NEF Hijacked : When Politics Betrays the Poor

If the NEF becomes a political stronghold, the credibility of the State’s entire social policy collapses. The fight against poverty cannot and must not be placed under the control of any political party.

This is no longer a case of administrative misjudgement. What we are witnessing at the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF) is a methodical political takeover of a taxpayer-funded institution meant to endorse the principles of the Mauritian welfare state.

The Junior Minister for Social Integration, Kugan Parapen, admitted openly that the latest round of appointments to the NEF board was a “political exercise” conducted by Rezistans ek Alternativ (ReA) - a statement that confirms what many suspected: a partisan capture of a public body. This is not a slip of the tongue. It is the confession of a deliberate hijack.

The NEF is not a rewards platform for loyal supporters, party operatives, or personal acquaintances. It is, or was meant to be, the last lifeline for struggling families, vulnerable youth, unemployed mothers, and those most at risk of exclusion. To use it as a tool of political control is to exploit human suffering for power - a moral transgression of the highest order.

A Betrayed Mission

The Alliance for Change, of which Minister Ashok Subron is a prominent figure, was elected on the promise to end the culture of cronyism. Today, it mirrors that very culture- and arguably, with more confidence than ever before. Trusted voices such as Jugdish Joypaul, Yvan Martial, Patricia Adele-Félicité, and Edley Maurer now describe what’s happening as a cosmetic change masking a return to “Lakwizinn” politics -the old kitchen-cabinet system of nepotism and political reward.

Worse still is the Minister’s silence. By refusing to provide full transparency and allowing his partner, Dany Marie, to play an unofficial role in the selection process, Ashok Subron has not only demonstrated poor judgment - but he has also undermined the moral credibility he once claimed to represent.

It Is Time to Choose Honour Over Defiance

In any functioning democracy, a minister implicated in such a scandal- one involving undue influence, conflicts of interest, and betrayal of a public mission - should not need to be dismissed. He should step down voluntarily, out of respect for the public he serves.

Ashok Subron can no longer preside over social policy with legitimacy. He can no longer claim to represent fairness, transparency, or justice. Each day of silence drags him deeper into the shadow of compromise.

If he still believes in the ideals he once championed, if he wants to preserve what little political capital remains for the Alliance for Change- and if he wishes to spare the Prime Minister the indignity of having to remove him - he must resign immediately. Not under pressure, but out of principle.

This is no longer a procedural debate. It is a matter of ethics. Ashok Subron must decide: will he serve the Republic or his political party?

In democracy, symbols are as powerful as actions. And the only meaningful symbol left to restore a degree of trust in Mauritius’s social institutions is this: That minister Subron walks away with dignity before he is “recalled”.