| | Paroles de R.A.J. | | | | Modifier la taille du texte: | A | | | A | | |
|
| | Par:- Iqbal Kalla
On 03/06/2011 |
Il y a quelques années, un redoutable polémiste lançait régulièrement dans la mare mauricienne quelques pavés particulièrement bien choisis.
Sous le pseudonyme R.A.J., outre d’avoir malmené quelques décideurs de tous les camps, il indiquait également, avec beaucoup de lucidité, des solutions à des problèmes que nos gouvernants semblaient traiter avec une certaine légèreté.
Ainsi, début novembre 2006, alors que nos réservoirs étaient pleins, que personne ne manifestait encore contre le manque d’eau, il avait souligné dans un article de presse, qu’il était temps d’agir avec discernement, plutôt que de prendre des décisions imbéciles. Comme la privatisation de la distribution de l’eau.
Il avait formulé cinq propositions, édifiantes de simplicité, comme il l’écrivait lui-même. Ainsi, à propos du Midlands Dam, il rappelait que seulement 10 millions mètres cubes sur quelque 25 millions mètres cubes étaient exploités.
Il proposait que des travaux soient entrepris pour que le sud, le sud-est et le sud-ouest puissent en bénéficier. Autre point : le Bagatelle Dam dont on évoquait encore alors la construction et dont il était encore question ce matin sur Radio One. Il démontrait également la nécessité d’édifier des barrages pour capter les eaux de la Rivière-du-Poste et de la rivière Chamarel qui allaient se perdre dans la mer. Il pointait ensuite le doigt en direction d’une absurdité incommensurable, disant ne pas comprendre comment dans un pays avec un taux de prévalence de diabète aussi élevé que Maurice, la Central Water Authority puisse continuer à vendre de la bonne eau aux usines de boissons gazeuses à un prix moindre que ce que déboursent les ménages. Enfin, R.A.J. rappelait que 45 % de nos capacités en eau étaient gaspillées à cause d’un réseau de distribution vétuste.
Il en appelait alors à Harry Boolauck, qui venait d’être nommé General Manager de la CWA, lui conseillant de s’entourer de techniciens démontrant ce que R.A.J. appelait un « low sycophancy factor » ainsi que la capacité à mettre à exécution ces projets.
Hélas, quatre ans et demi et un General Manager plus tard, force est de constater que nous sommes dans la gadoue, surtout à Mare-aux-Vacoas.
La situation où nous nous trouvons désormais est sûrement due à ce sycophancy factor qui s’est davantage épanoui….
Si on appliquait à la gestion de l’eau à Maurice ce qui est connu comme le principe de Peter, il semble bien qu’à la CWA et au ministère qui en est responsable, tous les postes de responsabilité sont occupés par des incompétents et que la majorité du travail qui est encore effectuée l’est par des salariés n’ayant pas encore atteint leur « seuil d’incompétence » qu’aurait constitué une promotion.
Et dire qu’avant les élections de septembre 2000, Rashid Beebeejaun se flattait de pouvoir offrir de l’eau 24 heures sur 24 à toute l’île Maurice. Il était déjà responsable du dossier.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| R.A.J. The Fake | | | Finally ! We get to see with pleasure the much awaited resurrection of the Real R.A.J. His reference to the one who believes to be him and using his pseudonym deserves perhaps comments from the latter. The first good deed of Iqbal and the fake R.A.J. has been to rekindle the Real R.A.J. back to life again. There is no debate on the quality of the intellectual renderings of R.A.J. The Real. In so doing he has created a horde of disciples willingly venturing at continuing his good deed. For many years, this gentleman had been feeding our minds with noble thoughts extracted from his sharp observations of a mismanaged Paradise Island and corrupt society. He has the art of letting his thoughts flow out in simple but whipping words and the whole renderings peppered with a good dose of serious humour. His sudden disappearance created a void much regretted by many. Hence the initiative of another true Patriot to attempt, rightly or wrongly, at keeping the flame burning. (btw, I am very impressed by the deep insight of Vuvuzela). And this was explicitly mentioned in this blog at the very outset when the fake R.A.J. felt the need to step his frail foot in the huge shoe of real R.A.J. He admittedly introduced his writings as a humble attempt to follow in the footsteps of R.A.J. the inspiring soul to perpetuate his thinking whilst stimulating the mindset of the nation, if at all possible. And this without ever pretending to replace him. I cannot but hope that with his apparent renaiissance, the real would show magnanimity, if not appreciation, to those who have been trying to keep his name alive on this blog and the bloggers alert about the affairs of the country. If for one reason or another, as the undertone of his intervention below suggests, the Real R.A.J. believes that his followers have erred during his absence, there would be still more reasons then to question of the authenticity and sincerity of purpose of the real as compared to the fake. Whatever it may be, who cares, as long as the writings matter. From now on, the fake R.A.J. goes in hibernation awaiting some sparkling notes from the Real to confirm his come-back. Until then, Cheers ! | | | PLOUM PLOUM -TOO MUCH ANALYSIS LEADS TO PARALYSIS | | | I'll drink to Jacky. Sadly there are many among us, who take the view that CHANGES/ REFORMS WILL BE PRESENTED TO US ON A "PLATEAU" by our current Political “Masters”! These grotesque expectations are a fallacy of the worst kind and inadvertently provide legitimacy to the current Political paradigm. The ordeal facing the country and each and every one of us is of mammoth magnitude and of the most grievous kind. No amount of poetic prose or endless “Greve de La Faim”, would succeed to reverse or put a stop to this lamentable catalogue of policy failures and innate incompetency for which all politicians, past and present have been found guilty in LEPEP ADMIRABLE kangaroo court! Great historical leaders when faced with similar challenges have had nothing to offer but BLOOD, TOIL, TEARS AND SWEAT. Perhaps we should take off the Blood from this premise. Others are taking inspiration on the Arab’s SPRING. But I am mindful that elsewhere; it was a WINTER OF DISCONTENT that brought the IRON LADY TO POWER. And I am told that even today they are suffering the folly of one single moment’s of sheer madness in voting a woman to power. It turns out that far from being a defender of the “weaker” sex, and surrounded by Yes Men in her own cabinet, the Iron Lady was the only person wearing TROUSERS!! [ coumma ene vrai zomme, to borrow from our folklore !] . The Iron Lady , we must remind ourselves, took a dislike to anything RED, from RED ARMY to RED KEN ( I am told this refer to their flamboyant Mayor) . But what the Doctor and most sensible persons knew, that was needed was more GREEN policies! NO MORE RED or SAFFRON ! Just GREEN on its own. Now then, how on earth can I expect anyone of you to decipher all this, if you are not eating any CARROTS! Do you SEE what I mean! May be it is time to get the STICKS out ! LEVER DO LEPEP !! | | | jacky | | | Iqbal c'est l'episode de "Lazare leve toi et marche" ou de "L'enfant prodigue", des deux je prefere le second, que tu nous a offert a travers ce blog. To miss or not to miss R.A.J. is not what matters most. The guy can write endless papers for the sake of effective solutions to our numerous issues and good governance till he leaves us for good. Why not foster a new mindset to challenge our present political class, something tangible and not ethereal to show that non-governing individuals have got a lot more grey matter than those in office. Make no mistake that as long as our rulers will be brought to power the way they have been in recent elections, the country will barely get through urgent and needful reforms. It is a matter of utmost importance for this country to get rid of status quo and not only deferential references to sharp and penetrating writings. | | | Vuvuzella | | | Welcome back R.A.J. We can switch on the fireworks, now that you are back. You bring a breath of fresh air on this blog. You are a true Patriot who, although living in foreign clime, is still committed to the cause you hold dear to your heart. Of course, now that you are back, some of the bad people will be shaking in their pants. | | | Lélio Wong | | | @ Starbright : Your confusions about me and Ming Chen prove that your researches on Facebook have been in vain. Just like R.A.J , for what reasons should I reveal my real identity . Not to play the hero or end in jail. Of course I do use different pseudonyms for my safety but if you pick the ideological parts you will recognise me just like R.A.J and his duplicate. | | | yzea | | | What a pleasure to read your (unbiased) lines again! Cannot wait to see you ruffle a few feathers! | | | R.A.J. The real one. | | | Well, what can I say? It is always nice to be missed but, really, ladies and gentlemen, you are much too kind. By the way, this is the real R.A.J., and not one of the sad individuals who claim to know me, (some of them can even vouch that I am dead, would you believe it? I had to pinch myself!) or, as in one case, actually believes he is me as he is using my pseudonym in one of the comments in this blog. It is really astonishing the number of people who claim to know me although I have never even met them. And those who labour under the illusion that they do know the real identity of R.A.J. are simply following the false trails that I used to set. I also derived some sort of vicarious satisfaction by sending friends who I could rely upon and who I briefed properly to meet people and pretend to be R.A. J....
Although your comments are appreciated, the last three years of my absence are notable for one tragic, unavoidable characteristic: this wonderful island remains pock marked by the lesions of corruption inflicted on its gentle face by the lepers in power. It would be very difficult to find another country where the politicians of all the major parties are united in their primordial need to win elections in order to enrich themselves whilst bleeding the country dry; it really does not seem to matter which party or combination of parties form a government in Mauritius as the same corrosive principle of cupidity will inevitably manifest itself as the central element of their mandate. And yet so much could have been done to make Paradise Island a gentler, kinder place for its citizens and its visitors. Berenger could have used his two years as PM to show the population that anyone can attain the highest office in the land without necessarily being a Vaish; instead he did exactly the same thing that all the other PMs had done and unforgivably wasted those precious two years by going on a nonsensical, self indulgent pilgrimage to the countries of our ancestors, organising an incredibly costly SIDS conference for the many political pygmies responsible for the acute poverty of their own countries, and amassed an exotic wardrobe of colourful Kurthas that made him look more ridiculous than he already is. Ah, but some people say that he was a grafter, a hard worker as opposed to Ramgoolam's legendary laziness. I have to say that my dog is a hard worker too,he runs around all day long, but then dismally fails his primary duty to guard my property by having this tendency to affectionately lick instead of biting anyone trying to steal from me. If only all that hard work could have been converted into actions that would have made the country move forward! Ramgoolam and the Jugnauth clan are so wealthy that any rational person is bound to ask this question: why do they need any more money? What are they going to do with it? Eternal life is out of the question, so what exactly is the purpose for such avariciousness? perhaps the absolute political power that they have enjoyed for so long has engendered a pharaonic desire to be buried with all that wealth...I feel really sad and despondent that the last three years have changed nothing. No, that is wrong. One thing has changed: a bad government of 2005-2010 has been replaced by a much worse one where ministers have no shame in repeatedly saying in parliament that they do not know the answer to some rather tame questions by the opposition.
Writing the above is starting to rekindle my anger and sense of outrage at the way things are. I might have to start ruffling a few feathers soon. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than having an incompetent, corrupt, morally deficient politician condemning me for using a pseudonym. After all, that is a far greater crime than telling a rich hospital owner: "Rs 75 millions? are you mad? Look, I will give you Rs 150, millions, ok? Now, bugger off back to England and the cheque will be in the post."Or signing an acre and a half of prime coastal land to yourself; or, most unforgivably, persuading the population that Sotravic's contract to lay pipes from Mare Longue to Mare Aux Vacoas will resolve our water supply problem when it will do no such thing. See you soon hopefully.... | | | Starbright | | | Mr Gilbert Ahnee and me have been exchanging e-mails for over 10 years or so since he was at "Le Mauricien" but we have never met or known eachother .It's only virtual and we are not bound to know eachother's identity or location.Who the hell knows that Ming Chen and Lelio Wong are pseudonyms or the very same person? | | | Integrity | | | It is comforting to know that RAJ is still vigilant and watching us and lamenting those sycophants who are destroying the roots of this paradise Island. We would like RAJ to time and again bless this cursed paradise with his wisdom and enlighten the dark tunnel in which the skulking princes are forcing us all irrespective of young old or women and babies. So many intelligent persons have appreciated RAJ's frankness, they praise him but how many have inculcated the frankness is an arcanum. | | | Lélio Wong | | | Thank you R.A.J. You gave the start shot, the arena has become bigger for more fighters. But people like you still bear muzzles. We'll do it in your name and with your spirit. God bless ! About true Leaders to act, there is a long long way. Navin Ramgoolam is planning to get Singaporeans to manage CWA, meaning a big slap for Mauritians who he considers and treat like a " peuple de chokra ". Be confident that those who believe in you, will overcome some day ! | | | R.A.J. | | | My Dear Mauritius, Thank you for your very kind words. I am deeply touched. Please do not lament on my silence. I am not dead. I am still alive and alert on all the happenings on Paradise Island. However, as life now appears more complex and often times nasty, I do feel the need for assistance, which I gratefully acknowledge, from a few right-minded volunteers willingly signing off on my behalf. They have been trying to step into my …mind to perpetuate the thinking process and ring the alarm bell as called for by the many scandals rocking the peace of island living. Sadly enough though, my unending cry for justice, fair-play and righteousness has been having many eyes to read, many ears to hear, many mouths to appreciate, many minds to think, but no heart to act. The more so, if the Prime Minister of Paradise Island prefers to play blind, deaf and dumb whilst sitting on the fence. In the mean time, his bunch of useless guys has been busy spreading fear and blasting their greed out of a nation starving from water, high cost of living. From where I stand today, I also get to see more frequent and disgraceful occurrences at various layers of the society: politics, socio-cultural movements, religion, public administration, corporate bodies, you name it. Yes Iqbal, I feel terribly furious at the severe water crisis hitting the already abused people. Thank you for recalling a few highlights of my previous anxieties about water management, or simply management, by idiots parading in our public institutions with their usual air of being rare extra-terrestrial species commissioned to save an agonising Paradise. And yet, Iqbal, your refresher will serve no good cause if we continue to chase off local talents and competence to place those renowned “bourreaux” at the helm of our institutions. In terms of uselessly costly overseas travels by Ministers, Mauritius has set the world record to stand out as the best model of abuse of public funds, greed and mismanagement. With an old man who fails to understand his limits and insists to serve in a Ministry where young talents are warranted and 3 Daddies' sons, if not more, ruling over Mauritius in a completely off-target and merry-making mode, it is no surprise that many Lucifers have infiltrated Paradise Island to hijack any remaining sense of sound reasoning, defeat anything that resembles human values, pollute the spirit of fairness and ethics, and crush whatever may be left as national pride and dignity of the people. My Dear Mauritius, I am not dead. But time has come for me to hand over my duty to those who share my vision of the world. They want to perpetuate as much as they can the works that I started. You may see them active on this blog. My thoughts flow through their writings as they try to echo my voice to those who want to hear. But we need new and true Leaders to act. To act Now ! | | | chitchat | | | @Ming Chen, On June 03, NdlR vous avez averti de ne pas confondre entre Anonyme et Pseudonyme which I found confusing, so I looked it up and found that a pseudonym is a useful extension to anonymity, an anonymous person CANNOT be serious. A pseudonym is a fake name, the person over time and quality work build up trust in some "followers"of his writings and becomes famous and develop an online reputation. That's my personal understanding of the two words. | | | Ming Chen | | | @chitchat - I also prefer knowing whom I am dealing with, but that's not the case with you. Simplement un constat... | | | Karina | | | RAJ fait peur à certaines personnes. He told many 'inconvenient truths' and he did not care about political correctness. I miss RAJ. | | | adam Hadit | | | Please come back RAJ .... | | | chitchat | | | @Ming Chen. Anomymous or Pseudonym? There are good arguments for going either way while I
prefer transparency - I like to know the person I'm dealing with. | | | Paultheoctopus | | | After last week's 'Famille gourmande', Iqbal has once again offered us another article of great perspicacity which again highlights his singular talent as an honest commentator of the social and political mores of this island unfortunately riddled with so much corruption and prejudices. I believe R.A.J. gave up writing for the same reason that so many of our able and talented citizens decide to emigrate: the painful realisation that we are governed by a political class that views the national interest as secondary to its own mercenary and nepotistic priorities, and which will therefore view every mandate to govern as a licence to enrich themselves, their friends, and their families. In other words, plus ça change....I remember almost all his articles (I kept the newspaper copies especially those from l'Express and le mauricien), and one in particular springs to mind following Ramgoolam's speech on Tuesday regarding his decision to limit horse race gambling to the Champ de Mars only. Over four years ago (and I have the newspaper article in front of me), R.A.J. warned that "The Gambling Bill ignores completely the high social and health costs of gambling, as well as its financial ramifications for the addict and his family....The government, as with the IRS projects, stands to gain a comparatively small amount of money from taxation imposed on those making absolute fortunes from gambling. Additional revenues ought to be siphoned off from the hugely profitable gambling industry in order to fund a proper battle against problem gambling. It would be the morally correct thing to do in an industry that bases its profits on the immoral appeal to greed and envy, and one can only hope that Rama Sithanen has the courage to add a clause to Tuesday's bill in order to compel the gambling industry to contribute towards repairing some of the damage it is causing to so many of our citizens..... But that should not stop the government from also showing real leadership and ensuring that gaming houses, if we really have to have them, are located well away from residential areas and as far away from schools as possible." None of that was of course implemented, because the ideas did not come from an officially appointed arse licker. But as the old saying goes, 'better late than never'. But is that why we pay politicians and their ludicrous army of advisers such an obscene amount of money in order to reach a conclusion many years down the road that any ordinary citizen can see at first glance? As with gambling, so with water. The mark of a true government is the ability to pre-empt problems many years in the future. Here, our so called democracy means that we elect an utterly selfish band of marauders to do as they wish during the five years that we allow them to rule us. Water, transport, infrastructure, etc, etc--Same story, no planning whatsoever, or at best a lot of noise about action in the future that we know will never happen. Our tragedy is that our leaders would not recognise an original idea if it bit them on their arses all that matters to them is their personal gain. | | | Rajen | | | Les écrits de R.A.J ont marqué les esprits à jamais. Il symbollisait a lui tout seul notre riche tradition de libre expression. On voudrait bien savoir les raisons de son silence alors que le degré de pourissement de notre societé devient inquiétant. A-t-il était muselé? Si tel est le cas la situation serait encore plus grave. | | | Lélio Wong | | | Je peux comprendre pourquoi R.A.J a cessé de" jeter des perles aux cochons". Parce que ceux venus au pouvoir sans avoir du cerveau n'aiment pas des donneurs de lecon. Des ignorants comme une majorité du Peuple Admirable qui les font élir tous les 5 ans. À leur tête, un importeur d'idées de l'étranger, lui même qui ne connait pas assez son pays et incapable de diriger son équipe à résoudre des problèmes locales. Quand on estime combien de notre argent est gaspillé avec des consultants et experts étrangers tandis que les solutions peuvent être trouver sur place. R.A.J l'a prouvé mille fois si on pouvait chercher ses idées dans les archives de presse. En ce qui concerne la CWA, le double fiasco continuera " as long as there is not the right person to do the the right job", les rivières conduiront tous les eaux à la mer et à chaque grosse pluie il y aura des innondations. À l'Ile Maurice ce n'est pas l'eau qui est source de notre vie qui remplissent les ventres. Même pas la morale. Le Peuple Admirable ne l'a pas encore compris. Il a encore le choix, la sécheresse ou le déluge ! | | | Wisdsom | | | I venture a reason for RAJ's sabbathical.He perhaps felt that some vengeful hands were getting closer to his collars.His acerbic,yet accurate comments were causing a stir in certain places.Talking about water,on a satirical note,why worry.We may have little of it in our reservoirs but we do indeed have many of the most expensive cars on our roads.Enough to make you proud. | | | Emiliano Z | | | I remember his works. In my book R.A.J was a giant. | | | jacky | | | A whole Incompentence Empire has been brought to power, we can only accept this democratic fate. As much as water is concerned, millions of hectolitres are wasted in the ocean 24/7/365. | | | narain | | | Il est dommage de ne plus lire les articles de RAJ écrits dans un anglais parfait. Mais pourquoi a-t-il arrêté d'écrire? | | | Monk | | | Des gens comme R.A.J, le pays en a bien besoin pour redresser la situation dans tous les domaines. dommages que la politique soit aussi sale et que des 'cerveaux' et honnetes gens preferent ne pas s'y engager. Pauvre ile Maurice, son déclin est inéluctable. | | | Hell | | | Peu importe qui est derriere le pseudonyme R.A.J. Si l'idee est bonne pourquoi ne pas le prendre en consideration? Surtout si les responsables sont incapables d'avoir des idees. | | | From: Regeneration. | | | From: Regeneration.
Listening to real people.
“Sycophancy factor” / upon any sensible message that the average citizen address to the Mauritius politician and policy makers, they focus on a concept and skill that is dear to their hearts: listening. The consequences of its nemesis, non-listening, one can revisit the setting aside of the loadful of reports which showed that the population is overwhelmingly favored a government that keeps its feet to the ground, the day by day issues, like prices of basic commodities, security, transport, water supply, job security, sale by levy, gambling mania, education, household debts, corruption, friendly government services, health care, asset declaration of elected members and top officials. Thus today’s the stage is set for the multiple conflicts that have plagued the Country ever since… Thus, too, was established the precedent for ignoring citizens concerns whenever it was convenient to do so. The water shortage saga is the direct outcome for Non-listening, or only listening to half the story, also set the stage for subsequent other policy failures across all sectors, with disastrous consequences for human beings and for Mauritius’s standing in the region and abroad. Again and again, responsible stakeholders cogently drive their point home: Only once we begin to listen to real people can we truly engage the common citizen - and stop chasing myths and shadowy rumours. To combat the “institutionalised ignorance” and “national hearing problem” prevailing in high political circle - One can only whoop with glee by stripping Mauritian politician conflicts of their political and historical dimensions and seeing them instead as resulting from the inevitable behaviour of a deeply flawed people. The citizen is advocating true commitment as a means of kick-starting reform. The citizen has one constructive suggestion for how politician and policy makers can better understand Mauritius people, and thus present themselves and their concerns in a more accessible light. It all comes down to listening, and training and willingness to make changes provides tools and perspectives to make listening a tangible force for change.
| | | Ming Chen | | | Précisément et dans le cas de Raj, pseudonyme = anonyme. Dommage que ce blog soit offline. | | | Jean Baptiste Say | | | FIRST THINGS FIRST says the great management guru who will soon be giving precious advice to our local CEO and what not! THE FIRST THING TO DO IS TO FIRE the so-called DR BBJAN. He is not worth holding a Ministry where we need someone competent in the field. Whereas our genuine energy experts are crumbling in 'placards' and not being given their dues oor chances to apply their competence to solve the country's most urgent problems such as water and energy, what do we see? Political ' protegés'everywhere!!! Is this how we will become the so-called Singapore of the Indian Ocean? | | | Jim | | | Toutes des excellentes idées qui auraient pu changer l’Ile Maurice d’aujourd’hui…Au lieu de juger les idées, on juge les hommes…quand l’EGO nous tient. | | | RS | | | On s'en fout de l'anonymat! Aurait-on pris ses idées au sérieux autrement? Surtout qu'on a un Premier ministre aussi (...) que savant. Et ces fameux imbéciles qui ne cessent de répéter 'as far as I know, I don't know' et sont payés pour ne pas chercher à savoir. Même quand on leur offre des solutions sur un plateau!!! Et dire que la population est intélligente, voire admirable mais vraiment admirable. Les politiciens passent leur temps à insulter l'intelligence des mauriciens mais j'ai bien cherché et j'ai vu des politiciens et des insultes mais très peu d'intelligence. | | | Un electeur de no 3 | | | R.A.J n'a pas leve le voile sur la CWA seulement. Il a pointe du doigt beaucoup de secteurs ou la carence est connue de tous. Avec les nominations de petits copains avec des salaires mirobolants a ces postes cles, la situation s'est generalisee. Ici on recompense la servilite politique. Si la pays fait eau de tous parts. a qui la faute? Il faut s'en prendre a nous memes. Nous avons eu ce que nous meritons. Vivement un regime avec technocrates aux manettes de commande, irrespectifs de leur ethnicite. Et dire que certains parlent de Singapore. | | | Ming Chen | | | L'anonymat de RAJ a tué toutes ses bonnes intentions. Cela n'a pas contribuer à sa crédibilité, dommage. (NdlR : Ne pas confondre entre anonyme et pseudonyme) | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|