The affidavit sworn by the new minister of foreign affairs has topped the scandal charts. All the accusations that had been chomping at previous parliamentarians’ heels in the last few weeks now fade into relative insignificance. Not that we have forgotten them.
Who could forget that the former minister of environment, caught on tape soliciting a bribe is still sitting in parliament unabashed after he has been charged with corruption?
Who could forget the Machiavellian plan concocted by PPS Thierry Henry and his wife to escape the breathalyser test and therefore justice, after killing a young man on the road?
And – gosh! – who could forget Youshreen Choomka’s case, which the Prime Minister’s Office has still not had the decency to comment on?
All this almost sink into oblivion with the latest blockbuster, which unveils the hypocrisy and insidiousness of those who pretend to be working in our interest.
While Minister of Financial Services Roshi Bhadain was sitting in parliament buffed, shined and looking like a million bucks, the ICAC was going through an affidavit sworn by his colleague from foreign affairs, Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, accusing him of manipulating institutions, using dirty tactics and “operating like the KGB”! The minister of foreign affairs is, in other words, saying that he does not trust the institutions of this country because they are used by his colleague in government to settle scores with his opponents and those he sees as a hurdle to his gargantuan ambition.
Raj Dayal, charged with bribery, goes even further by saying, “It’s clear that a mafia has infiltrated institutions and the country.” A beautiful statement from a government member!
Equally beautiful is the fact that after filing his affidavit, the accused and accusing minister of foreign affairs left court and headed for the national assembly where he sat next to his colleagues – business as usual. And the prime minister, toughing it out, stuck to his script, answering uncomfortable questions, appearing to have no objection to any of this!
The ‘KGB’ accused minister, still pretending all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds, found nothing better to say than to quote Mahatma Gandhi. The poor old man’s head must by now be spinning from all the turning in his grave since the beginning of this trench warfare.
Without in any way underplaying the serious allegations against Lutchmeenaraidoo, who has to answer the ICAC’s and our questions about the circumstances and purpose of the loan. Without excusing a minister, who was quiet for as long as the “KGB methods” were being used against others, what is extremely serious in this case is the fact that a minister of the republic has confirmed everyone’s worst fears and suspicions: that we are in the presence of a regime which has taken over institutions and where these have been used to control and terrorise anyone who does not fall into line. This verdict does not come from the press, the opposition or “anti-patriotic” journalists but from a senior minister himself! If he does not have faith in our institutions, who will?
With the nauseating smell of scandals permeating the air we breathe every day; with suspicion of corruption and abuse of power tugging at the bases of our power structures and at those we elected to work for the country; with key figures in government soon to topple taking down with them whatever is left of our credibility as a nation, how are we going to deal with the challenges facing this country: soaring unemployment, a worsening law-and-order situation, lack of economic growth, drying up investment…
In this war of the Titans, does anyone give two hoots about the ants scurrying for safety? The sad answer is No. We are on our own! A collateral damage!
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