Mauritius is a magical country. Not magical because of the beaches. Not magical because of the sega. Not magical because we can turn one roundabout into a national debate for six months. No. Mauritius is magical because money comes in, money is announced, money is applauded, money is photographed, money is cut with a ribbon, money is blessed by ministers, money is defended by activists, money is used in manifestos, money is recycled in speeches, money is re-announced, money becomes a commemorative plaque, and then the ordinary citizen still has no water. That is not economics. That is witchcraft with a press conference.

Our own Ministry of Finance says that its resource mobilisation work deals with bilateral and multilateral donors for loans and grants, and that donor programmes are meant to align with national priorities and Sustainable Development Goals. Very beautiful. Very clean. Very official. Very PowerPoint from Port Louis. But the question is simple. If the money is aligned with national priorities, why are the national priorities still standing in the queue?

We received money for water. We received money for roads. We received money for hospitals. We received money for airports. We received money for climate resilience. We received money for radar systems. We received money for police and coast guard equipment. We received money for electric buses. We received money for dams. We received money for green taxonomy, blue economy, sustainable finance and all those elegant phrases that sound like they were invented by people who have never waited three hours for the CWA supply to return.

India came with hundreds of millions. China came with loans and grants. Japan came quietly with radar, disaster equipment and budget support. France came with water sector loans and climate adaptation support. Saudi Arabia came with hospital and housing finance. The UAE came with money for the Eye Hospital. The UK came with climate finance support. The World Bank came with money for Rodrigues Airport. The European Union came with grants. Australia came with oil spill and search and rescue modelling tools. Kuwait and Germany came earlier with infrastructure finance. In short, the world has been helping Mauritius for years. And yet, whenever something goes wrong, our political class behaves like a landlord who has lost the rent money but still wants to repaint the gate.

India, for example, provided Mauritius with a USD 353 million grant in 2016 as a Special Economic Package for five priority projects: the Metro Express, the Supreme Court building, the New ENT Hospital, social housing and digital tablets for schoolchildren. India also extended a USD 500 million line of credit in 2017 for social and infrastructure projects. Now, to be fair, some of this money became visible. The Metro exists. The Supreme Court building exists. The ENT Hospital exists. So, credit where credit is due. When a project is built, let us say it is built. But Mauritius has a strange habit. We build something big enough for a drone shot, then forget the citizen waiting at home for decent basic services. A train is lovely. A court building is lovely. A hospital is lovely. But the person at home still wants water from the tap, electricity that does not behave like a nervous student during oral exams, and public services that do not require the patience of a monk.

Then came more Indian money. In 2021, Mauritius obtained an Indian line of credit of USD 100 million, together with a USD 5 million grant, for defence related equipment including coastal surveillance and maritime security assets. The same period also records other cooperation around public health and security. Again, useful. Necessary even. Mauritius has a large maritime zone. Illegal fishing, trafficking and maritime security are not imaginary problems. They are real problems. But here comes our national schizophrenia. We demand security, then the moment police act against serious criminal networks, some people suddenly discover their human rights vocabulary after years of ignoring the rights of victims and officers. Let us remember WPC Dimple Raghoo. Défi Media reported that she was killed in the line of duty during an ADSU operation at Bo'Valon Mall in November 2020. In 2025, l'Express reported convictions and sentences in the case. So when some people cry louder for the criminal than for the officer, one wonders what Mauritius they want. A country where police officers must politely ask suspected traffickers whether they are emotionally ready to be arrested? A country where the criminal has rights, the victim has prayers, and justice has annual leave? Some of our self declared moral philosophers are not left wing. They are not right wing. They are chicken wing. They flap loudly, make noise, and disappear when courage is required.

And then these same citizens vote. Ah, voting in Mauritius. Every few years, the same political faces return. Same faces, different banners. Like worn out shoes, heavily polished, still smelling of yesterday's rain. They stand on platforms and say, 'This time, mo finn changé.' Changed where? In which department? Was the change certified by the Ministry of Transformation and Electoral Cosmetics? The same men, the same families, the same agents, the same financiers, the same promises, the same flags, the same rented crowds, the same buses, the same loudspeakers, the same slogans, the same fake humility, the same 'mo pou servi lepep'. Serve the people? Or use the people? Some of them would not serve tea unless the cup had a contract attached for their own benefit. And the voter, poor creatures, goes again. Not all voters, of course. Some think. Some read. Some analyse. Some still possess a functioning relationship with reality. But far too many vote like they are choosing a wedding song after three glasses of rum. Then they spend five years moaning like betrayed shareholders in a company they willingly invested in. 'I did not know he would be like that.' Really? He has been like that since the cassette era.

Now let us return to the money. China has also been a major actor. The Ministry of Finance records Chinese support including grants, interest free loan components, sports infrastructure support, a RMB 100 million grant for electric buses and other socio economic projects. China also provided Covid period assistance, including a RMB 40 million grant and partial debt remittance of RMB 32 million. Yet Mauritians had to pay as well. Again, good. Let us not pretend all foreign support is nonsense. Some projects exist. Some equipment is used. Some loans and grants are genuinely helpful. The problem is not that the money always disappears. The problem is that the citizen cannot always see clearly what was promised, what was delivered, what changed in daily life and who was held responsible when delivery failed.

France, through AFD, agreed a EUR 200 million loan to help Mauritius and Rodrigues achieve a sustainable and resilient water sector. It also provided EUR 2 million in technical assistance, EUR 1.3 million for an underground water study in Rodrigues, and EUR 800,000 for climate adaptation projects. Read that slowly. Two hundred million euros for water resilience. Technical assistance. Underground water study. Climate adaptation. And still, in some places, the tap coughs like it has asthma. At this point, the tap should have its own Ombudsman.

Japan gave money too. Japan's support included grants for medical equipment, disaster prevention equipment and coastal surveillance radar systems, as well as budget support during the Covid period. Japan is interesting because it does not make as much political noise. Japan does not arrive with a brass band and twenty five people fighting to hold the ribbon. Japan gives radar, disaster equipment, technical support and budget support. And yet people are still found dead and their cadaver floating during the Belal tragedy. Quiet diplomacy. Mauritian politics does the opposite. It turns even a dustbin into a national achievement. 'Honourable Minister inaugurates bin.' 'Bin expected to transform waste sector.' 'Government committed to circular economy.' Meanwhile, the bin is missing its lid.

The UK gave climate related support, including assistance around a National Green Taxonomy and climate change reporting guidelines, with the Ministry of Finance also noting British technical advisory support designed to unlock future climate finance. A National Green Taxonomy. Very impressive. But the average citizen hears 'green taxonomy' and thinks it is a new salad at Bagatelle. This is the gap in Mauritius. We have international language at the top and domestic frustration at the bottom. And some clever sods want to implement Créole in the assembly. We speak climate finance in conferences, but people still speak bucket finance at home.

The World Bank approved a USD 184 million loan for the Rodrigues Airport Project. The same Ministry of Finance report states that the project cost is around USD 200 million and is co financed by the World Bank loan and a EUR 16 million European Union grant. Good. Rodrigues needs serious investment. Rodrigues deserves dignity, connectivity and economic opportunity. But here ministers are busy with far more important matters, like the name of the Airport should be as per our beloved political figure. But let us be honest. Every time large money enters our system, the public has the right to ask four basic questions. Where did it go? Who got the contract? Was the project delivered properly? Why does the final result so often look poorer than the announcement? Because in Mauritius, the announcement is always first class. The execution sometimes travels economy with missing luggage.

Saudi Arabia provided concessional loans for Flacq Teaching Hospital, the Cancer Hospital, the Multi Sports Complex and social housing. A USD 10 million disaster related grant was also recorded. The UAE, through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, provided USD 21 million for the New Eye Hospital. Again, these are important projects. Cancer treatment matters. Eye care matters. Hospitals matter. Housing matters. But public money and foreign financing should not become political perfume. You spray it during elections to hide the stench of poor management. A hospital is not a campaign poster. A road is not a family heirloom. A dam is not a ministerial trophy. A loan is not a birthday gift from a foreign uncle. It is often money that the public must repay, directly or indirectly, through taxes, tariffs, inflation, opportunity cost or public debt. That is why we must stop clapping every time someone says 'loan'. A loan is not generosity. A loan is a bill with a diplomatic smile.

A grant is a gift. A concessional loan is a soft obligation. A line of credit is not free money. Budget support is not a miracle. It is still public finance, and public finance deserves public explanation. But in Mauritius, asking questions is treated like treason. You ask, 'What happened to the money?' They say, 'You are anti development.' No, one is anti disappearing development. You ask, 'Why is the project delayed?' They say, 'You are politicising.' No, they politicised it when they put twelve politicians in front of one excavator. You ask, 'Who benefits?' They say, 'You are jealous.' Jealous of what? A procurement file? Mauritius has turned accountability into bad manners.

The African Development Bank approved a USD 110 million loan to the Central Electricity Board for grid infrastructure and renewable energy absorption. It also approved a USD 240 million budget support loan for the Economic Competitiveness Resilience Support Programme, Phase II. Now look at those words. Economic competitiveness. Resilience. Renewable energy. Grid infrastructure. These are not small ideas. These are the bones of a serious country. But a serious country cannot be managed like a family WhatsApp group. A serious country needs public dashboards, transparent procurement, regular project updates, independent audits that bite rather than audits that politely bark from a PDF nobody reads.

The Treasury itself lists annual statements for foreign aid received and cash aid received from foreign countries. So the information exists. The issue is whether the public can meaningfully understand it, track it, question it and connect it to real life outcomes. Because that is the Mauritian disease. We love information locked in PDFs. We love transparency that requires a law degree, a finance background, a strong WiFi connection and the emotional resilience of a civil servant nearing retirement. The information is technically available, but practically hidden behind boredom. That is not transparency. That is hide and seek in Times New Roman.

And then comes the greatest national drama of all: political memory. Mauritians forget too quickly. A politician can fail in one ministry, reappear in another, change alliance, change shirt colour, change slogan, change moral position, change political father, change political son, change everything except his appetite, and the public will still say: 'Maybe this time.' Maybe this time what? Maybe this time he will discover integrity in his old age? Maybe this time the worn out shoe will become a Nike? Maybe this time the same system will produce different results because the poster has better lighting? We are a nation that complains about corruption but treats political loyalty like religion. We condemn nepotism until our cousin gets the job. We hate wastage until our village gets the project. We demand justice until our favourite leader is questioned. We cry about democracy, then vote like memory is a foreign concept. And this is why foreign money alone cannot save Mauritius.

India can give. China can lend. France can finance. Japan can support. Saudi Arabia can contribute. The UK can advise. The EU can grant. The World Bank can approve. The African Development Bank can support. But if the domestic political culture remains rotten, money will enter Mauritius like a diplomat and leave like a rumour. Sometimes the money is used properly. Let us be fair. The Metro exists. Hospitals exist. Radar systems exist. Airport projects are underway. Technical assistance happens. Climate finance is being prepared. Some projects are real. But sometimes the money enters a national fog. It is announced, translated, defended, politicised, reannounced, then hidden behind 'work in progress'. Work in progress has become the national anthem of non delivery. Water? Work in progress. Roads? Work in progress. Housing? Work in progress. Justice? Work in progress. Electoral reform? Work in progress. Meritocracy? Work in progress. Common sense? Permanently deferred. And the people? The people clap, suffer, complain, vote, regret, repeat.

The average Mauritian voter is not powerless. That is the lie. The voter is powerful for one day and careless for five years. On election day, the voter holds the key. Then some exchange that key for a flag, a slogan, a family instruction, a caste whisper, a village rumour, a free ride, a packet of hope, or the emotional blackmail of 'pa fer zot rantre'. And after that, they cry like abandoned shareholders. We must grow up. A country is not a wedding where we choose the loudest DJ. A country is not a funeral where we keep praising the dead ideas of old leaders. A country is not a family business where the same surnames circulate power like a private invitation. Mauritius is too small to be this badly managed and too intelligent to keep pretending stupidity is culture.

Foreign money has arrived. Foreign money will continue to arrive because Mauritius is strategically useful. We sit in the Indian Ocean like a small chess piece with a very expensive postcode. India sees us. China sees us. France sees us. Japan sees us. The Gulf sees us. Britain sees us. Europe sees us. The only people who sometimes do not seem to see Mauritius clearly are Mauritians themselves. We see party colours before policy. We see leaders before institutions. We see promises before evidence. We see ethnicity before competence. We see noise before truth. And then we wonder why the country is tired.

So let the next politician who says, 'we obtained funding', answer properly. How much? From whom? Grant or loan? Interest rate? Repayment terms? Who manages it? Who audits it? What was delivered? What failed? Who is responsible? And, most importantly, why is the citizen still not feeling it? Because development is not a press release. Development is when the tap works. Development is when hospitals function. Development is when police officers are protected and respected. Development is when roads are safe. Development is when procurement is clean. Development is when young people do not feel that their future depends on knowing someone who knows someone who once carried a party flag. Development is when a foreign grant becomes a public good, not a political slogan.

And until shame returns to public life, until failure has consequences, until voters stop polishing worn out shoes and calling them new, until politicians stop treating loans as trophies, until citizens stop moaning after voting badly, the country will remain exactly what it has become: a paradise with invoices. A democracy with amnesia. A small island where money arrives with ceremony, disappears into process, and reappears five years later as a manifesto promise. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not development. That is a magic show. And we, the public, are not the audience. We are the ones paying for the ticket.