Dangerous and criminal amateurism of the present government on climate and ecological issues.
When Climate and Ecological Crisis is left in the hand of, and is being tackled by, political monarchs and economic oligarchs…the result will obviously be status quo, and more probably, ends up in catastrophes, as witnessed by the recent Wakashio ecocide.
Rezistans ek Alternativ being the main ecological party of Mauritius, and having fought for a Climate Change Bill to address the Climate Crisis, finds that the Climate Change Bill, now at the National Assembly, exposes the dangerous and criminal amateurism of the present government and its policies on climate and ecological issues.
The treatment of Climate Change, the biggest ever threats to human society and the planet, a life and death issue for Mauritius, reflects the perilous lack of understanding of the Jugnauth’s Regime and his Minister of Environment, of critical ecological and existential issues.
Addressing Climate Crisis requires a profound and radical shift in paradigm. Such a socio-ecological transformation cannot be addressed within the prism of the ‘business as usual’ parameters and by the exclusion of the very people whose lives are being affected because of the climate crisis.
The dominant system has failed on a planetary level. In Mauritius, the monarchs and oligarchs of Mauritius, have failed to propose fundamental change to address the threats facing Mauritius and its people. The present Climate Change Bill, is sadly, an example of this failure.
In a nutshell, the Climate Change Bill presented in the National Assembly, this Tuesday, 3rd November institutes a highly top-down non-participatory structure, creates multi-layered state-economic oligarchs bureaucratic monsters, excludes the peoples, workers, small planters, fisher folks, sea people, and vital democratic structures such as Village & District Councils, Municipalities and National Assembly members. Any reference to protection of bio-diversities is only a mockery and meaningless.
The Climate Change Bill does not address the Climate Emergency & Crisis moments we are already in. Its pro-capitalist bias representation, reflects the failed institutional framework and policies, adopted since long.
The Climate Change Bill creates a new a multi-layered bureaucratic monsters.
The Climate Change Bill starts by creating, in parallel to present Cabinet of Ministers, an Inter Ministerial Council On Climate Change, regrouping 21 out of 27 Ministers.
It then creates a new Department of Climate Change, under the existing Ministry of Climate.
A Climate Change Committee, consisting of 33 people, mainly 26 representatives from each of the Ministries, Departments and other bodies, is then established. While employers’ of the private sector is included, employees are excluded! This statutory creation, the Climate Change Committee, shall every 2 years, submit to the Minister a progress report.
The Bill goes on, to create another statutory instances: to now assist the Department of Climate Change in the formulation of a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan, which shall be reviewed every at least every 5 years. This new creature consists of 30 members – State institutions and …Association des Hôteliers de Restaurateurs de I’île Maurice & Business Mauritius.
The last invention of the Bill is yet to create a new space to formulate critical Climate “Mitigation” policies. It consists of 42 representatives of the State & others, with a more powerful representation of the economic oligarchs, the magnate of the hotel industry and landlords the country [Business Mauritius, Association des Hoteliers de Restaurateurs de I’île Maurice (AHRIM), Omnicane Management & Consultancy Ltd, Terragri Ltd & Alteo Agri Ltd]. Not even a single NGO, forms part of such a critical policy formulation instances on Climate Change Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan!
Explanation needed from Jugnauth Regime on the exclusion of people…..
Can Jugnauth-Ramano explain the rational of the bias representation of social/class forces in the structures they are creating?
Can government explain why village councils, district councils and municipal councils have been excluded?
Can they explain why members of the national assembly, from the opposition parties, have been excluded in policy formulation on such a vital issue as climate change?
Can they explain the exclusion of small planters, vegetable growers, workers, sea people and their organizations, small scale producers, women, youth in the formulations of critical climate change policies?
Can Jugnauth-Ramano explain why the agenda of the Climate Change Bill, does not reflects the emergency and realities we are already living in? e.g drought, coastal erosion, flash floods, heavily warm temperatures affecting people working outdoor, ocean acidification, high possibilities of heavy cyclones, just to mentioned a few.
Can Jugnauth-Ramano explain why so much institutions are being created, while the very existence of such institutions, its agenda’s and pro-corporate composition, are biased and one sided?
Eye wash amendments to State Land & Pas Géométriques Act
At first glance, when one studies the amendments proposed to be brought to the Pas Géométriques Act and State Land Act, it might seems a step ahead. Unfortunately this is not the correct picture of the situation.
The provision to the effect that “A person to whom a lease is granted …shall not alter or change any marsh, lake or sand dunes and mangroves of the State land…or Pas Géométriques” is a ‘bull dog sans dent’. These kind of provisions are already mentioned in laws and also mentioned when granting EIA Licenses. They have not stopped the alteration or change any marsh, lake or sand dunes and mangroves, as testified in cases in which Rezistans ek Alternativ are involved. Three use cases are annexed below
The Climate Change Bill once again exposes the failure of the Jugnauth regime. Indeed, only an eco-socialist alternative can address the climate and ecological challenges facing the people of Mauritius and the Indian Ocean. In complementary to an alternative climate change bill, a nature caring government would have proposed a fundamental amendment to include Nature Right in our Constitution.
Ashok Subron (57914312) & David Sauvage (54281832)
Rezistans ek Alternativ, 3rd November 2020