At the age of 62, Ashit Kumar Gungah, former Minister of Commerce and former Chairman of the Mauritius Ports Authority, passed away this morning following heart complications. His funeral will take place this Friday at 10am.
Hénry Rotile
The son of a teacher, Ashit Gungah was educated at the Royal College in Port-Louis before going on to do post-graduate studies at the Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh, India.
Returning to Mauritius at the age of 26 and with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in his pocket, he took up employment with Bonair Yarn Ltd.
In 1998, he entered politics and lent his support to the MSM. A member of the Sun Party’s central committee and political bureau, he won his ticket for constituency number 6, Grand-Baie/Poudre-d’Or, in the 2000 elections under the banner of the MSM-MMM Alliance.
He was elected in second place and became Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Private Secretary. In 2005, he stood for re-election and came fourth.
In 2010, he was elected leader under the PTr/PMSD /MSM banner. He became Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform.
In the 2014 elections, Ashit Gungah was once again elected leader. He became Minister for the second time. He is responsible for Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection.
After his defeat in the November 2019 elections, Ashit Kumar Gungah was appointed Executive Director of the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) in January 2020, before being appointed Chairman of the Mauritius Ports Authority in 2022. He leaves behind a wife and two sons.
