Ideas to make Mauritius better!
One major difference between the Obama campaign and the current one in Mauritius is that Obama used the Google Moderator web application to ask people for the problems / ideas they were having well before the elections. Then, he based his campaign on providing solutions to the issues raised by the population.
A little more than one year ago, I started something similar for Mauritius entitled Ideas to make Mauritius better! Thirteen months later, 232 people have submitted 161 ideas and cast 1,858 votes which is a lot for our small country.
Some of the most popular ideas are (for example):
- “People should stop thinking in terms of communities, casts and their “own”. We are all just Mauritians.”
- “Why oppose Hindi (or Urdu or Mandarin) to Catholicism at school? On one side, you have a language and on the other a religion. It should be possible for a young Catholic, say, to learn Mandarin.”
- “Being a small country, Mauritius ought to have a superfast, secure internet system, so as to encourage people to work from home, access government, banking and insurance facilities and avoid unnecessary road traffic, among other benefits.”
- “Our education system is an inverted pyramid. We eliminate a lot of people when they do their CPE and we have a very permissive tertiary system. This pyramid needs to be reoriented to produce higher-calibre professionals.”
Visit Ideas to make Mauritius better at
http://www.elections.mu/ideas/
Don’t hesitate to submit ideas and to vote for or against existing ideas. Who knows? Maybe some politician somewhere will be sensible enough to take the better ideas into account.
Bravo for this laudable initiative. Wished it could have been set up months before elections, with the input condensed in a manifesto to be sent to all the political class.
@Bruno Thanks. In fact, I set up that application more that one year ago and it has been running since. It needs to get ideas from more people (232 people have participated up to now which is not enough…)
You will notice that I’ve edited your comment.
Ah ok … mais 232 c’est pas mal déjà! Dommage que ça m’a échappé sinon mo ti pou fair un google moderator app pou MMM au lieu servi Google Docs.
Ok, I expected the link to be removed anyway
@christinam When will you be making a video like this one? – http://youtube.com/watch?v=hxwBzgO7YsM
no subvention to relegious/sociocultural org.the MBC what a shame.to alleviate poverty first of all there must be a minimum salary what about the daddys_sons
@Bruno Don’t hesitate to use the data from http://www.elections.mu/ideas/ to tell politicians what (some) Mauritians believe they should tackle in priority…
@Fadil Who knows?
From Rose-Hill, via the United States!
April 22, 2010
What Mauritius is going through at this time is, unfortunately, not unusual in countries made up of a society so cosmopolitan in terms of its sociocultural and religious origins.
Politicians trying to be elected, obviously, believe that using these consequent differences is the tool “par excellence” that will help them win elections!
What is literally dangerous is that they are doing as much as they are able to in order to make vicious use of race and religion to either try to win votes but most of all DIVIDE a population that lives on a small country; a population that has done an extremely decent job of living under those same circumstances for generations.
Given that our fabulous island is made up of many devoted citizens who come from very different origins, I do think that there is one thing that can be done, now that the medias play such a role in our lives; now that it is so much easier for information to be shared to the people who so much need it especially at a time like the one that our country is going through.
Given that there are very many serious, well-known, Mauritian citizens that care about their country, and that come from VERY DIFFERENT SOCIOCULTURAL groups and religious origins, they should be able to get together, think and, most of all SHARE PUBLICLY what they think about the country’s situation, be it politically, socially or as far as its economy is concerned.
If such a cosmopolitan group could exist, it would teach not only the population but also the politicians how much it is totally possible and real that there is such a thing as a UNITED STATE OF MAURITIUS as far as its population is concerned that can go forward in the right direction.
Such a group also may give some sort of a lesson to the same politicians that obviously can’t get rid of the “race related” situation that they seem to love so much and that creates so much useless and damaging results.
If such a group was set up, I do believe that it would be heard.
Given that many would be surprised by such a thoughtful organization, that would lead them to think and, I believe, to think way beyond the very limited sociocultural differences that are real but not a tool that should divide it.
Such a group would allow them to learn about their brothers and sisters; appreciate them instead of fighting and separating them from each other!
VG.
@Fadil
Cool video with worrying conclusions about citizens’ involvement in democracy (which is supposed to be about ‘demos’ in Greek, i.e. ‘people). But, it also depends how that guy selected his interviewees.
Would love to do a series of videos as I have tons of ideas. Problem is: I don’t have enough time on my hands. I am currently having students do videos about press freedom in Mauritius for the World Press Freedom Day (3rd May) though. I hope to post these online soon.
@Vincent
I agree 100%. And we’re fortunate that we now have access to such formidable tools as blogs and Facebook. I think that the 20-40 people are bored to death with the current political system and something really disruptive is going to happen in the very near future…
I would like for expatriates to be able to vote. Us people living abroad and not being pounded by the politicians racist campaign. We the Mauritians living abroad would have made a great unbiased voting force for Mauritius. I am sick and tired of them using racism for their benefits!!!
@Sputnik Don’t tell me expats cannot vote? Can’t you do it in consulates or embassies?
I overheard that Rodriguans would have to go back to Rodrigues to vote in their constituency.
@Yaasir Yes. I heard that on radio too. And the air-ticket is Rs 6000. It would have been easy (I think) to make those Rodriguans currently in Mauritius vote here instead of either forcing them to pay for an air-ticket or make a proxy vote for them or not vote at all…
Oh. actually I overheard it waiting at a crosshere. But it still sounds rather ridiculous.
@Yaasir Do you know if a solution has been found to that?
don’t ask me, I only overheard a conversation.
Well, call me callous but I don’t think it’s very high up on most people’s agenda.
changing the topic a bit.. do we use electronic voting machines like they do in India yet? I heard there were plans to a while ago.
that could be a solution for the Rodriguan problem. Except I’m pretty sure that the bureaucracy would find a way to mess it up.
@Yaasir In the Alliance du Coeur manifesto, they mention they will introduce electronic voting machines. Personally, I am not really a fan as, unless the software running it is open source and this is improbable, I have no faith in such machines.
I found the following actually.
http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/MOFSite/menuitem.54a3dc0932d1d306e2926411a0208a0c/?content_id=81f73560225e7010VgnVCM100000ca6a12acRCRD
just search for the word “electronic” in the page. It’s dated 2004. So you can probably expect it was started by someone in the previous government.
I think that ultimately the best idea to make Mauritius better would be to ban politicians from government. and government from actual government.
@Yaasir
Avi not sure if this will be the right platform to voice such opinion but i would like to see whether other fellow Mauritian citizens have the same feeling on the TV programme/coverage that Thalassa has made on Mauritius.
When the country was branded as “Mauritius c’est un plaisir” we had different views on whether this was the appropriate branding for us but with an open mind i said we will see this from a different perspective and lets be positive since it can work.
Now when I look at the video on YouTube (following comments from colleagues at work)im gobsmacked to see such things happening in my country and going unnoticed. Damage to our eco-system and festival de la terre (to use the same term being used during the political campaign) coupled with the Minister clearly tipsy (to remain polite) does not project the right image of the country on the international front.
I cannot help myself thinking that taxpayers money is funding such parties and while i do not have anything against job creation in the tourism sector this should not be done at the expense of the eco-system. During the weekend i will make up my mind how i will make good use of my vote and this will be based on 1) future performance and 2) past performance (clearly on this one i already have an idea of what to do).
@Shak Can you write something on this? I’ll make you a contributor to Elections.mu.
I am writing those lines not with a view to bring down the present government but with the objective of questioning the system as i doubt whether another political party would have acted differently. As i have said yesterday, i was gobsmacked when i saw the clip on Youtube (ile maurice en peril) from Thalassa on Mauritius. I would strongly recommend viewing the clip as this will give you a better idea of how your taxpayers money is being well spent.
Coming back to the Intercontinental Hotel, I am sure that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted and we knew what were the pros and cons of going ahead with such project. What is the purpose of having such framework if we are not going to stick to it. On top of that it is necessary to distinguish between monitoring done for regulatory purposes (compliance monitoring) and environmental monitoring related to the EIA but again here it seems that we have failed on that front again. It is sad to see what is happening to our lagoons due to the lack of moral and professionalism of those whom we have trusted to run the country.
This brings me to another topic which was flagged during the programme about IRS and privatisation of islands surrounding the country. The Minister of Tourism says in his drunk interview that Mauritius is not a communist country and necessary support is given to the private sector to develop Mauritius. Fair enough but should this be done at any cost? 2 islands have been privatised so far with a rental fee of circa Rs60,000 being paid on an annual basis. Can the terms and conditions be made public, how were the 2 promoters appointed, could we not have appointed organisations such as the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation who is doing a fantastic job on ile aux aigrettes? We are seeing IRS projects( baby of the previous government if not mistaken) mushrooming on the island. What is the opportunity cost to these projects? My feel is that we are creating a feeling of being a stranger in your own country. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening and playing a blind eye to such issues will shortly result in serious social problems.
On a final note, we have heard about “Do not drink and drive” and now we should have something like ” Do not drink and talk.” I guess in other countries such coverage would have been enough for an investigation or even a resignation depending on circumstances and when i talk about resignation its not about leaving this in your pocket.
Interesting editiorial from Ariane De L’ESTRAC in Express of 4th May, where she uses the example of the British elections:a paper like The guardian admits freely which party they are supporting and why?
This paper has a lot to learn from the Guardian them and stop being hypocritical. They are openly supporting one party and does not have the courage to admit it!
Well, can we blame the editorialists? Their salaries are decided by those very guys that are openly supporting one party and critising the other. And if you bear the same name, it must be worst.
@Veren Yesterday, Christina and I were at the US Embassy for a video conference with a US journalist based in Paris and who covers elections in Europe and North Africa. One of the topics discussed was precisely the fact that in the USA and in the UK, newspapers take position. This is not obviously the case here. One of the reasons might be because there is a lack of demarcation between the editorial and reporting sections of the newspapers here.
For example, the Guardian (which you mention) makes sure to cover all parties equally. Then the editors through their editorials take position for one. In Mauritius, I can’t imagine a newspaper to be 100% impartial as far as reports are concerned then be 100% partial in their editorials. We still need to learn. But things are moving in the right direction… especially with the pressure coming from the Internet through citizen journalism.
Hi Avinash, thank you for this forum. I believe in small actions rather in big editorials. Mauritius is still a young democracy that cannot be changed as we wish. It has underlying rules. The 10 commandments of the God of Abraham came before Jesus because people believed in “an eye for an eye”. John the Baptist came before Jesus so as to prepare the people for the coming of the son of God. Its a matter of timing and what people can accept. Initiatives like Reziztans ek Alternativ is a start. More young people should engage themselves in politics. Thats my message.
@shak
I had mixed feelings when I watched the full thalassa emission (Rodrigues, Chagos, Mauritius, and the dodo). I am not sure if I am mixing 2 emissions! There was so much these 2 lastweeks.
At the start, they showed Rodrigues where fishermen are engaging in illegal fishing and detroying the corals. They admit the harm they are doing and the coast guards close a eye as the fishermen do not have other occupations!
So comining back to Intercontinental, Anahita, Ile aux Cerfs golf course, I am for development. These have contributed to FDI and jobs.
I found that this emission was significantly biased. If you go to Baie du Tombeau, around Le goulet and Intercontinental hotel, the corals were dead long ago (because of its proximity to port louis and the mouth of the river). There is almost no reefs and Intercontinental had to place rock walls in the sea to accomodate an artificial beach. The emission want us believe that this place was thriving with living corals and fish!!
Instead of blindly critisizing those developments, I wonder why our ‘Ange Gardien in his speedboat’ does not identify suitable spots for creating artificial reefs (sinking of old boats for example…) and be more positive in his approach.
What does he propose for Balaclava and Blue Bay marine parks and other marine areas that can be created?
Other examples will be fish or lobster breeding in the wild (lobster breeding in Maine, US or oyster breeding all over the world, tuna breeding, etc…)
Is there a solution to the ‘Best Loser System’? If so, what is this ‘silver bullet’?
@Melt
Personally, I think the best loser concept is not that bad (of course, having proportionality would have been much better…) The only major issue with the BLS is the fact that it relies on communalism. Remove that aspect from it and it becomes acceptable i.e. selecting up to 8 “best losers”.
…the bls is so intertwined with race/religion that it has become disreputable; Michael Sik Yuen; say no more!
…what would be the point of selecting these 8 best losers then?
…..i think that a new political party should be set up by ex-pat mauritians. only us ex-pats have the far sightedness and vista to combat the epidemic small mindedness which plagues our island. one should not forget that berenger came back to mauritius fresh from cutting his political teeth at the baracades of the student riots in france (may 1968).
for one, most ex-pat mauritians are immune from the communalism which plagues our island especially at election time. I for one cannot begin to describe the joy of hearing someone speaking (mauritian) creole, whether in london, dubai or jo’burg. The mere fact that one has met a mauritian abroad over rides any considerations vis a vis race or religion. Furthermore the shared experience(s) of hardships faced, whether as a student or a recently arrived immigrant in a foreign land are memories which stay with one for life.
at the very least, i would like to see ex-pat mauritians; who incidently have a wealth of academic as well as practical experience in many fields, get together and form think tanks. It is shameful that mauritius doesn’t have any organised think tank(s).
@Melt
Selecting some “best losers” is not a bad idea as long as we have a “first pass the post” system. Of course, with a real proportional system, everything will be catered for by the system itself.
As for having a party by ex-pats only, I have some doubts. There are a lot of Mauritians who have never left the country but who are doing great things everything. But it’s true that when one lives for some years abroad, perspectives change. But it’s also true that technocracy is rarely an ideal solution…
@melt
Please cut your crap on expat mauritians being brighter and farsighted and are better as think tanks. Just wondering whether as expat mauritian you have been able to participate in the political life of the country you are living in.
When I read your argument, it looks as if yoour so calle communalists in Mauritius have better arguments than so called expats.
By reasoning as such you give reason to people who do not want mauritian expats to vote in Mauritius elections.
Sorry for being so direct.
veeren,
try to be coherent! you are a prime example of the failure that i have highlighted!
Good luck with your expatriates club!
@Veeren
Toutes les idées sont bonnes… Je pense que “Melt” peut contribuer au développement de notre pays en apportant sa vision d’expatrié. Au moins, il est de ceux qui tentent
@avinash
Bien sur, mais en respectant les autres. J’ai trouve cette remarque insultante.
quote
…only us ex-pats have the far sightedness and vista to combat the epidemic small mindedness which plagues our island….
unquote
N’est ce pas une forme annoncée de superiorité.
….merci pour votre soutien!
@veeren
Moi aussi, j’ai tiqué en lisant cette phrase. Mais, bon, ce n’est qu’une phrase…
@Melt
Pensez-vous vraiment ce que vous avez écrit dans cette phrase? En particulier, le mot “only”?
Les nazis se prenaient pour des êtres supérieurs et ils ont exterminé des millions de gens.
Les premiers immigrants sont arrivés dans les pays avec leur propagande et ont décimé les populations locales sans même comprendre et respecter leur ‘way of life’.
Des millions des gens ont donné leur vie pour la tolérance, la liberté, l’égalité et la fraternité.
Dans une démocratie, chaque personne (quelque soit son ‘way of life’), compte pour une et unique voix.
….lol! Talk about exagerating! So, anyone who doesn’t agree with Veeren is a Nazi? Mr. Moderator, please! Btw Avinash thought has gone into my comments! I expect some even handedness, as well as a rebuke to Veeren for the above comment!
@Melt
As a matter of fact, I thought a lot before approving Veeren’s comment and I did it because he has a valid point. One of the major problems with us, humans, is that we sometimes forget that we are all the same and start believing we are superior to others. On the other hand, anyone should try to make things better.
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