Sacked STC Board Member Tengur Calls Out the Body He Sat On

Suttyhudeo Tengur, who until recently served as an independent member of the board of directors of the State Trading Corporation (STC), has gone public with sharp criticism of the body he was part of — just one day after the entire board was dismissed. In a post on Facebook, Tengur argued that the dismissal of the STC board should not simply mean swapping one set of faces for another. It should, he said, represent "the end of complacency, delays, and the absence of concrete results for consumers." **Who is Tengur and what is the STC?** The State Trading Corporation is a Mauritian government parastatal responsible for importing and distributing essential commodities — including petroleum products, flour, rice, and cement. Because it controls the supply of goods that affect everyday prices, its governance has a direct impact on the cost of living for ordinary Mauritians. Tengur is a well-known consumer rights advocate in Mauritius and was appointed to the STC board in an independent capacity — a role intended to bring external accountability to the institution. **What is he saying?** Tengur's central argument is that accountability must follow when consumer expectations are not met. He stated that Mauritian consumers are already bearing the full brunt of the rising cost of living, and cannot be expected to also absorb the cost of inefficiency, slow decision-making, or poor governance. "Business as usual is no longer acceptable," he wrote, calling on the incoming leadership to prioritise results, speed, transparency, and the interests of consumers above all else. He also invoked the principle of public accountability, arguing that a public body funded and mandated to serve the national interest must be held to a higher standard. **The uncomfortable question** Tengur's public stance raises an obvious question: if these problems existed within the STC board, why did he not raise them more forcefully while he was still a sitting member? His critics may argue that speaking out only after being removed — rather than from within — limits the credibility of his position. However, his supporters may counter that his willingness to name the failures publicly, regardless of his own former role, is itself a form of accountability that is rare in Mauritian public life. **What this means** The dismissal of the STC board and the debate it has triggered reflect growing public pressure on parastatal institutions in Mauritius to demonstrate real value for consumers. With fuel prices rising and the cost of living squeezing household budgets, the STC's performance is under closer scrutiny than ever. The appointment of a new board will be watched carefully to see whether it brings genuine reform or simply a change in personnel. Source: ION News