Mauritius Water Crisis: Belcourt Slams Desalination Plan as 'Ecological Gamble'

Patrick Belcourt, leader of the opposition movement En Avant Moris, has sharply criticised the government's handling of Mauritius's ongoing water crisis, warning that a proposed desalination project would trigger an "domino effect" on the island's ecology, economy, and tourism sector. Speaking to ION News on Saturday, Belcourt argued that the government lacks both direction and vision — not just on water, but on the economy as a whole. "This is what happens when you put people in charge of the state who have no orientation for our economy and no vision for our country," he said, speaking partly in Mauritian Creole. **Enough Rain, Not Enough Infrastructure** Belcourt cited expert opinion to back his position: Mauritius, he said, receives sufficient rainfall to meet the population's water needs. The core problem, in his view, is not supply — it is the island's outdated water distribution network and inadequate water catchment infrastructure. He called on the government to prioritise replacing ageing and leaking pipes across the island, and to invest in improving catchment systems that capture and store rainwater more efficiently. These upgrades, he argued, would be far more effective and far less damaging than pursuing desalination. **Why Desalination Worries Him** The desalination debate was sparked by Public Services Minister Patrick Assirvaden, who recently floated the idea of desalination plants as a long-term solution to water shortages in both Mauritius and Rodrigues Island. Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater to make it drinkable. While used widely in water-scarce regions such as the Middle East, it comes with significant environmental concerns — most notably the disposal of brine, the highly concentrated saltwater left over after the process. Belcourt argued that releasing brine into Mauritian coastal waters could damage the island's coral reefs and marine ecosystem — and by extension, its tourism industry, which depends heavily on pristine beaches and clear lagoons. He described the project, which he said would cost billions of rupees, as ill-suited to both Mauritius and Rodrigues. **What This Means** Water shortages have become an increasingly visible frustration for residents across Mauritius, with scheduled cuts affecting households in multiple regions. The debate now centres on whether the solution lies in fixing what already exists — the distribution network managed by the Central Water Authority (CWA) — or in building new infrastructure such as desalination plants. Belcourt's intervention adds political pressure on the government to justify the desalination route, particularly given the potential environmental risks and the scale of investment involved. With Mauritius's tourism brand built on its natural environment, any policy that could affect coastal ecosystems is likely to face sustained scrutiny. Source: ION News