The answer, predictably, is nothing. Dinesh Ramjuttun, for he is the ex minister mentioned in such a hideously oblique manner by Sithanen, did not 'take' state land; he was given several acres of prime land by his erstwhile friends in government, in line with all governments' shamelessly corrupt practice of treating land belonging to all of us as their own private domain. If he only paid Rs1 million three years ago and has now resold them for Rs50 millions, the following conclusions can be safely reached from a transaction that plumbs new depths of obscenity:

1/ The land was grossly undervalued in the first instance, and the Minister of Finance (through the Government Chief Valuer) must take full responsibility for disposing of the family jewels so cheaply.

2/ Ramjuttun could not have sold what effectively is not his to sell without the express permission of the Ministry of Housing and Lands. Of course, no minister will resign over such wanton dereliction of duty; Mauritian ministers hardly ever do. And when they do, they make sure that the letter of resignation goes to the wrong person so that in effect they have not resigned at all!

But the fact that Sithanen also mentions that no taxes were levied on this transaction can only mean one thing: this socialist Paradise Island is one of the few countries in the world where shares can be bought and sold without one cent going to the Treasury. It would appear that Ramjuttun has made full use of this subsidy to the rich by selling shares of his company to Anil Caullee of Fire Mount Company. Dinesh Ramjuttun is now Rs 50 million richer not through hard work, a fortuitous inheritance, or winning the lottery every month; his windfall is entirely due to his membership of a political class that seems interested in only one objective: the enrichment of its members, their relatives, and their friends by any means possible.

Sithanen's whinge about Ramjuttun's patently immoral gains is just hot air, and is reminiscent of the schoolboy in the playground pointing the finger at his friend following a row whilst knowing very well that old friendships will be resumed in the near future.

There are numerous examples of political agents benefiting massively from the sale of our land. It is therefore nauseating to see politicians complaining about something that they themselves are wholly responsible for. No proper democracy would ever tolerate such blatant pilfering of public property in order to turn execrable individuals into overnight multi millionaires.

But I am grateful to Sithanen for unwittingly putting Ramjuttun back in the limelight that he monopolized for a few months following his unceremonious sacking as advisor to the Prime Minister. Remember how he used to regale us with stories of corruption involving ministers, all voiced with a bravado and machismo that seemed rather inappropriate coming from someone like him? He has been at various times a fervent supporter of all the major political parties, and this shameless opportunism has never prevented him from loudly and regularly proclaiming that he is servi nou pei. Self publicity on such a massive scale and Sithanen's jibe about his recent good fortune has prodded me to delve deeper into Ramjuttun's background, and to determine whether this man is blessed with an inordinate amount of luck or whether he has an incredible ability to exploit the fact that venality and greed remain the common denominators with most politicians of all parties.

In the 1989/90 Budget speech, Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo announced that the National Pensions Fund would become directly involved in the construction of housing estates. The NPF has always been managed by the Ministry of finance except during May 1990 and May 1992 when Lutchmeenaraidoo decided to transfer its management to the Ministry of Social Security under the leadership of Minister Ramjuttun. 50 acres of land along Icery Road, Forest Side and under tea cultivation was identified as suitable for housing purposes. Here are the salient points of what became known as La Vigie project:

1/ Over a billion rupees were earmarked for that project.

2/ A chap by the name of Bungaroo represented the Ministry of Works as Principal Architect at a Technical Committee set up by Ramjuttun.

3/ Ramjuttun then appointed a Tender Committee, which Jocelyne Minerve, Social Security Minister in 1996, found to be "in dire contradiction with the provision of the Financial Management Manual which stipulates that all matters of tender should be referred to the then Tender Board for approval and eventual award".

4/ Invitations to tender notice appeared in the local press on 7^th February 1990, and the Technical Committee decided only a week later, on 15^th February 1990, that the firm Bungaroo/Danjoux Associates would be appointed as consultant for the whole project. Who says bureaucracy is stifling enterprise in Paradise Island?

5/ Bungaroo/Danjoux Associates was registered only 2 days before being awarded the contract. Bungaroo resigned from the Civil Service on 14^th February 1990, which means that he was still a civil servant on 13^th February when his firm Bungaroo/ Danjoux was registered—clearly an act of highly questionable ethics.

6/ Bungaroo/Danjoux Associates received Rs 10.9 million for 'pre contract services', and were appointed as Consultant despite being the only firm to respond to the tender notice.

7/ Letters of intent and awards were issued to 4 contractors on 3^rd August 1990 to the value of nearly Rs 800 millions.

8/ Barely a month later, in September 1990, the government decided to suspend the implementation of La Vigie project.

9/ The NPF had to disburse Rs 54 million as compensation to the 4 contractors, including Rs 4 million to Bungaroo/Danjoux Associates.

Jocelyne Minerve made the following comments in Parliament in 1996: "...the then government has acted ultra vires to the provisions of the National Pensions Act by embarking on such a project...it is shocking to note that the Ministry decided to embark upon the project in which more than Rs 1 billion would be spent without having first carried out a proper feasibility study…it is obvious that the project would have been a tremendous catastrophe for the NPF…I am sure Government is ready either for a Select Committee or a Commission of Inquiry to look into all aspects of this issue...le pillage de ces fonds appartenant aux employes de ce pays choque effectivement ce gouvernement et il ne fait pas de doute que ce gouvernement va considerer cette eventualite(commission of inquiry).."

Twelve years later, and no Commission of Inquiry has taken place. Why? Your guess is as good as mine, which veers towards the strong suspicion that there is a hidden code of conduct between the major political parties which can be summarized thus: Do what you want when you are in power; steal, purloin, embezzle, and defraud as you wish; we in opposition will make the odd noise now and again, but not too loudly. But you had better do the same when we are in power. Si to dir lor nou, nou pou dire lor toi! Capiche?

On 27th May 1996, Harish Boodhoo made an official complaint (OB1344/96) at Phoenix police station and his statement was witnessed by DCI Parsad and ACP Beeharry. Someone has sent me a copy of that statement and it details at length the activities of Ramjuttun and his amazing leap from lower middle class in 1986 to multimillionaire status by 1990. In 1986, he was apparently residing in 2 small rooms in his brother's house at Triolet. And yet the 1998 Sik Yuen Commission apparently found that he owned substantial land and property in South Africa. It is also worth noting that, according to Boodhoo, he owed the MCCB Limited (now liquidated) a total of almost Rs 29 million in 2002 and the public auction of immoveable property to partially offset that loan resulted in his properties being bought by…his children for less than Rs 6 million.

I am reliably informed that Harish Boodhoo has recently repeated these complaints to the Commissioner of Police, ICAC (I could have told him that would have been a total waste of time), the Financial Intelligence Unit, the MRA, the Prime Minister, Rama Valayden, Rashid Beebeejaun, Indira Seebun, and several other people who are paid from public funds to ensure that taxpayers' money does not end up fraudulently in some people's pockets. I am also told that none of these fine, upstanding citizens have even bothered to acknowledge receipt of his complaint. Perhaps that paragon of virtue and probity, Paul Berenger, might ask a question in parliament about the individual who until recently he considered to be premier ministrable as part of his permanent, desperate quest for power…

The tree of public service has been so poisoned by the political class that the noxious mentality of selfishness and personal gain is now all pervasive. If the authorities continue to fail to investigate La Vigie scandal 12 years after the Minister of Social Security solemnly pledged that a Commission of Inquiry would be instituted 'to look into all aspects of this issue', the least that they could do is to take the favourite course of action of the institutional bully whenever the truth is told in public: charge Harish Boodhoo with the dictator's favourite piece of repressive legislation, of spreading false news'.

In any event, what is stopping Boodhoo from putting money where his mouth is and initiating a private prosecution, or asking for a judicial review of the government's comatose stance towards blatant corruption? Who knows? The DPP might take a rest from his habit of issuing nolle prosequi and instead take over the prosecution on behalf of the taxpayers whose money was so scandalously squandered by La Vigie project.

In the meantime, the fruits of the poisoned tree will continue to be gleefully harvested by the immoral, corrupt chancers of the world.

R.A.J.
Email: servipei@yahoo.com