Mauritius Public Service Minister Warns of 'Troublemakers' in Civil Service

Mauritius Public Service Minister Raj Pentiah has spoken out against what he describes as deliberate attempts to sow discord within the country's public administration, calling on institutions to look at systemic problems rather than pointing fingers at individuals. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, 23 September, Pentiah said certain people within the civil service were acting in bad faith — describing them as "unpatriotic" and "malicious." In a mix of Mauritian Creole and English, he said these individuals "take pleasure in creating confusion and disorder in the administration." **Misreading Documents, Then Going to the Media** According to the minister, the problem goes beyond personal conduct. He alleged that some civil servants deliberately add elements that are not in original administrative texts when interpreting official documents — and then share those distorted readings with journalists. "They start pulling out communications, they abuse the media," Pentiah said, suggesting that selective leaks and misrepresentations were fuelling unnecessary public controversy around the workings of government. **A Call for Systemic Reform, Not Blame** Rather than singling out individuals for punishment, the minister argued that complaints and difficulties within the public service should be used as an opportunity to examine how the system as a whole is functioning. "You can't play the blame game. You can't treat a problem individually — you need to look at the system in general," he said. Where rules are found to be inadequate, he added, they should be adapted until a new legal framework can be adopted. This reflects a broader governance approach the minister appears to be advocating: treating recurring administrative tensions as structural issues requiring policy solutions, rather than as disciplinary matters involving specific employees. **What This Means** The Mauritius civil service — known formally as the Public Service — employs tens of thousands of people and is regulated by the Public Service Commission (PSC), an independent constitutional body. Tensions within the administration are not new, but the minister's unusually candid language suggests frustration at an internal culture of leaks and institutional friction. For ordinary Mauritians, the concern is whether disputes within the public service are affecting the quality and reliability of government services. For civil servants themselves, Pentiah's remarks signal that the ministry is paying attention to conduct around media relations and document handling. No specific individuals, departments, or incidents were named by the minister at the press conference. Source: ION News