Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for this question, as it gives me an opportunity to let the Police and the country at large see what kind of shenanigans the previous regime resorted to, thereby causing untold injustice and demoralising the Police Force. The Very Important Person Security Unit (VIPSU) is a specialised Unit, as you know. In the context of filling vacancies in that Unit, officers are assigned higher duties, that is, to the next rank above their current substantive capacity for a period of six months. Such officers may be considered for promotion in the substantive capacity only after having satisfactorily completed the six-months’ assignment. In the event they are transferred to other Divisions or Branches of the Mauritius Police Force during the six-months’ period, their assignment of duties lapses. Now, Madam Speaker, I wish to point out that in December 2014, shortly after the new Government came to power, 21 Police Officers posted to the Very Important Person Security Unit and who had been assigned higher duties were reverted to their former ranks immediately! I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that from 10 November 2024 to 30 January 2025, 47 Police Officers posted to that Unit and who were assigned higher duties on 24 August 2024, that is, just prior to the election, were transferred to other Divisions and Branches of the Mauritius Police Force. As they were transferred before the completion of the six-months period at that Unit, their assignment of higher duties had lapsed. But I wish to inform the House and the hon. Member that since 2015, several officers attached to the Very Important Person Security Unit have benefitted from accelerated

25 promotions, superseding other very deserving officers. Juniors were favoured over more experienced and senior officers. It was a blatant injustice to members of the Police Force under the previous regime – everything was politicised. There are some very able Police Officers in the VIPSU. Not only did their juniors go over their head, but they were downgraded - what they already received was being downgraded. And then, the juniors were given accelerated promotions! One, two, three, even four promotions during that period! These injustices, Madam Speaker, will have to be addressed and corrected.

Yes!

Could you allow me two supplementaries on this?

Yes, please!

Firstly, Madam Speaker, is the hon. Prime Minister aware that there are Police Officers reckoning 27 years of service as Sergeant, promoted to Inspector, in fact, were appointed to the Unit under his first tenure as Prime Minister? There are officers with 20 years of service appointed on your second tenure as Prime Minister, again, Sergeant promoted to Inspector, they have been stripped off of their promotion the most unfairly a few days after the Prime Minister took office.

I suppose the hon. Member does not know. I have just explained how injustices were performed. Now, if a Police Officer, who has been appointed, gets accelerated promotion and becomes, in other words, a senior to somebody who was already a senior and who has been downgraded, you have to correct the injustice; that is what happened.

I am sure the Prime Minister will realise that 27 years as a Sergeant promoted to Inspector is not accelerated.

This is not a question.

Madam Speaker, the question is: the Prime Minister recalls the 21 VIPSUs being promoted in 2015. This is why the Prime Minister gave the assurance on 22 September at Triolet in a meeting, on his own volition, giving the guarantee that no Police Officers would be transferred and stripped of promotion, and that the same had happened to him. He gave that word, and yet a few days later, after being elected, these poor Police Officers have been stripped of their promotion. My question to the Prime Minister is whether,

26 in considering his own word that has been given prior to the election, he will not remedy the injustice that he has himself been aware of prior to that.

The hon. Member does not say it; not all the Police Officers who have had promotions have been stripped off – not all. I have mentioned the figures here. But when we are looking at what has happened, we have to take corrective measures. And I am telling you one thing: I will not stand for injustice in the Police Force. We have to correct the injustices that have happened. It happened, unfortunately for them.

(Interruptions)

One last one, yes.

The hon. Prime Minister might, at least for those officers, again, those who have not had fast-track promotion, those who have not jumped the head of their more senior colleagues, if at least he could give consideration to those officers, restore their promotion. As I said, at least two cases of those appointed under you to the VIPSU have been promoted and stripped off recently; whether he will at least give consideration to cases that look to be genuine.

I will give an example to the hon. Member. He keeps saying appointed under me. Do you know that one of the VIPSUs who was in the car behind me, whom I promoted through the Police Disciplined Forces, was given that promotion to be behind the Prime Minister? It is a great privilege. Do you know what he did? He is the one who went and told the MSM leaders that the Police did not do a proper search in my home; there is another safe. The Police came; through his declaration, he went to see the then Commissioner of Police and the former Prime Minister, and they came to my home. They had already turned my home upside down everywhere; all the drawers had been thrown, and everything was upside down. They came again; I asked the policeman, ‘Why are you coming again? You did this job two days ago.’ He said, ‘I cannot tell you, but I will tell you in a minute.’ He did not want to say in front of other people, and then he told me, ‘The guy who was in your car, whom you had promoted, this is what he has done! Do you want me to just stay quiet and say, ‘Ok, jay de’. No, sir! This is gone! We will take action! We will take action!

(Interruptions)

I know who he is, but we will take action. We have to correct these injustices and these traitors.

27 They had the duty to be with me, as at that time I was the former Prime Minister, and this is what they did. And you think that I will just sit down and accept? No, I will not!

Inn anvi remet Dip!

Your next question, please. PHONE TAPPING PRACTICE BY POLICE – DISABLING OF EQUIPMENT