Mauritius president refuses to resign

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius: Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has refused to resign, vowing to fight allegations that saw her embroiled in a financial scandal, the presidency said in a statement yesterday.

Gurib-Fakim, Africa’s only female head of state, has been accused of using a bank card provided by an NGO to make personal purchases. Last Friday Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced that Gurib-Fakim had agreed to resign, with a date set for her departure after Monday’s ceremony celebrating the Indian Ocean archipelago nation’s 50 years of independence.

However, a statement from the presidency slammed ‘ weeks of attacks and false allegations’ and said that Gurib-Fakim planned to clear her name and would not resign.

“Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, having nothing to feel guilty about and able to provide corroborating evidence, rejects any idea of resigning,” read the statement. Gurib-Fakim, whose role is mostly ceremonial, is a scientist and biologist of international renown, and in 2015 joined the London-based Planet Earth Institute ( PEI) to try and develop scientific capacity in Africa.

The statement from the presidency said that in May 2016, she received a credit card to pay for travel and logistical expenses linked to her role.

Gurib-Fakim “who already had an identical credit card from the same bank inadvertently used the card from the PEI for expenses not linked to her mission totalling $ 26,000 ( 21,000 euros)”, said the statement.