Editorial – Rajen Valayden
NOTHING TO SHOW!
The milestone of 100 days in office of political leaders, took on symbolic significance since the first term of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). The unprecedented achievements by the 32nd President of the United States of America within the first 3 months , steering his nation out of the Great Depression is considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a freshly elected government.
On 10th January 2025, experts from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) published an insight on “ How the First 100 Days can define a government “. Interestingly they observe “For political leaders, the first 100 days in office represent a critical window to set the tone, establish priorities and build momentum for their government. Often, this period is the culmination of years – sometimes decades – of campaigning and strategising. Yet for most leaders, the transition to governing presents an entirely new challenge: navigating complex government machinery, aligning competing priorities and delivering tangible results” .
While Franklin Delano Roosevelt brought fundamental changes through massive government actions, laying the foundation for the New Deal, the first 100 days of the “Alliance du Changement” in office has been filled with emptiness offering No Deal at all and nothing to show.
The closest this government would get to FDR’s team of 1932 is probably by stretching the translation of the Democratic slogan “Happy Days Are Here Again” to the mantra of my delusional friend, Ashok Subron “ Lazwa partou “. He is definitely one amongst the many MPs still suffering from “elections hangover”. Which brings us to the foremost blunder of this government. By campaigning relentlessly against the outgone parties they disregard the fact that the landslide victory of 11th November 2024 was solely due the WILL of the people and not the WIT of elected MPs. A WILL forged out of 10 years of uninterrupted suffering to which we do not need any reminder. The thirst for justice can only be quenched through results and not media headlines.
Effective communication is another blatant concern. Back in those days, Roosevelt had recourse to ingenious radio broadcasts” The Fireside Chats” to address the American people ( which decades later inspired Modi’s Mann ki Baat). The content of the shows was meant to inspire, share ideas as to secure public support. Which is light years away from the recent lousy interviews, media spins and PR stunts depicting helplessness, resulting in further dimming the prospect for change and nurture widespread cynicism.
Two interesting observations by the TBI experts pertain to the role of the leader and importance of well-oiled and efficient machinery. They believe :
- “The Leader needs a strong centre, a centre capable of initiating and carrying through change in an effective and timely manner… But that strong centre won’t happen of its own accord. Organising it is the Leader’s first task.”
- “Equally important are your machinery of government, senior civil servants and agencies. Leaders should assess whether existing government structures support their priorities, and make necessary adjustments. This might include restructuring cabinet committees, creating efficient reporting processes or establishing a Delivery Unit to monitor progress on key priorities. Set up the government machine so you can drive it; don’t let it drive you”
While the country stands crippled in the darkest corner of its history, the greatest dilemma is precisely, finding the right people with the brains, brawns and balls to tug the nation off the reefs and steer our children towards a bright future. The only way to jumpstart our ship would be – Brutal Disruption.
What we have witnessed over the last 100 days depicts how deep the spirits of status quo are anchored. Appointment of the clumsy little chap at Le Reduit, merely to smoothen the contours of ethnic tribalism, naming the Man Friday of the private sector as Governor of Central Bank while enabling him to act as the backseat Minister of Finance are, sufficient indications, change is nowhere near.
Experts of the TBI rightly underline the relevance of a strong civil service in driving the vision of the government. There used to be a time when our civil servants would toil everyday and hold their kermess once a year. Now it’s the other way round ! The rot is such that any attempt to revive would be like performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a decomposed corpse. Adding insult to injury, we have advisors / core personnel highly intoxicated by power, running errands for the same dark forces we valiantly fought against, over the last decade and even perduring the racketeering of entrepreneurs. As American author Tony Robbins enjoys saying “By changing nothing, nothing changes” .
The decision of the cabinet to direct the State Law Office (SLO) to service government institutions is a very interesting case which requires a study of its own. The SLO reminds us of the rats in the hull of a ship, gliding from one end to the other . Real change would have been to investigate every single advice tendered by the SLO over the last decade. Were they not the same who participated in the drafting / vetting / advocating the laws / regulations which this current government described 100 days back as “anti-constitutional” ? No change or reform would be possible without a complete overhaul of the judicial machinery . In years ahead we will still be having representatives of the SLO, AG , SG sitting on boards during their working hours, minting hundreds of thousands in renumeration, participating in making the wrong decisions and not only will they be spared of any guilt, their advice will be sought to punish the wrongdoers ! If that is not the purest example of ABSURDITY, then what is ?
Even if the current cuvée of MPs is an improvement over the last batch, we should reasonably concur the national assembly 2014 – 2024 was far from being a benchmark. At their best, the current bunch would still be dwarfs when pitted alongside the likes of Sir Harold Walter, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam or Sir Harilal Vaghjee. Like dozens of our current MPs, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was initiated into freemasonry, which many of his brothers affirm had been instrumental in crafting his vision, values and valour. Listening to the speeches of our own “enlightened” MPs on the government program, we would expect some spine, substance and shine. Yet, despite the pitch darkness, not the slightest gleam. What has consistently remained unchanged is the obsession of MPs to butter up their leaders.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed 77 laws within the first 100 days in office . Each geared at improving the social and economic life of his fellow citizens, empowering trade unions and upholding democratic values. Had he been one of us today definitely he would have advocated, the introduction of a new law aiming to restructure the public service with clear provisions to empower and make accountable every member of the public service. It is not a question of choice but one of urgency to churn the legion of vassals into an army of efficient doers.
Surely in a bid to ascertain upholding of democratic principles and rule of law, Franklin Delano Roosevelt would have introduced the much needed Public Interest Litigation Act, allowing the people to stand for what is in their interest without having to put up with the burden of establishing a locus standi.
Though the euphoria has quickly fizzled out, the positive for Navin Ramgoolam would be, there are still 1725 days remaining in his mandate. In all fairness to him, stepping into his shoes given all the constraints is indeed a tall order. The infights amongst his close aides within 7 days of taking office, does not really help. At least Pravind Jugnauth enjoyed 7 years of serenity before his team fell apart. While Navin Ramgoolam is fishing for “Trust”, the nation is eager for “Thrust”.
His first action should be a string of decisions which would override the clear image of total confusion sent out over the last 100 days. Convincing entrepreneurs of his resolve to drive change, comforting citizens on safety of our streets should feature high on his priority list.
Achievements of Navin Ramgoolam would be assessed the day he vacates his office. Driving through the Jardin de la Compagnie and recollecting how different the scenery appears from what he had witnessed when moving into the PMO ; No more street children, no more homeless people, no more drug peddlers, no more women pawning their body for a meal, only … happy faces. That is what I call LEGACY !
