In his speech at the annual congress, Navin Ramgoolam insisted on the importance of coming up with profound changes, “radical changes”. He focused on two institutions, the police and the judiciary. “We need reforms,” he said. On the judiciary, Navin Ramgoolam said that a constitutional court is essential. “We saw it with the election petitions. It is not acceptable that we had to wait 3 years for them to be heard. Because it is the legitimacy of a government that is at stake,” he added.
The PTr leader also mentioned the state of the district courts. “There are no facilities. People have to wait a long time. The magistrates do not work in a proper environment. The same goes for the police. There is a lack of technology. It is therefore impossible to deliver judgments in a reasonable time,” he said.
Navin Ramgoolam also mentioned another important aspect. He said that appointments in the judiciary must be reviewed. “An employee should not be dependent on the government. Even the Judicial and Legal Service Commission must be more transparent,” he said.
He explained that a young lawyer who is not brilliant can get hired in the prosecutor’s office and one day becomes a magistrate and judge. “It’s a bad system. It needs to be reviewed. It creates frustration. Elsewhere, great lawyers can become magistrates. He explained that the revision of the system will be the mission of the next Attorney General he will appoint. “It will be someone who will make a difference. He will give independent advice to the government. And it will not be just anyone!
For Navin Ramgoolam, the whole system must be reviewed. It is not acceptable, according to him, that the Prime Minister gives orders to the police. He said that the CCID has become “a political weapon”.
“No alliance with the MSM”
Navin Ramgoolam stressed the importance of bringing people together. But he said that there is a rumor that he wants to refute. “Some people say that there can be an alliance between the MSM and the PTr. Read my lips. Never! Never,” he said. He made it clear during his speech that in any arrangement, the Labour Party will be the engine He also refuted rumors that he might enter the State House once in power. “That will not be the case. You can’t ask a general to fight and, after victory, tell him to go and rest,” he said, while pointing out that there are many in the PTr who can take over.
