Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 09-03-2018
Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim says she will step down next week after she was accused of using a credit card issued by an international non-governmental organisation to buy clothes and jewellery.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told reporters Gurib-Fakim would resign after 12 March, after the celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary.
Reuters reports Jugnauth did not comment on the row over credit card expenditure but he has previously said everyone should shoulder their responsibility when asked about the issue by reporters.
Gurib-Fakim, a chemistry professor, was appointed to the largely ceremonial post in 2015, as the island nation’s first female president, has denied any wrongdoing and says she had refunded all the money in question.
“I do not owe anything to anybody. Why is this issue coming up now almost a year later on the eve of our independence day celebrations?”
The local L’express newspaper reports that the president had shopped in Italy and Dubai, using a credit card issued by Planet Earth Institute.
The organisation supports education by offering scholarships, and the president served there as an unpaid director.
The newspaper reported that the card was to promote a doctorate programme named after the president.
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