Blog: Le Réduit has become Sun Trust No. 2

What is happening in the functions of the presidency these days is very disturbing and this affects directly the workings of our democratic institutions. Sir Anerood Jugnauth acting as a modern Zorro has totally misconceived his role and powers as President of the Republic.  Sir Anerood is playing pure politics since his son’s arrest by ICAC.

He started by criticising ICAC on the ground that ICAC pé fane. On 17 October at Hindu House in front of his close followers he criticised the law and order situation and opined that the country was heading for a major disaster. According to him the country is in danger and is afflicted by all kinds of ailments. He criticised government’s decision on the privatisation of casinos. He even went as far as stating that the institutions of the country are heading for a catastrophe. He indulged in mere generalities without giving any specifics. He has donned the garb of a demagogue and has disqualified himself as Head of State. Minister Choonee is right when he asked him to step down.

Sir Anerood has totally thrown into oblivion the Constitution. And Paul Berenger told us this man has a sense of State and is very scrupulous of the legal system. Sir Anerood is using the office of the President to negotiate and contract an alliance with the MMM. Meeting the Leader of the Opposition to discuss issues affecting the country is a mere farce or a colourable device of which he was found guilty by the Supreme Court when he attempted to have the seat of Navin Ramgoolam declared vacant in 1993. No institution is in danger. Sir Anerood’s perception is a narrow one. What he is targeting is ICAC following the arrest of his son. He is very scared that the Director of Public Prosecutions, an independent creature under the Constitution, might advise prosecution against his son. This is what the public outcries of Sir Anerood boil down to. Does he want institutions to act according to his diktat?

The president of the Republic is not elected but chosen by the Prime Minister and that choice is ratified by a simple majority in Parliament without a debate. Section 64.1 of the Constitution sets out how the President should exercise his functions. That section reads: "In the exercise of his functions under this Constitution or any other law, the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet except in cases where he is required by this Constitution to act in accordance with the advice of, or after consultation with, any person or authority other than the Cabinet or in his own deliberate judgment". Though the President has the power to ask the Cabinet to reconsider an advice he is bound to act on that advice after reconsideration by the cabinet as provided by section 64.2 of the Constitution. Further the "Prime Minister shall keep the President fully informed concerning the general conduct of the government of Mauritius and shall furnish the President with such information as he may request with respect to any particular matter relating to the government of Mauritius".

While the President should protect and defend the Constitution he cannot do so in abstraction and to the exclusion of the obligation placed on him to act according to the advice of the Cabinet that is the elected ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. So inviting the Leader of the Opposition to discuss law and order to the exclusion of the Prime Minister cannot be justified as such. Whatever qualms the President may have about law and order, institutions, the economy it is with the Prime Minister that he should discuss. Unfortunately no one has sensed the danger of the attitude of Sir Anerood. Most of the blogs we see and the strange silence of the so-called independent press are very revealing. Everybody has one aim in view and that is the demise of Navin Ramgoolam and his government. The Réduit has been turned into a second Sun Trust building where meetings are taking place to discuss future political alliances and a remake of the 2000 MMM/MSM alliance led by Sir Anerood. If that remake is being canvassed it amounts to a damning certificate of incompetence against Pravind Jugnauth who, in the eyes of Sigagr Anerood and above all Paul Berenger has been a total flop at the head of the MSM.

The sooner Sir Anerood steps down, the better it is for the country. Whether he can make a come-back as Prime minister is a political issue. Whether legally he can do so might be a judicial issue.