Gabriella Batour, mayor of Beau-Bassin/Rose-Hill town hall: “My commitment remains at the service of city dwellers, beyond partisan quarrels”

A few days after her expulsion from the MMM, the mayor of Beau-Bassin/Rose-Hill, Gabriella Batour, breaks her silence. Between incomprehension in the face of a decision that she considers hasty, defense of her mandate and highlighting her results, she looks back on her journey, the challenges encountered and the structuring projects undertaken for the city.

Only a few days have passed since your expulsion from the MMM. How did you experience this stage? I received this decision with surprise, but above all with incomprehension, because we are on the eve of the next mayoral elections, normally scheduled for May 15. This revocation, announced to the press on Saturday afternoon after a central committee at the Beau-Bassin/Rose-Hill council, was not a shock, but I remain perplexed by this hasty decision. It is a unilateral decision. There was no consultation. We did not know that the fate of municipal councilors would be addressed. As an elected official, acting with ethics and principles would have required a dialogue with the main stakeholders, notably myself as mayor. My name was mentioned several times in radio interviews by the president of the MMM, insinuating that I only stayed in my position for the privileges and the salary. I would like to point out that I was first elected by the citizens of Ward 2 to be their representative on the municipal council. It was with great humility that I accepted the commitment to be mayor last year, because there is a lot to accomplish for this city. This revocation calls into question the choice of the urban electorate. There are 13 councilors involved, and I am the only mayor in this group. According to section 37 (1) (b) of the Local Government Act, if a member ceases to belong to the group under whose banner he was elected and chosen as a candidate, he is required to vacate his seat as a municipal councilor. However, the procedure concerns me: how can we act without prior consultation and without even submitting an official letter notifying that we are no longer part of the party?

Do you plan to contest this revocation? To this day, the work continues. I'm still waiting for this letter. Once this correspondence is received, procedures to notify this to the ministry will be initiated. For me, I am called to work until further notice. Legally contesting the revocation would involve engaging in years of struggle and the procedures are very cumbersome, while the work on the ground is immediate. There is an urgent need to help city dwellers. It is a shame not to respect the democratic choice made by voters a year ago. It is also a shame to see that we have reached this point. To say that we cling to privilege is an easy argument that does not do justice to our commitment.

How do you experience this