, Sir. The maja karo goes on in an unprecedented way. 

As soon as borders re-opened and travel was normalised, suitcases were ready and ministers seem to have been waiting at the airport to jump on the first opportunity to have fun and draw the maximum benefit from the taxpayer: So came the Dubai exhibition. Leading the pack of junketeers is a lady who came to light for using obscene words and who amassed an obscene amount of money in a matter of two days: over Rs130,000 in per diem! And Kalpana Koonjoo’s first class ticket cost us nearly Rs200,000! Add to this the delegation that accompanied the minister to make her look very important and your get the sum of nearly Rs700,000! Think of the number of trips that will come their way in the next three years or so and do the math. What the minister and her hangers-on brought back from Dubai for that money is obvious: shopping and a nice rest at the expense of the poor taxpayer, who is called upon to tighten the belt more and more. In the meantime, the Audit Report highlights a ministry which seems to be left to itself, as even children placed in foster care are forgotten about and hardly ever visited – a situation leading to “abuse and negligence”, according to the same report. Don’t expect the minister to blink in shame. She has her priorities right.

Then other ministers followed suit, starting with the minister of social security, whose ministry has been flagged for not having organised a single evaluation test to find out which families qualify for social help. The last eligibility test dates back to 2012. The number of social houses built? About 98 units. Who cares about the homeless and squatters? Filling one’s pockets is the absolute priority.

Then other ministers joined the queue of merrymakers: Padayachy, who more than anyone else should know about the state of our public finances; Obeegadoo, who is jetting around the globe ostensibly to find people to invest in hotels when we can’t even fill the ones we have; Callichurn who entered history for singlehandedly and effortlessly creating the biggest edible oil crisis in the country before going back on everything he said the same week; Balgobin, who spent Rs17 million on tablets, nearly half of which were wasted because of a cockup in planning; and the usual free riders like Lesjondard, Ganoo and the president of the republic himself, Roopun, joined the joyous crowd. 

All these trips have been approved by the Prime Minister’s Office, headed by a prime minister who never tires of repeating how judiciously he spends our money. All these trips brought absolutely nothing to the country. And all these trips will increase our huge debt. But then again, we just have to borrow more. There is always more where it came from. Ask the Sri Lankan people and you will get a view into our future!