Troukler - Taxi drivers assisted to buy new cars?

Troukler

TAXI DRIVERS ASSISTED TO BUY NEW CARS?

The Minister of Finance, Danny Faure, presented his first budget to the National Assembly this week, Tuesday, if you had just stepped down from a plane the day before, you could be forgiven for believing that you had died and gone to heaven. Faure painted the rosiest picture he could on the economy and about the general state of affairs in the country.

Minister Faure was particular proud for having been able to assist seventy-five taxi drivers, with foreign currencies, to purchase new vehicles. This is a clear sign that things are not as rosy as the Minister would want us to believe. Under normal circumstances the taxi drivers would not require divine intervention or that of any government to get foreign currencies. They would just have to turn up at the banks with their rupees and hey presto! The vehicle they had ordered from Singapore or Japan would be paid for in foreign exchange without any fuss whatsoever.

This shortage of foreign currencies in the economy has been created by this government through mismanagement of the economy. The problem is far from being remedied and the Minister is well aware of that…….

LAW AND ORDER COMMITTEE MET THIS WEEK?

On Monday the 4th December the consultative committee set up by President Michel following the brutal unprovoked assault on the leader of the Opposition, Honourable Wavel Ramkalawan and a group of his supporters in the precinct of the National Assembly by members of the Special Support Unit (SSU), met for the first time.

The venue chosen for this first meeting was the precinct of the Central Bank building, which is considered a strange location for such a meeting. It is being suggested that the venue was kept secret until after the meeting because of fear of another possible attack by the SSU. We could not confirm the basis of that belief. A spokesperson from the Police Force refused to comment on the matter when asked by our reporter, if the assertion that the SSU is planning to raid the Law and Order Committee meeting is true. However the chairman of that committee, a former Attorney General is taking no chances. An order for eight heavy duty industrial helmets has been placed with a company in the United States, Hard Helmet USA. The delivery of these special helmets is expected early in January 2007.

It is also understood that President Michel will ask the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), his highness Khalifa Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahayan for foreign currencies to pay for the helmets during his visit this week to Abu Dhabi. At the time of going to press it is not known if his demand has been granted. It is rumoured that the two Bishops will not attend the next meeting unless the helmets are handed to them for tests a week before their next schedule meeting, which is due for a date unknown to the general public because of security reasons.

Cuba has one-upped us in Seychelles

Over there, they took a whole week to celebrate Castro’s 80th birthday. Over here, thank God, it lasts only a couple of hours all told, and it’s over bar the replay on television at prime time news. Over there, of course, food supplies, toilet paper and soap are rationed. Over here we ration the dollars and Euros!

Iraq has its own JAM too

JAM is the Arabic acronym for Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi army.