L’Espoir is calling for the examinations to be conducted in 2 stages. Xavier-Luc Duval was very clear on the subject. Basically, the leaders of the platform say that they have taken note of the resumption of face-to-face classes. Xavier-Luc Duval said that not all children will be ready for the exams in April. Hence, his appeal for the exams to be held in 2 stages. In April, the exams should be for those who are ready and in November, it should be for those who are disadvantaged by the system. Nando Bodha wondered whether all the conditions are in place for the resumption of classes to take place in the best possible conditions.
For many middle-class families, shopping has become a nightmare, says Xavier-Luc Duval. He held a press conference this morning along with the other leaders of the L’Espoir platform. This situation is due, according to Duval, to the drastic increase in prices. He maintains that there is an impoverishment of the population and acknowledges that this is due to the health crisis. But he argues that in Mauritius, the main reason is the “massive devaluation” of the rupee against the three major currencies. Against the British pound, the rupee has devalued by 25% since the 2019 elections. Against the Euro, the devaluation is around 21% and against the Dollar, the rupee has devalued by 20%.
He said that a call has been made to stop the devaluation of the rupee. “This was done on purpose to inflate the revenue of the Bank of Mauritius, so that it could give money to the government. This also allows government to get more revenues through VAT.” For him, the Ministry of Finance must recapitalise the reserves of the Bank of Mauritius as the BoM is in a state of paralysis. It can no longer defend the rupee. The tragedy for him is that if the rupee appreciates, the Bank of Mauritius will find itself in a situation of bankruptcy.
Xavier-Luc Duval also said, referring to the announced increase in the price of rice, that the monopoly in the field of imports must be broken.
Bérenger’s appeal to Rahman
“Don’t flip-flop! Accept a recount in all constituencies where there are irregularities!” This was the call made by Paul Berenger to the electoral commissioner at a press conference this morning. The MMM leader was alongside the other leaders of the l’Espoir platform. He hailed what he described as a “very good judgement by the Supreme Court” in the case of Jenny Adebiro’s election petition in No. 19, that is, why he asked Irfan Rahman to have the same attitude as he had during the election petition trial in constituency No. 19 during the trial of No. 1. The other leaders of the L’Espoir platform also commented on this issue. Xavier-Luc Duval said that everything must be done to restore the population’s confidence in the electoral system. Paul Bérenger, for his part, indicated that the Electoral Commissioner will be judged on his attitude during the trial related to the electoral petition in No. 1 and in the other constituencies. Paul Bérenger also spoke of the unity of the Opposition whereby he said that the leaders of the l’Espoir platform met on Thursday and this Saturday. A meeting is scheduled with Navin Ramgoolam later next week. This was not possible this week as the leader of the Reds just received his second dose of vaccine on Friday.
