Sun zi said: " Operations of war generally involve one thousand swift chariots, one thousand heavy chariots and one hundred thousand mailed troops with the transportation of provisions for them...The expenditure will amount to one thousand pieces of gold a day."

Here comes chapter 2, the resources needed in a war.

The world is already feeling it, our common enemy, Covid-19, is having a profound impact on global economy. Mitigating the impacts requires strong policy measures at the head of the state not only for corporates but also for the most vulnerable to prevent the unleashing of a social explosion.

While lessons can be learnt from the Chinese experience; noting that China now no more being the epicenter of the disease is back to work,  each country must adapt its measures according to its own economic realities.

One example comes from the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who addressed the South African nation on Monday, coming with strong measures supporting not only the industries but also the commoner.

To start with, a solidarity fund where everyone, including the private organisations can contribute has been open to support the most vulnerable citizens of South Africa in this crisis.

In the same spirit, a safety net to support those in the informal sector where their businesses are taking a serious blow, will be set up. Regulations have been put in place and adopted to control excessive pricing of commodities on the market and at the same time preventing people from panic buying. Tax subsidies have been set up to relieve businesses in distress, a fund has been set up to help small operators in the tourism industry, temporary shelters have been set up for homeless people...... These measures account in a series of measures aimed at supporting companies but also the most vulnerable segment of the society.

Now let's come back to the Mauritian reality.

When asked about the fate of people surviving in the informal sector, our honorable Minister of Finance had nothing to say apart that there is no data about people in the informal sector, so, only those employed people in the formal sector will be catered for.

When the authorities are asked about the fate of the homeless, they keep referring the case to another department, so finally no plan has been set up to cater for homeless people in this crisis. 

What about those already living under the poverty threshold relying on a job here and there to put a piece of bread on the table? Well, we won't have an answer for that.

What is even more scary is that what started as an economic slowdown, will soon turn into an economic shock like one we've never experienced across the globe, even after living the 2008 financial crisis.

Targeting vulnerable households, small firms, small businesses is important to block the eventuality of a social breakdown and protests, if not a rise in criminality.

Now let's not take a defeatist stand. Government through the voice of our Minister of Finance, has pledged to help employers pay their employees monthly salaries through the Wage Support Scheme, amounting to Rs 2,6 billions from the state. Here,  all employees are supposedly guaranteed to have cash in hand at the end of the month provided this measure is abided strictly by all employers.

The government also applied a no interest policy on housing loans for families being in a difficult financial position.  However, nothing much has yet been proposed  concerning debts of enterprises in this slow down situation.

Here, we observe that we at least scored a few using some targeted policies. The question is, will our economic strategy enable us to win over the enemy?