Décisions du Conseil des Ministres du 14 juin 2024

Les membres du gouvernement ont pris note de la présentation prochaine du Constitution (Amendment) Bill et Political Financing Bill afin de légiférer le financement et les dépenses des partis politiques, du Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill qui va concerner le transfert de propriété des véhicules, de la promulgation du Motorways and Main Roads (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2024 qui va concerner une quinzaine de routes dans la pays entre autres.

1. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill and the Political Financing Bill into the National Assembly.
The object of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill is to amend the Constitution to provide additional powers and functions to the Electoral Supervisory Commission and the Electoral Commissioner in matters relating to political financing.

The object of the Political Financing Bill is to make provisions for accountability and transparency with regard to political financing with a view to promoting a level playing field, ensuring fair competition and preventing improper influence and corruption. No political donation shall be made to a non-registered political party or to any person, other than to a registered political party, to a member of the National Assembly and to a person nominated to stand as a candidate at National Assembly elections. The Representation of the People Act would be amended:
(a) to impose a limit on the election expenses of a political party or party alliance at a National Assembly election and that party or party alliance will henceforth have a legal obligation to submit a return of such election expenses;
(b) for an increase in election expenses that a candidate may incur at a National Assembly election, Rodrigues Regional Assembly election or local government election; and
(c) for the regulation of temporary political headquarters and campaign quarters commonly known as “baz” during a National Assembly election, Rodrigues Regional Assembly election or local government election.

2. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill into the National Assembly. The object of the Bill is to amend the Road Traffic Act to, inter alia:
(a) provide that where there is a transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle or trailer between two individuals or between such category of persons as may be prescribed, no certificat de gage sans déplacement would be required from the National Land Transport Authority for the registration of the transfer of ownership by the Registrar-General. Instead, the transfer of ownership will be registered provided that the Registrar-General is satisfied, following verification on the database of the National Land Transport Authority, that the motor vehicle or trailer bears no lien;
(b) empower the Minister to make regulations to regulate the use of structures and objects that are, during a procession, carried, pushed, pulled or led on a road; and
(c) increase penalties with regard to some offences.

3. Cabinet has agreed to the implementation of a number of measures with a view to enhancing the counter services at the National Land Transport Authority.

4. Cabinet has agreed to the promulgation of the Motorways and Main Roads (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2024 which provide for the classification of the following 15 Roads as MAIN ROADS ‘B’:
(a) Célicourt Antelme Street, Forest Side;
(b) Notre Dame de Lorette, Curepipe;
(c) Rue Chateauneuf, Curepipe;
(d) Collinwood Street, Vacoas;
(e) Holyrood Road, Vacoas;
(f) Nehru Road (ex-Bassin Road), Quatre Bornes;
(g) Seeneevassen Road-Palma, La Source Road, Quatre Bornes;
(h) Queen Mary-Hesketh Bell-John Kennedy Streets, Floreal;
(i) Cottage Road to Forbach, Cottage;
(j) Louis Pasteur Street, Port Louis;
(k) Gunga Lane, Bell Village;
(l) Link between Bagatelle Link Road and Mt. Ory Road;
(m) Camp Marcelin, Camp Ithier;
(n) Road linking Quatre Cocos to Palmar; and
(o) Pellegrin Road, Sebastopol.

5. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent visit of the Prime Minister to India, where he was invited to attend the Swearing-In Ceremony following the historic victory of the National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, at the Lok Sabha elections, along with six other Heads of State/Heads of Government, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister attended the Swearing-in Ceremony of Shri Narendra Modi as Prime Minister as well as the designated Ministers which was held in the presence of HE Smt. Droupadi Murmu, President the Republic of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

During his visit, the Prime Minister had a one-to-one brief meeting with Prime Minister Modi, where both reiterated their engagement to enhance the continued and deep bilateral cooperation between the two countries. He also had a meeting withDr S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs on the consolidation of ongoing projects and the identification of new ones.

The Prime Minister also had a meeting with HE Smt. Droupadi Murmu, President of the Republic of India, and they discussed about the special ties between the two countries which had evolved into comprehensive partnership cutting across sectors built on shared values and trust. The Prime Minister stated that the relationship with India had been strengthened through continuous exchanges and interactions at all levels, not only at the leadership level but also at people to people contact which provided the necessary orientation in further deepening the special ties between the two countries.

6. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Polytechnics Mauritius Ltd and the Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology, Canada. The Memorandum of Understanding would aim at facilitating and enhancing collaboration between the two institutions for the development of academic partnership agreements and activities in the following areas of mutual benefit:
(a) academic and research collaboration;
(b) development of articulation agreements, which would allow for smooth transition for students of either institution who wish to study in the partner-institution;
(c) academic exchanges of faculty and students, and capacity building programmes;
(d) curriculum exchange; and
(e) Globally Networked Learning.

7. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the National Cancer Institute, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. The aim of the Memorandum of Understanding would be, inter alia, to provide:
(a) specialised cancer care treatment to Mauritian patients proceeding on overseas treatment;
(b) training to healthcare professionals in oncology; and
(c) referral of Mauritian children under the Child Cancer Scheme.

8. Cabinet has taken note that the Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) Assessment 2024 would be held as follows:

9. Cabinet has taken note of the status of implementation of the Annual Workplan for 2024 subsequent to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2024-2028 being implemented by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the period 2024-2028. The UNFPA would provide technical and financial assistance for the implementation of the following projects:
(a) capacity building on gender mainstreaming;
(b) development of an Executive Package of services to address and respond to Gender-Based Violence;
(c) setting up of a Gender-Based Violence Information System;
(d) development of a Gender-Based Violence Code of Ethics for media houses; and
(e) elaboration of a new Domestic Abuse Bill for Mauritius.

10. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the third edition of the National Innovation Challenge organised by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council. The Award Ceremony was held on 01 June 2024 and prizes were awarded in the following categories:
(a) General;
(b) Rodrigues Innovation Challenge;
(c) Mauritius Plastic Challenge;
(d) Public Choice Award; and
(e) Special Jury Award.

11. Cabinet has taken note that the University of Technology, Mauritius, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, South Africa, would organise the 4th International Conference on ‘Society 5.0 – Innovation for Sustainable and Inclusive Social Good’, from 26 to 28 June 2024 in Mauritius.
The objective of the conference would be to enhance the understanding of digital services, digital public infrastructure and digital transformation as drivers of sustainable and inclusive growth. Discussions and presentations would focus on topics related to Innovation and Technology as a catalyst for sustainable and inclusive social good, use of Artificial Intelligence as a tool for environmental conservation, use of biotechnology for healthcare accessibility and blockchain technology for financial inclusion, amongst others.

12. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to commemorate International Day of Yoga 2024. The theme for this year would be “Yoga for Women Empowerment”. The Ministry of Health and Wellness would organise an official ceremony in collaboration with the High Commission of India on 20 June 2024 at Côte d’Or National Sports Complex for the launching of activities which would include yoga demonstrations by yoga instructors and exhibitions on health-related issues. The following activities would also be organised in June/July 2024 to mark the event:
(a) sensitisation of the general public on the benefits of yoga and its contribution in building a healthier society through talks, demonstrations and TV programmes;
(b) awareness raising on the practice of yoga during screening programmes for Non-Communicable Diseases at worksites and at community level; and
(c) radio and live TV interventions by health professionals on the benefits of yoga on health of all.

13. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised to mark the Day of the Seafarer, which is celebrated on 25 June each year, to promote awareness among the public of the contribution made by seafarers to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole. To commemorate the event, the Seafarers’ Welfare Fund would organise the following activities:
(a) a special mass at the Trevessa House, Port Louis, led by Mgr Jean Michaёl Durhône, Bishop of Port Louis;
(b) a health screening for all seafarers and their families as well as port area users and the local community in Roche Bois;
(c) distribution of blood pressure monitors to all registered seafarers; and
(d) a lunch to all registered seafarers as well as the distribution of commemorative T-Shirts to them.

14. Cabinet has taken note that, as at 13 June 2024, there were 91 active cases of Dengue Fever in Mauritius, of which nine persons had been hospitalised in both public and private hospitals. For Rodrigues, five active cases of Dengue Fever had been recorded.
Cabinet further noted that since 11 January 2024, 50 cases of Leptospirosis had been reported in Mauritius and five persons had been hospitalised as at 13 June 2024. The Ministry of Health and Wellness was pursuing the sensitisation campaign on Leptospirosis in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

15. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance in the 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Minister attended the Opening Ceremony and a High Level Presidential Dialogue on the theme “Africa’s Transformation, the AfDB Group, and the reform of the Global Financial Architecture”, followed by two panel discussions, namely the Panel of African International Financial Institutions and the Panel of Heads of multilateral development banks/international financial institutions. He also attended the High Level Plenary Knowledge event whereby the African Economic Outlook 2024: “Driving Africa’s Transformation: the reform of the Global Financial Architecture” was launched.
The Minister also participated in various side meetings, namely a bilateral meeting with the India Exim Bank, a meeting on Building the Africa’s Legal Capacity, a High Level Ministerial Meeting Roundtable on Mobilisation of Climate Finance organised by Kenya and Denmark and the Africa India Partnership Conference.

16. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change in the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
The “Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS: A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity” (ABAS) was adopted as the outcome of the Conference, and it was recommended that the United Nations General Assembly endorse the ABAS during its upcoming session. In the margins of the conference, the Minister attended and intervened in the following high-level side events:
(a) African Island States Climate Commission High-Level Dialogue on “Leveraging partnerships for climate resilience and sustainable finance”;
(b) Commonwealth side event on “Building Resilient Economies for a Common Future”;
(c) High level event on adaptation and resilience by UK and Jamaica with focus on “Mobilising Finance for Adaptation and Resilience in SIDS”;
(d) United Nations Environment Programme side event on “Showcasing Successes and Navigating the Next Decade of Action with SIDS”; and
(e) side event on “Enhancing Economic Resilience through Blue-Green Growth and Value-Addition in SIDS” organised by the European Union & International Trade Centre, Government of Mauritius and the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States.

Furthermore, the Minister had bilateral meetings with representatives of Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Ghana, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the European Investment Bank.

17. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Minister of Health and Wellness in the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting and the World Health Assembly held in Geneva. In the margins of the events, the Minister had bilateral meetings and participated in, inter alia, the following:
(a) meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency;
(b) meeting with the Deputy Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Republic of India;
(c) bilateral meeting with WHO AFRO and virtual signature ceremony of a Long-Term Agreement for the purchase of medication under SIDS Pooled Procurement;
(d) Ministerial Briefing on the African Union Roadmap 2030 and Beyond – Sustaining the AIDS Response Ensuring Systems Strengthening and Health Security for the Development of Africa; and
(e) the National Acceleration Plan to STOP Obesity 2024-2030 organised by WHO International Diabetes Federation.

18. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution National Environment Cleaning Board with Mr Marie Georges Bruno Lebreux, as part-time Chairperson for a period of two years.