- Mauritius President puts her country first; steps down over a ‘minor’ infraction
IN most of ‘mainland’ African countries, her offence would pass as a minor infraction, if not an irritant no one would pay any heed to. After all, it was an error as she claimed and the necessary restitution had been promptly made.
But Mauritius, the tiny island nation on the Indian Ocean has evolved in its 50 years of independence as an exemplar of good governance, strong national ethos and best practice.
These virtues were put to test when her president, Ameena Gurib-Fakim was pressured to resign, last Saturday, over a credit card scandal. She allegedly spent $27,000 belonging to a London-based charity, Planet Earth Institute (PEI), during a shopping trip. The resignation however takes effect today.
She belonged to PEI and had its complimentary credit card. But Mrs. Gurib-Fakim had explained that she used the card in error as it was similar to the one which belonged to her. She was also said to have made the necessary reimbursement of the spending to PEI in addition to other expenses she incurred on the institute’s bill.
But the country’s Prime Minister (PM), Pravind Jugnauth, who is the leader of government, is not taken by Gurib-Fakim’s explanations. According to report, after a private meeting with the embattled president after the scandal blew open, an understanding seemed to have been reached to the effect that President Gurib-Fakim was to resign.
However, she may have tried to renege on that ‘pact’ and indeed threatening to go to court to prove her innocence, thus prompting the Prime Minister to read what may be approximated as the riot act.
Speaking with reporters, PM Jugnauth said: “I am shocked – shocked is not a strong enough word… it is an attitude which is damaging to the office of the presidency. It is a behaviour which does not honour our Republic.
Other notable voices in the highly regarded Republic have weighed in in favour of the PM and in the overall interest of the country. “The clash makes a big dent on the reputation of our country as a business-friendly and well-managed economy… political uncertainty destroys economic development and stability,” said Dan Maraye, a former governor of the Bank of Mauritius.
Mauritius was an uninhabited island until early Dutch and Portuguese sailors ventured into it. It was the French adventurers who began to inhabit it and grow sugarcane with slaves from (mainland) Africa and contract labour from India. It is these slaves and farm workers that make up the bulk of the population of Mauritius today; with the Indian stock being in the majority of the nearly 1.5 million population of the island country.
Mauritius has evolved over the years from a forlorn colonial outpost to become one of the most highly regarded countries in the world. The Mo Ibrahim Index on African Governance ranked Mauritius first in Africa in its Good Governance survey of 2006 to 2014; while The Economist ranked her 16th in its global measure of the State of Democracy in 167 countries. It is adjudged to be the only African country with ‘full democracy’.
The fall of Mrs. Gurib-Fakim is a lesson for most other African countries, especially Nigeria. From the above narrative, it is apparent that what seem to be of utmost consideration here are questions of national honour and the need to protect the country’s image.
The sum involved may be paltry and indeed inconsequential but moral rectitude and an inherent culture of national preservation loomed large in this ethical high drama. The ability of the leadership class, institutions and systems to rally promptly to preserve the ethical and moral ethos of a nation is what ultimately makes a nation great.
We commend the courage of Mrs. Ameena Gurib-Fakim in putting national interest above self by her quiet exit from power. She has toed the path of honour. We recommend the Mauritian model to the rest of Africa. It is the way to go.
