Les membres du gouvernement ont pris note de des amendements seront fait au Parlement au Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2023, de la promulgation du Central Water Authority (Dry Season) (Amendment No.4) Regulations 2023 qui va étendre la saison sèche au 31 juille 2023, de la signature d’una accord entre le Ministère de l’Education et la MBC, de l’implémentation du National Climate Change Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan entre autres.
1. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2023 into the National Assembly. The main object of the Bill is to amend the Road Traffic Act with regard to the legal framework governing transport operations. With a view to enhancing transport services in remote areas, provisions would be made to provide for the operation and licensing of shuttle buses, being motor vehicles having a seating capacity of seven or more but not exceeding 32 passengers, which would provide the first and last mile connectivity and link residents to and from those remote areas.
Amendments would also be brought to consolidate the regulatory powers of the National Land Transport Authority and to streamline the licensing process with regard to public service vehicles. In addition, the number of cumulative road traffic offences for which a person would disqualify from driving would be decreased from five offences to four.
2. Cabinet has taken note that the Central Water Authority (Dry Season) (Amendment No.4) Regulations 2023 would be promulgated extending its application until 31 July 2023. The Regulations provide for authorisation for irrigation of sugarcane through the abstraction of water resources during defined days and time.
3. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology and the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation for the broadcast of programmes pertaining to the education sector. The Memorandum of Understanding provides, inter alia, for:
(a) the broadcast of communiqués during Radio and TV news regarding national educational issues; and
(b) the broadcast of educational programmes on relevant MBC channels during a time period falling within normal schooling hours in case of unforeseen school closure during national emergencies.
4. Cabinet has agreed to the implementation of the National Climate Change Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan (NCCMSAP) for Mauritius. The NCCMSAP supports the long-term objective to contribute towards achieving a net-zero carbon society by 2070 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Strategy includes national development priorities, recommendations on education, training and public awareness as well as approaches for measuring, reporting and verification. The NCCMSAP comprises prioritised actions for five mitigation sectors, namely Energy Industries, Land Transport, Waste Management, Industrial Processes and Product Use, and Agriculture and Forestry.
5. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius joining the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA) and to the signing of the ACEA Charter, in line with the resolution of the 17th Conference of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in a bid to strengthening the continental coalition to drive the circular economy agenda in Africa. The ACEA aims to serve as a platform that supports the transition to a circular economy at the national, regional, and continental levels with the following objectives:
(a) encouraging policy development by sharing best practices for the creation of legal and regulatory frameworks supporting the circular economy;
(b) advocating for and raising awareness of the circular economy at national, regional and global levels; and
(c) scaling circular economy businesses and projects by bringing collaboration within individual or multiple countries to increase financing, designing of circular economy projects and public-private partnerships.
6. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of the Programme for Cultural Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Mauritius and the Government of the Republic of India for the years 2023 to 2026. The purpose of the Programme is to promote cultural cooperation in the fields of arts and cultural heritage. It would also allow for the organisation of exhibitions on folk art and traditions pertaining to both our countries. Selected artists would exchange fine arts for the purpose of mounting exhibitions.
7. Cabinet has taken note of the implementation of activities in relation to the enhancement of the institutional capacity of the Republic of Mauritius in oil spill response, under technical assistance from the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
. Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius Agricultural Marketing (National Wholesale Market) Regulations 2023 would be promulgated to come into effect on 20 July 2023. An official launching ceremony of the National Wholesale Market would be held on 27 July 2023 at Five Ways, Wooton. The National Wholesale Market would provide adequate wholesale and auction facilities for agricultural produce with four main objectives, namely:
(a) to improve the financial livelihood of planters;
(b) to provide quality produce at an affordable price to consumers;
(c) to ensure more transparency and traceability of the source of agricultural produce traded at the National Wholesale Market; and
(d) to create a modern marketing infrastructure for the handling of fruits and vegetables.
9. Cabinet has taken note that the Road Development Authority would implement the Hermitage Bypass project which would comprise the upgrading of the Côte d’Or Road (B48) from Motorway M3 at Côte d’Or to Aurea Morcellement and the construction of a bypass to join the B6 Road at Belle Rive. A cycle lane would also be included in the project.
10. Cabinet has taken note of the progress achieved in the implementation of the project to improve accessibility of people with disabilities and the elderly at the Intercontinental Slavery Museum Mauritius Ltd, with the assistance of the Embassy of Japan.
11. Cabinet has agreed to the holding of a roadshow and workshop on the establishment and operationalisation of the SADC Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility (RTIFF) from 03 to 06 July 2023. The RTIFF aims at providing a long-term solution to energy financing challenges within the SADC Region. RTIFF has been identified as one of the viable mechanisms for financing of resilient energy infrastructure in order to secure long-term energy supply.
The Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities with the collaboration of the SADC Secretariat would hold a multisectoral stakeholder meeting to present the detailed concept of RTIFF, the RTIFF establishment plan, the Financial and Legal Instruments for the establishment and operation of RTIFF in Mauritius and discussions on hosting arrangements in Mauritius. The roadshow would also highlight other key programmes and projects.
12. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism in the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Goa, India. The G20 Tourism Working Group (TWG) was set up to work on the elaboration of the “Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a Vehicle for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. Meetings of the TWG were held to examine the status of the tourism sector.
The TWG, with the assistance of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, came up with a comprehensive Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a Vehicle for Achieving the SDGs. The Roadmap aims to provide national Governments and other tourism stakeholders with recommendations to design and implement tourism policies that leverage on the sector’s significant potential to address each of the five priority areas and advance the SDGs. The series of TWG meetings culminated in the G20 Tourism Ministers Meeting wherein discussions focused, inter alia, on the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a voluntary set of actionable policies to enable progressing tourism towards the achievement of the SDGs.
13. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection in the 111th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) held in Geneva, Switzerland. The main outcomes of the Conference were the adoption of the following: (a) the “Recommendation on Quality Apprenticeships”;
(b) the conclusions of the “Committee on a Just Transition”;
(c) the conclusions of the “Committee on Labour Protection”; and
(d) a new Convention and recommendation concerning the partial revision of 15 international labour instruments, following the inclusion of a safe and healthy working environment in the ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work.
The ILC endorsed the abrogation of one Convention, the withdrawal of four Conventions, one Protocol and 18 Recommendations, as these instruments were considered to have lost their purpose and have become outdated. The Conference also approved the report of the “Committee on the Application of Standards”, which is a core supervisory body of the ILO’s standards system.
14. Cabinet has taken note that as at 28 June 2023, there were 29 active cases of COVID-19, out of which four were admitted at the New ENT Hospital. Over the period 22 to 28 May 2023, there was no death attributed to COVID-19.
15. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the Board of the Special Education Needs Authority with Mrs Savitree Oogarah, as part-time Chairperson.
16. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the Sports Arbitration Tribunal with Mr Avineshwur Raj Dayal, as part-time Chairperson.
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