The leader of the MMM faced the press this morning. On the political front, he said that the priority is to “consolidate the L’Espoir platform”. However, he added, in case of municipal elections, the PTr, the MMM, the PMSD and the Rassemblement Mauricien have “agreed” to run together. “But general elections are a different matter,” he said.
He added that the confusion surrounding this agreement was not the fault of the MMM. “The Tuesday before, after our meeting, Arvin Boolell gave a factual account. However, he went on radio afterwards as a Labour representative. And there he said that Ramgoolam will be presented as prime minister,” said Paul Bérenger. The MMM leader explained that therefore he made the situation clear. “I want to reiterate the fact that our priority is to consolidate the platform of Hope. We are giving the PTr time to concentrate on its congress on 28 August. After that, we will see,” he said.
Fuel: Bérenger calls for price cuts
During a press conference this morning, the MMM leader once again called for the government to lower the price of petrol and diesel. For him, the authorities “cannot continue to ignore” the decline of more than 20% of the price of a barrel on the world market. For Paul Bérenger, it is essential to review the taxes applied to each litre of fuel. He explained that petrol is imported at a low price but it is the taxes that make this commodity so expensive at the pump.
He also mentioned the delegation that is currently in Iran to explore the possibility of sourcing fuel but also food products. Paul Bérenger deplored the fact that since the expiry of the Mangalore Refineries agreement, Mauritius has been sourcing fuel from brokers in the Gulf. This does not surprise him. “The MSM is the kingdom of commissions,” he quipped. But for him, vigilance must be the order of the day. “I am not in favour of a boycott of Iran. I know that Iran exports oil despite the US sanctions. But this country exports mainly crude oil whereas in Mauritius we need refined products,” he said.
