The international media characterize this ‘plaisir’ country of ours as tiny. Of course we are tiny in terms of land mass and whatever one may say about the exclusive economic zone which spans over millions of square kilometres as being part of Mauritius does not make of Mauritius a not tiny country. What in fact makes us tiny is our thinking and our attitudes towards issues and people. We tend to place issues in tiny compartments and people in straight jackets. We are either for or against and we cannot contemplate a situation where we can agree to disagree.

This approach to our national problems is compounded by our instantaneous reaction to see people not as Mauritians but as individuals belonging to castes and communities. Meritocracy is something which has disappeared from our ethos and this spells grave dangers ahead. Anyone who is criticised or taken to task for objective reasons will find someone or a sociocultural formation coming to his/her rescue. Surely our institutions can be trusted to handle this kind of situation. But it is an unfortunate fact of our national life that most institutions are peopled by politically- affiliated individuals. Such appointments place the appointees in a category which is outside the control of the institutions. Recent events have shown that those at the top of institutions which have miserably failed continue in office and they act with impunity. Those who refuse to toe the line or who dare to speak out are booted out. This type of governance is unhealthy and I appeal to the Government to seriously change its governance patterns.

Unless this happens we shall develop a breed which will be out of touch with the realities and constraints of the Rule of law. The fact that we occupy a tiny geographical space makes the issues of governance even more acute. Since almost everyone knows each other or everyone knows someone who knows everyone means that all decisions can be challenged on the grounds of bias and conflicts of interest.

The only way to put an end to this is to ensure that institutions operate independently within the framework of their powers. It is only when they depart from the established procedures etc, that those responsible can be taken to task. Institutions like the University of Mauritius should have been role models but it is frustrating that it has failed to live up to the expectations which the people had in it. Was it politics that made it fail or was it the quality or the paucity of talent? Mauritius can and must do better. The young people expect that their country which can be tiny for some can still be a model for the rest of the world in upholding meritocracy, good governance and the pursuit of excellence in all matters.

This may sound idealistic but no country has progressed and achieved great things without them.