− which as many may not be aware, was actually promoted by the bank of mauritius just after the country ’ s independence − is an upstart by comparison. and a very successful one, too. the brilliant new stars on the banking scene are keeping our established bankers all on their toes. i say to our bankers here tonight, hats off to you all. the fundamental laws of the unproductive state 31. finally, as is my wont on these occasions, may i leave you with two laws which may possibly inspire us in the pursuit of a second mauritian miracle. in the past you have been served : maradona ’ s law of interest rates, einstein ’ s law of success, and newton ’ s law on physical response, amongst others. for your delectation, i even rolled out sutton ’ s law, named after a bank robber where he explained why he robbed banks. 32. in the same vein, i now turn to parkinson – no, i am not referring to the parkinson who gave his name to a debilitating disease which figures high on the risk map of humans in advancing years. i am invoking another parkinson, cyril northcote parkinson, who turned his attention to an equally - debilitating disease affecting, not persons, but institutions and corporates. parkinson ’ s law of triviality may strike home for some habitues of board rooms. it states that : the time spent by a committee on any item on the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum of the money involved. bis central bankers ’ speeches 33. this is where a trivial item, like the allocation of parking spaces, or the colour of new uniforms for staff, dominates discussion at the board. this leaves no time to review strategic items such as a multibillion capital scheme. the big issue is then waved through on the nod. members of the board have exhausted themselves over the triviality and realise they must now break off for lunch! 34. now, as we approach a festive season, when traders vie with one another with sales gimmicks, i thought i should do the same with our persiflage. may i therefore offer you two laws for the price of one? i am coupling the law of triviality with parkinson ’ s law of the organisational pyramid. it states that : the number of subordinates in any organisation will increase linearly by 5 % a year, regardless of the amount of work to be done. we might

managers often face the extremely difficult task of identifying what one is best capable of doing. i have seen how an established system have often labelled people possessing enormous talent as “ losers ”. i find no better example than the beatles. no one had ever noticed that paul mccartney had any musical talent in his schooldays. in the 1950s, a schoolteacher in liverpool had half of the beatles in his class. the teacher missed it. my point here is that talent is often buried deep ; it ’ s not lying around on the surface. but one thing the beatles had that many individuals in mauritius don ’ t have it today – the sense of sacrifice, the strong commitment to a goal, hunger for success and recognition through perseverance. i regularly meet with ceos of enterprises in the country and i am given to understand that complacency is a phenomenon quite pervasive in the private sector and in the public sector as well. i am often told of people who have been in their position for years. they are good at what they have been doing. they are respected. they have a likeable boss and a job that brings them distinction in society. it ’ s great to be in that position. problem is that they feel too comfortable in the job and they get less vigilant. the urge for new learning evaporates and they eventually lose their edge. once someone goes to work simply in order to work rather than to improve oneself, one becomes invariably incompetent. as ceos, we often hear staff members saying, “ this cannot be done. and that cannot be done. this is an impossible task. that is an impossible task. ” mentally, the guys are pensioned off. in the world of athletics, the kenyans ’ refusal to discount anything as impossible is well illustrated in the game of ‘ catch the impala ’. the impala is a supremely fast animal. run after it. the impala will stop at some stage to rest. before you get too close, it starts running again. this stop - chase race can go on for about 40 kilometres. after that point, the impala is tired and one is able to pat it on the backside. to the kenyans, ‘ catch the impala ” is the ultimate test of perseverance. mike boit, a former olympic 800 meters winner, once said, “ when i returned home to kenya, they actually respected me more for my ability to catch the impala than