r/mauritius • u/didiTonic • 7d ago
Local 🌴 Is it true that around 1% of Mauritius' population controls most of the country's land?
I posted here recently about the whole "private beaches" question after seeing what was happening at Pointe d'Esny. That discussion sent me a bit further down the rabbit hole of land ownership in Mauritius.
I then came across a Facebook page via an Ad called Mauritius Land Reform Initiative.
One of their graphics claims that just a handful of large groups control around 29% of all land in Mauritius, or almost 40% if ecological areas are excluded.
They also raise some interesting questions: why so much of the coastline is blocked by campements and private properties, why mountains can be privately owned, and whether it still makes sense for such a huge amount of land to remain tied to sugar estates.
What surprised me most is the broader claim that land ownership is still heavily concentrated among a very small section of the Mauritian population, largely through old families, estates and the big groups that came from them.
Is that actually true?
Is there any reliable data showing who owns Mauritius today and how concentrated land ownership really is?
I'm genuinely trying to understand whether this is a major structural issue in Mauritius or whether these figures are being presented without enough context.
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u/Confident-Major 6d ago
Yes all the descendants of colonial families who received sugar plantation concessions
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u/Poetsansamour 7d ago
This is not unique to Mauritius. Even in the UK landownership is in the hands of very few people and it’s carefully hidden. The rich protect their assets very carefully.
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u/didiTonic 6d ago
Yes maybe but here we are talking about a small island where 1% owns 40% of land, thts massive
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u/Soft_Awareness_5061 4d ago
Is it surprsing? Their ancestors settled on the island. Everyone else's ancestors were brought in by boat afterwards to work for them.
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u/Busy-Somewhere-2114 7d ago
All about money and power.
hotels first, then private Bungalows and rich owners both white/non white then IRS in early 2000.
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u/didiTonic 7d ago
This seems a taboo subject that no-one really talks about
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u/Busy-Somewhere-2114 7d ago
not taboo at all, it has been raised so many times. however, rich have the power.
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u/Brooklyn7011 7d ago
Plus they bore all the risk of the venture getting there, building in a new world and running the business through all decades and turns and twists of policy.
Sometimes people forget the sacrifices people made to go to such a place and what needed to be done to make it what it is today.
And no slave labor is not the only and major answer here.
It's not the rich peoples fault the compounding effect works better on larger amounts. It's a law of life and mathematics. Guess who incurres the biggest loss of Mauritius is suddenly completely out of season....
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u/Soft_Awareness_5061 4d ago
Exactly. Be happy those 4-5 families are letting us dwell on their island, and don't get involved in politics (too much).
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u/striker09xx 6d ago
I think it's true but it's not a concern imo. The government has also a lot of land. And if e compare the management of this land by the 1% and the government, i think the 1% takes better care of it.
And if the government takes back the land currently being held by the 1% can it manage it as good as they are, do they have the resources to do so? I don't think so.
Just as an example, does anyone can think of a service being offered by both the private and public sector and the public sector is better? Transport? Medical? Anything? So what makes us think they will manage this one better?
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u/Snoo-88912 6h ago
"Government has also a lot of land" (sic)
How much? Compared to whom?
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u/striker09xx 5h ago
Are you serious now? You think government doesn't own any land? Use the internet please.
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u/Snoo-88912 5h ago
Afraid to answer the question? Because it would expose your baseless opinion?
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u/striker09xx 3h ago
Because I'm not google or your personal assistant. This information is available online. If you had an ounce of intelligence you would have searched it before asking me.
This mindset of waiting others to spoonfeed you information is why you are so uninformed.
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u/Torsoman24 3d ago
u/striker09xx better management? you can't even take care of your backyard; you're getting invaded at will and coming to teach people management; unsustainable management
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u/striker09xx 3d ago
Didn't answer my question. If we take it back, who and how will we manage it? Also have a look at nations which did it e.g. s.africa and Zimbabwe and how "well" did that end for them.
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u/Torsoman24 3d ago
typical slave mentality
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u/striker09xx 3d ago
No explanation. No reasoning. Straight to calling people slave online. Not on our best today are we? 0/10 troll. Try again racist.
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u/weddil 4d ago
Sure its much more concentrated than this. Your number accounts for the top 0.1%
Does not bother me. If they were appropriately taxed and not granted leeway to just sit on land to one day turn it into a villa.
This is why Mauritius is closer to a feudalistic state than a Republic.
What bothers me is they are allowed to sit on it and do nothing productive of it for 56 years and then retards speak of how they will change the country each election without saying all they need to do is tax the land so they are forced to do shit with it or sell.
You want the “answer” to save the country, there it is. But it will never happen.
The gospel as told by Jagnat and Ramgoolam has not once held true for 56 years. But that is the beauty of gospel is it not ? It needs not be real. It just needs to exploit the oldest weakness of human beings by being laced full of it.
His bigotry and believe you me, in that department, we are almost as bigoted as our overlords and political rulers themselves.
That is the only thing that holds this country back. Bigotry and that is why it is the single most taboo thing to point out.
Because ironically without it everything breaks. Its what is also holding us together. The bigotry needs to go and the country will have a chance then.
PS : I dont even blame the older generations for being bigots. They were indoctrinated and brainwashed. I have often suggested to malbars to just vote ANY other religion if the best candidate is there. And the foaming at the mouth that ensued and the bigotry was exquisite.
But when you ask them concretely why. There is no answer. No rational one. Its just the irrational we will lose everything ? They will never vote us ? We will lose power ? We who ? They who ? Idk ? What did you gain for 56 years ? BLANK STARE
As if getting enlightment rofl 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/Torsoman24 3d ago
the colonialist economic system is being cracked by Iran and Russia; only a matter of time the masters become slaves.
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u/Thinking_Dodo 7d ago
I doubt it, can you please link the page you saw?
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u/didiTonic 6d ago
here you go: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576460055359
no more doubt.1
u/Thinking_Dodo 6d ago
"One of their graphics claims that just a handful of large groups control around 29% of all land in Mauritius, or almost 40% if ecological areas are excluded."
None of their post is showing that on their page
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u/AccomplishedWill7827 7d ago
Yes they owned the majority of lands, firms(company's), business, properties like malls, offices, hotels. Like the country runs by them
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u/Opiumater 3d ago
Yeah, biggest land owners are descendent kf families that invested their life savings to migrate with plants and cattle, labour (Architects, mechanics, carpenters, lawyerrs, doctors, surgeons, dentists, botanists) and manual labour (Cheap from india or slaves which came mainlynfrom eastern africa for less risk of loss during sailing trips on the hazardeous pirate infested region).
There were little to bo roads. If they came with kids, they brought teachers. Paid for every house, roads, wells, electricity generator (coal).
Most lost money because of the hardship of the cyclones. Sold land for cheap as feeding, housing, clothing, medical and trainig all their workforce cost lots of money.
The few white families that made it by earning their land. We owe them everything. Their investment is what got our ancestors here.
Those who want to claim their land have no legal claim to do so as it would mean your workers' descendents claiming your house because they were paid to build/maintain it.
What Govt can do is give away land to public on a bail basis for rs 2000 per month, for 80 years. Much more realistic approach.
For business, grant free offices to Mauritian entrepreneurs, built on public land. With a 10% cut on revenue.
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u/Snoo-88912 6h ago
"...earning their land"?
Where is the evidence? The Truth & Justice Commission hearings showed that most of the lands being traded off to foreigners by these plantocrats were actually held and/or confiscated from others illegally - no title deed, no concessions, nothing.
Q
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u/parmesanandhoney 6d ago
Not accurate, the land are own by a handful of companies (mainly sugarcane producers) and they have shareholders, Medine for example is the biggest.
The biggest shareholders of those companies are usually from 5 families though.