The Minister of Financial Services, Jyoti Jeetun, responded to the leader of the opposition, Joe Lesjongard, who had taken up phrases spoken in Bhojpuri by her in the past when talking about the prices of amenities.
“Let me refer to what the honourable leader of opposition said the other day. His mockery of my conversation in bhojpuri. Our ancestral language is truly remarkable, from Goodlands to Souillac, from Flacq to Triolet, residents throughout the country communicate proudly in bhojpuri. Yet, during his ten years in power, he never spoke the language of the people he claims to represent. Instead of a serious debate, he just mocks and mocks. He forgets that Parliament has entered a new era of democracy. Far from the mockery of which he has been the subject for the last ten years. Let me say this loud and clear. Stop making fun of my language. Stop making a mockery and laughing stock of my language. It’s an insult to all Bhojpuri-speaking citizens,” said the minister.
Jyoti Jeetun also wanted to clarify that “we do not change the retirement age in this country. The retirement age is already set at 65. The universal pension is non-contributive. We are one of the few countries in the world where the universal basic pension represents 88% of the minimum wage and we are now faced with an unfavourable demographic change. Our population reached a peak of 1.2 million in 2021, but the working-age population is decreasing. The 60-year-old population has reached 260,000 people, an increase of 160,000 people in 25 years, almost 15% of our population. We must take care of those who are more autonomous and provide adequate care facilities for those who need them. Our population should still reach one million inhabitants in 25 years, or a loss of 200,000. The number of people over 60 years of age will be close to 350,000, or a third of our population. The reform has been delayed for too long,” she maintains.
