Mauritius deserves leadership, not threats, arrogance and excuses.
After listening to Prime Minister Navin Chandra Ramgoolam’s two successive addresses to the nation, I have reached a conclusion that I do not express lightly: THE GUY MUST GO!
Mauritius is going through one of its most disturbing social and security crises in recent history. Our streets have witnessed violence, our children have been drawn into unrest, businesses have suffered, families are frightened, and the international reputation of our country is being tested. Yet, after two days of national addresses, what have we heard? Threats, punishment, curfews and accusations. Where is the vision? Where is the compassion? Where is the leadership?
The Prime Minister has raised the prospect of lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12. Twelve years old! Instead of asking why children are becoming involved in violence, his government is considering exposing them to criminal prosecution at an even younger age. Mauritius raised that age to 14 under the Children’s Act 2020, in the context of its commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Has the Prime Minister seriously considered the consequences of reversing that progress? A government that cannot protect its children must not turn those children into scapegoats for its own failures.
Then comes the allegation that drug barons are financing minors to create unrest and attack the police. If the Prime Minister has credible evidence, let the competent authorities investigate and bring those responsible before justice. But this raises a far more serious question. If drug barons have become powerful enough to hold Mauritius hostage, what does that say about the leadership responsible for internal security? Where were our intelligence services? Where was the preventive action? You cannot be responsible for national security and simultaneously present the deterioration of security as somebody else’s failure.
And what message is being sent to the international community? Mauritius depends on confidence. Confidence from tourists, investors, international institutions and business partners. At a time when foreign governments are issuing travel advisories and international attention is focused on the unrest, claims about organised drug networks destabilising the country demand evidence and a credible security response. A Prime Minister has a duty not only to protect his country but also to protect its credibility internationally.
But this crisis did not begin with the riots. It has been building through the growing frustration of ordinary Mauritians. Water shortages, the rising cost of living, drugs devastating our communities, insecurity, road accidents, unemployment and uncertainty about the future of our youth. Families are struggling to make ends meet. Parents are worried about their children. Young people are losing hope. The social malaise is deepening, and too many citizens feel that their government neither understands their suffering nor listens to their concerns.
And how can I remain silent about our elderly citizens? In 2025, this government introduced a phased increase in the Basic Retirement Pension eligibility age from 60 to 65. I did not merely issue statements from the comfort of my home. I went on a hunger strike, putting my own health at risk, because I refused to accept that the dignity of our elderly should become an adjustment variable in a government budget. In 2026, the government also proposed means-testing before subsequently withdrawing that proposal following public objections. That reversal matters, but it does not erase the anxiety caused by repeated changes to retirement policy. Our elderly are not merely a line in a budget. They are the generation that built Mauritius. A government must respect their dignity.
And whenever the Prime Minister is confronted with his government’s difficulties, the same explanation returns: the previous government. The previous government is blamed for the economy, public finances and institutional weaknesses. But Mr Ramgoolam, you did not come to power merely to comment on the failures of your predecessors. You came to power promising to correct them. You asked the people for a mandate to govern, not a permanent licence to blame. Nearly two years after taking office, the public is entitled to ask what has changed and what remains to be done.
And what about the controversy surrounding the reported approximately Rs 30 million armoured vehicle for the Prime Minister and his remark about travelling to work in a cart? Nobody disputes the legitimate security needs of a Head of Government. But leadership also demands sensitivity, humility and restraint. When ordinary Mauritians are asked to make sacrifices, such expenditure deserves a serious public explanation. Sacrifice cannot be demanded from the vulnerable without transparency over spending at the top.
The people voted overwhelmingly for change in November 2024. They voted for hope, justice, transparency, accountability and a better future. They did not vote for pension uncertainty, children becoming entangled in street violence or Mauritius making international headlines for curfews and instability.
Let me be absolutely clear. I condemn violence, arson, looting and attacks against the police. Those responsible must answer before the law, with due process and respect for fundamental rights. But restoring law and order is not the same as restoring public confidence. A curfew may temporarily empty the streets, but it cannot remove the anger, frustration and despair that have been building in people’s homes. You cannot govern a nation by treating the symptoms while refusing to confront the underlying problems.
The shooting of Élodie should have been a defining moment for national leadership. It demanded compassion, immediate reassurance, accountability and a credible response to the grievances affecting our population. Instead, the country has been plunged into further anxiety. A nation needed a leader who could unite, reassure and inspire confidence.
A Prime Minister cannot govern indefinitely through fear. He cannot invoke drug barons while escaping scrutiny over the government’s responsibility for internal security. He cannot blame previous governments indefinitely without accepting responsibility for his own decisions. He cannot demand sacrifices from pensioners while failing to explain privileges at the highest level. He cannot propose harsher treatment of twelve-year-old children without confronting the social conditions that have brought them into the streets.
The issue is no longer merely whether this government can restore calm. The real question is whether Navin Chandra Ramgoolam can restore the confidence of the Mauritian people.
For me, the answer is clear.
Mauritius is bigger than one man. Our institutions are bigger than one political party. The dignity of our elderly, the future of our children, the security of our families and the international reputation of our Republic must come before the political survival of any Prime Minister.
Mr Ramgoolam, leadership is not about remaining in office at all costs. It is about accepting responsibility when things go wrong. It is about listening when people suffer. It is about protecting the vulnerable.
I have stood against injustice before, even when it came at a personal cost. I will not remain silent today simply because the people responsible occupy the highest offices of the land.
THE GUY MUST GO!
Not through violence. Not through disorder. But through democratic and constitutional means.
Mauritius needs a new direction. Mauritius deserves better. And the Mauritian people deserve a government that serves them, not one that expects them to suffer in silence.
Dave Kissoondoyal
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