We seem to have this terrible obsession with the figure 4%, the growth rate that we have been aiming at for many years and missed more often than not. We now have politicians telling us that Coronavirus will bring about a decrease in our economic growth of between 0.1 and 0.3 %. If only that was true and reflected the terrible reality that we will be facing soon....
Let me explain: We import far, far more than we export and it is a weird happenstance that the countries we import the most from are the ones who import the least from us, for example, China, India, and the countries we import our oil from to the tune of tens of billions of rupees every year.
We export textiles, but the main raw materials come from China, and China will soon be unable to supply us; we import most of our pharmaceuticals from India, which obtains 80% of its raw material for these drugs from China, and China will soon stop/drastically reduce this export. We import a lot of our vegetables from India and Africa, but these countries are themselves suffering from shortages due to floods and plagues of locusts.
Get the picture? Soon, we won't be able to even import many of the things we are used to seeing on our market stalls and in the shops. As for Air Mauritius, that huge albatross around our necks primarily because of the thieves that the politicians of ALL parties have nominated to its board, remember that one big UK Airline, Flybe, threw in the towel yesterday, and many analysts predict that Flybe's failure could herald the beginning of many more airline casualties.
Sale of sugar is now drastically low, tourist numbers are down although it would be foolish to blame only Coronavirus for this, as our traditional welcome for tourists has now been replaced by thieves and hooligans turning them into their favourite targets for easy money.
Mauritius has now become too expensive and too dangerous for foreign visitors, and you would need to be an absolute idiot in order to ignore the terrible damage being done to our tourism industry as a result of crime, high prices, and often a service that leaves a lot to be desired.
And on top of all this, we have someone who looks like an erect penis who is now our Minister for Tourism, with a very stupid zavoka, Nilen Sipakisamy now a senior apparatchik in the tourism industry primarily because he is the bosom pal of the ex air hostess, Ken Arian, and he is the proud owner of a very long tongue...
So, you are still stupidly hopeful about our economy? Are you the type who has an erection when you see Mo Ibrahim rank us as the top country for "Good Governance" in Africa despite our painful awareness of the terrible corruption and nepotism on the island, and you fail to see the incongruity in having low Direct Foreign Investment despite our superlative ranking in the Ease of Doing Business league? Keep dreaming, because no psychotropic drugs have yet been invented to cure you of this terrible delusion.
So, watch out for real inflation shooting up soon. I am talking about the price of food and the basic, essential stuff that we all need, and not the discreditable official inflation rate based on fuck knows what.
The increase in old age pension, the minimum wage, and all the other freebies given for the elections will soon look like a poisoned chalice when people are faced with empty shelves in our supermarkets...and high prices for what is still available.
Eric Ng is absolutely right to raise the alarm bells about our growth rate. Thank God he is not like those "economists" trotted out on a regular basis by rags like le defi and other 'newspapers' who love to tell us how everything is wonderful in Mauritius, and how "le jeune Pravine Jugnauth" is a real patriot who is taking this country to new glories...Kan fesse pou koumans saigner kan ena pou asseter ban zafer biento ki zot pou truver!
My personal view, and I am sticking my neck here: I see a Growth rate of between 2.5 and 3 for the next financial year, And I am being quite generous about this. As they say, any growth under 4 % is unlikely to absorb the rather large army of youngsters into our labour force, so imagine a growth rate of less than 3%....
Pravind Jugnatuh has asked, rather politely, for his ministers to cut their budget by 10%. He ought to start with his own ministry, especially the huge powers of patronage that he enjoys as PM. How about cancelling all missions for everyone, including politicians of ALL parties, Syndikalis, Civil Servants, police officers, in fact everyone who believes that "mission" is the ideal pre coital word guaranteed to provide a "Big Bang" with lots of per diem flowing between their legs?
How about stopping the purchase of limousines with tax payers' money and telling the good for nothing, incredibly well paid idiots to buy their own cars? How about stopping that insanity known as travelling allowance which in effect rewards people for polluting our land? Why do we still have that nonsense known as 'passage allowance', a relic from the colonial days that I am sure no longer exists in other ex colonies? How about stopping this expensive nonsense of free business class travels/free phone calls/free everything for all the idiots nominated by you?
How about drastically reducing the pay of all those being handsomely rewarded by the taxpayer simply because you, as PM, feels the need to reward your family and friends with gifts that we pay for? How about reducing your own pay by at least 50%, our poor, jeune premier ministre, on nearly Rs 600,000 +all sorts of stupid 'benefits' provided for entirely by the taxpayer?
But he won't do it. Why? Because his Chamchas really believe they are like L'Oreal and worth every cent that they take from us. In other words, parasites of the worst type.
Finally, here is something to warm the cockles of your hearts: This year, we, the taxpayer, will be giving Rs 102 millions to ex parliamentarians. Etienne Sinatanbou, the gorgeous, incredibly good looking ex minister has received a lump sum of almost Rs 3 millions and a monthly pension of over Rs 50,000 until the day he dies....pro rata, of course. Isn't this wonderful?
The shape of things to come...
Let me explain: We import far, far more than we export and it is a weird happenstance that the countries we import the most from are the ones who import the least from us, for example, China, India, and the countries we import our oil from to the tune of tens of billions of rupees every year.
We export textiles, but the main raw materials come from China, and China will soon be unable to supply us; we import most of our pharmaceuticals from India, which obtains 80% of its raw material for these drugs from China, and China will soon stop/drastically reduce this export. We import a lot of our vegetables from India and Africa, but these countries are themselves suffering from shortages due to floods and plagues of locusts.
Get the picture? Soon, we won't be able to even import many of the things we are used to seeing on our market stalls and in the shops. As for Air Mauritius, that huge albatross around our necks primarily because of the thieves that the politicians of ALL parties have nominated to its board, remember that one big UK Airline, Flybe, threw in the towel yesterday, and many analysts predict that Flybe's failure could herald the beginning of many more airline casualties.
Sale of sugar is now drastically low, tourist numbers are down although it would be foolish to blame only Coronavirus for this, as our traditional welcome for tourists has now been replaced by thieves and hooligans turning them into their favourite targets for easy money.
Mauritius has now become too expensive and too dangerous for foreign visitors, and you would need to be an absolute idiot in order to ignore the terrible damage being done to our tourism industry as a result of crime, high prices, and often a service that leaves a lot to be desired.
And on top of all this, we have someone who looks like an erect penis who is now our Minister for Tourism, with a very stupid zavoka, Nilen Sipakisamy now a senior apparatchik in the tourism industry primarily because he is the bosom pal of the ex air hostess, Ken Arian, and he is the proud owner of a very long tongue...
So, you are still stupidly hopeful about our economy? Are you the type who has an erection when you see Mo Ibrahim rank us as the top country for "Good Governance" in Africa despite our painful awareness of the terrible corruption and nepotism on the island, and you fail to see the incongruity in having low Direct Foreign Investment despite our superlative ranking in the Ease of Doing Business league? Keep dreaming, because no psychotropic drugs have yet been invented to cure you of this terrible delusion.
So, watch out for real inflation shooting up soon. I am talking about the price of food and the basic, essential stuff that we all need, and not the discreditable official inflation rate based on fuck knows what.
The increase in old age pension, the minimum wage, and all the other freebies given for the elections will soon look like a poisoned chalice when people are faced with empty shelves in our supermarkets...and high prices for what is still available.
Eric Ng is absolutely right to raise the alarm bells about our growth rate. Thank God he is not like those "economists" trotted out on a regular basis by rags like le defi and other 'newspapers' who love to tell us how everything is wonderful in Mauritius, and how "le jeune Pravine Jugnauth" is a real patriot who is taking this country to new glories...Kan fesse pou koumans saigner kan ena pou asseter ban zafer biento ki zot pou truver!
My personal view, and I am sticking my neck here: I see a Growth rate of between 2.5 and 3 for the next financial year, And I am being quite generous about this. As they say, any growth under 4 % is unlikely to absorb the rather large army of youngsters into our labour force, so imagine a growth rate of less than 3%....
Pravind Jugnatuh has asked, rather politely, for his ministers to cut their budget by 10%. He ought to start with his own ministry, especially the huge powers of patronage that he enjoys as PM. How about cancelling all missions for everyone, including politicians of ALL parties, Syndikalis, Civil Servants, police officers, in fact everyone who believes that "mission" is the ideal pre coital word guaranteed to provide a "Big Bang" with lots of per diem flowing between their legs?
How about stopping the purchase of limousines with tax payers' money and telling the good for nothing, incredibly well paid idiots to buy their own cars? How about stopping that insanity known as travelling allowance which in effect rewards people for polluting our land? Why do we still have that nonsense known as 'passage allowance', a relic from the colonial days that I am sure no longer exists in other ex colonies? How about stopping this expensive nonsense of free business class travels/free phone calls/free everything for all the idiots nominated by you?
How about drastically reducing the pay of all those being handsomely rewarded by the taxpayer simply because you, as PM, feels the need to reward your family and friends with gifts that we pay for? How about reducing your own pay by at least 50%, our poor, jeune premier ministre, on nearly Rs 600,000 +all sorts of stupid 'benefits' provided for entirely by the taxpayer?
But he won't do it. Why? Because his Chamchas really believe they are like L'Oreal and worth every cent that they take from us. In other words, parasites of the worst type.
Finally, here is something to warm the cockles of your hearts: This year, we, the taxpayer, will be giving Rs 102 millions to ex parliamentarians. Etienne Sinatanbou, the gorgeous, incredibly good looking ex minister has received a lump sum of almost Rs 3 millions and a monthly pension of over Rs 50,000 until the day he dies....pro rata, of course. Isn't this wonderful?
The shape of things to come...