Abhijit Naskar À La Réunion, La Pandémie Aggrave Les Inégalités Sociales
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65th Year -- No. 3565 Tuesday, April 7, 2020 www.mauritiustimes.com facebook.com/mauritius.times 12 Pages - ePaper MAURITIUS TIMES "You can revive economy, but not a corpse." -- Abhijit Naskar À la Réunion, la pandémie aggrave les inégalités sociales Open letter to Hon K Jagutpal Minister of Health Par Marie Thiann-Bo Morel Université de la Réunion & Wellness * Voir page 3 By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee *See page 2 Spotlights La sauvagerie dans l'air… Covid-19: Some things good, Some things bad La déforestation pour des raisons économiques, l'élevage de bétail qui finit dans les assiettes des restaurants fast food pour le plaisir gustatif des uns et des autres, l'exportation a privé le virus de la vie sauvage d'une évolution naturelle dans son habitat Par Nita Chicooree-Mercier *Voir page 12 *See page 4 Mauritius Times Tuesday, April 7 , 2020 www.mauritiustimes.com Edit Page facebook.com/mauritius.times 2 Covid-19 Solidarity Fund Open letter to Hon K Jagutpal Minister here is no denying that the will benefit from them and whether coronavirus pandemic has these funds will serve to beef up the of Health & Wellness Tcreated an economic crisis "like Plan de Soutien - in effect a stimulus Dear Hon Minister way. no other" as Kristalina Georgieva, package by another name? Dr First of all, may I wish you I must also managing director of the IMF, put it at Ancharaz also said that the govern- bon courage in coping with draw your atten- a news conference last Friday -- one ment should be mindful about not this major public health crisis tion to the lack of that is "way worse" than the 2008 glo- repeating the outcomes of the bail-out that befell the country within a PPE and essen- bal financial crisis. This is why govern- or economic stimulus packages that Dr R. Neerunjun Gopee few weeks of your assuming tial drugs such ments across the world have made were dished out during the financial ministerial responsibility. as Ventolin ne- available extensive financial packages crisis of 2008-09, which left workers bulizer – ap- to support employees, the businesses out in the cold, whereas the business What has prompted me to write this letter to sector and large corporations affected groups made good for themselves. A you is the distressed appeal made by a doctor parently there is by the Covid-19 pandemic. Central concern that is shared across the on social media which I heard two days ago, on no stock at the Sunday, about the type of service being pro- Central Store - banks have also intervened and world where stimulus packages Hon K. Jagutpal Minister vided to him and others quarantined at Le at Health decreased their lending rates to financed by taxpayers can and indeed of Health almost zero. The sizes of the support in some cases have been put to wrong Victoria hotel in the north, and to his mother at Centres, which packages of the rich countries are ends or in the wrong hands. That is Souillac Hospital. also receive patients with respiratory symptoms, and the staff record-breaking: there is the US's $2.2 why it is important that we scrutinise But first I will start with some general there too need protection. trillion stimulus package, representing these programs carefully. remarks. I must confess that I have not been lis- about 10% of GDP, and New 'The sums involved are incredibly tening to every single press conference that you But my main purpose is to make an appeal to Zealand's is about 5% of GDP. large and we will be remiss if we mis- and your colleagues have held, and I will there- you to urgently look into the conditions prevailing in the quarantine centres and take the immediate The Mauritan government came up spend what we are now borrowing fore pick up only a couple of points from the ones remedial measures needed. At the hotel the food with a 'Plan de Soutien', comprising from our children and grandchildren,' I have seen, from what is being relayed on social both monetary and fiscal elements, argues Ilan Noy, Chair in the media, and inputs from medical staff. served, according to the doctor’s version, was ice cold and served late. Is this an example of whereby the government will be injec- Economics of Disasters and Professor One clip that is repeatedly going around is hostility to the bloody natives – the favourite ting Rs 9 billion. According to AXYS, of Economics, Victoria University of your reply in Parliament to Hon Dr Arvin Boolell, description by the English during colonial times – that injection, representing 2% of Wellington. 'Whether large corpora- Leader of Opposition. His question was legiti- and hospitality to the tourists? GDP, may prove insufficient for the tions need to receive support depends mate, since he clearly had information about long term given that growth rate will partly on the longer-term importance of tourist arrivals. And your answer too was based And at Souillac, where the mother was trans- witness a contraction of almost 5%, their sector. It is easier to justify sup- on what was known at that time – that there was ferred, there was no nursing or medical attention and it would require much more to port for national airlines, which are an no confirmed case of Covid-19 as yet. Why? given for hours altogether, and no response to kickstart the economy once we get important linchpin in many countries' Because community testing had not yet been the calls made to the nursing staff. Further, when back to a situation of normalcy. That global ties, than to support fossil fuel introduced, as it still is not being done. Secondly, the food came, the plates (there were two in a view is shared by other economists producers, for example. Nor are there the only screening that was available was the room) were just shoved through a small opening who believe that the proposed mea- many reasons why taxpayers (present thermal testing of incoming tourists at arrival, as if the two persons there were pariahs. Even sures will do little to protect the econo- and future) should bail out wealthy which, according to Dr Pieter Pyot, currently caged animals in a zoo receive with more care my from the unfolding crisis. individual owners of large businesses, Director of the London School of Hygiene and and compassion. when these businesses could be In an interview to this paper, Dr Public Health (and co-discover of Ebola virus, You will surely agree that such practices are restructured in bankruptcy pro- Ancharaz mentioned that all of this and pioneer in the fight against HIV-AIDS), is not totally unacceptable, and as Minister responsible ceedings that should not lead to their illustrates the limited fiscal space that entirely reliable. But there is also the fact that also for Wellness I sincerely hope that you will shutdown. the government is currently facing. some clever tourists take paracetamol before ensure that henceforth all the persons in qua- 'Government's recurrent spending has Covid-19 stimulus packages they land, and obviously they will go undetected. rantine are treated with the humaneness and increased continuously to over Rs 130 should be threefold, and we should Nevertheless, thermal testing is a simple compassion that they deserve. billion for the financial year 2019-20. assess them against these three screening measure that is recommended. The Besides, there is a need to revisit the medical With public debt reaching 70%, go- goals: (1) make sure people's basic decision to allow tourists from affected countries supervision and case detection/confirmation pro- vernment's ability to borrow is severe- needs are satisfied, (2) make it possi- like China, France, Reunion, and for a cruise tocol and treatment at the quarantine locations, ly constrained… However, it can raise ble for the economy to spring back into ship to visit was clearly a whole of government so as not to confine patients there for unduly bridging finance by imposing a solida- action once the necessary social dis- one as happens in a democracy, and I do under- long periods, and consider self-isolation at home rity levy on the most profitable sector - tancing measures are relaxed, and (3) stand that you had no option but to follow the where this is indicated. use these funds to create positive the banks.' That was not to be. Instead principle of collective responsibility. But the peo- I need to reiterate that health staff must change, and rebuild areas we pre- the Ministry of Commerce has through ple must know whether they were undergoing absolutely be supplied with the standard protec- viously neglected. From an economic a Government Notice modified the the thermal test. tive gear recommended by WHO. May I also price structure of fuel, which allows for perspective, it is clearly more efficient to provide support only to the peo- About the comparative death figures for request you to also ensure their safety and send a deduction, as from April 4, of Rs 4 on Mauritius and Reunion, the fact is that journalists a clear message that any kind of violence each litre of gasoline and diesel to be ple/business sectors who really need it are doing their job and have to earn their living, against them, whether verbal or physical, will not paid to the Covid-19 Solidarity Fund. - those who have lost income and would not be able to support them- and the greener ones are under pressure to ask be tolerated and will be severely sanctioned. The questions that arise is how the selves.' That's an important considera- seemingly clever questions, being innocently And finally, a suggestion: being in quarantine funds thus collected will be used, who tion which should not be lost sight of.