Décisions du Conseil des Ministres du 26 Avril 2019

Les membres du Cabint ont pris note que le Curatelle (Amendment) Bill sera présenté au Parlement, la promulgation du The Courts (Determination of Prescribed Amount) (Amendment) Regulations 2019, celui du Central Water Authority (Water Supply for Domestic Purposes) (Amendment) Regulations 2019,

1. Cabinet has taken note of the introduction of the Curatelle (Amendment) Bill into the National Assembly. The main object of the Bill is to make numerous amendments to the Curatelle Act, which dates back to 1973, with a view to making further and better provisions for the administration of vacant estates. The Bill provides, inter alia, :

(a) for the approval of the Attorney-General to be sought before :

(i) a claim made against a vacant estate is settled;

(ii) a claim to which the Curator of Vacant Estates is a party is referred to arbitration;

(b) for an increase in the fine from Rs2,000 to Rs100,000 and for an increase in the term of imprisonment from 6 months to one year, for failing to furnish a statement to the Curator of Vacant Estates within the time fixed by the Judge in Chambers; and

(c) for an increase in the value of any property which the Curator of Vacant Estates is empowered to hand over on behalf of a minor or an interdicted person.

2. Cabinet has taken note that, in the light of consultations held with relevant stakeholders, the Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Institutional Reforms would promulgate The Courts (Determination of Prescribed Amount) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 to maintain the specificity of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court and to allow claims for a value of not exceeding Rs2 million lodged before the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court to continue to be heard by that Division.

3. Cabinet has taken note of the promulgation of the Statutory Bodies Pension Funds (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 for the Chagossian Welfare Fund to be listed in the Statutory Bodies Pension Funds Act and to ensure that the officers of the Fund are covered under a pension scheme.

4. Cabinet has taken note of the promulgation of the Central Water Authority (Water Supply for Domestic Purposes) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 which will provide for domestic consumers, who have a swimming pool and consume more than 50 cubic meters of water monthly, to pay an additional amount of Rs500 monthly. The Regulations will be effective as from 8 May 2019.

5. Cabinet has agreed to the promulgation of the Environment Protection (Display of Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emission Label) Regulations 2019 which aim at providing information to car buyers on fuel consumption and CO2 emission of cars and thus allow them to make informed decisions as to the purchase of more eco-friendly and energy-saving vehicles.

The Regulations will be effective as from 01 June 2019 and car dealers will be given a period of three months to fully abide by the provisions of the Regulations. The Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development will conduct a sensitisation campaign for the benefit of all concerned stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of the Regulations.

6. Cabinet has taken note of the promulgation of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment of Schedule) Regulations 2019 under section 60(2)(b) of the Dangerous Drugs Act for the listing of new psychoactive substances recommended by the World Health Organization.

7. Cabinet has taken note that the IMF Executive Board concluded the 2019 Article IV Consultation with Mauritius at its meeting held on 22 April 2019. The IMF Executive Board of Directors congratulated the Prime Minister for the solid macroeconomic performance and also for his continued effort to address structural bottlenecks. The IMF welcomed Mauritius’ steady economic growth momentum and appreciated Government’s efforts to bolster competitiveness by introducing effective and efficient initiatives to improve the business climate, build innovation capacity, reduce the skills mismatch and increase female workforce participation.

The IMF has also pointed out the significant progress made by Mauritius to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Framework and, as a result, Mauritius has recently been upgraded by the Eastern and Southern African Anti Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) on 12 recommendations.

8. Cabinet has agreed to the implementation of the National Maritime Security Strategy with a new governance structure that aims at improving maritime security sector and in particular to protect against threats such as illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, piracy and drugs and arms smuggling. In the light of consultations, a new governance structure, has been proposed with a National Crisis Management Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, as the apex body. This Committee will give priority directives to a National Maritime and Harbour Security Committee (NMHSC), a Standing Committee chaired by the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service. The NMHSC will be responsible to take stock of all major programmes and measures undertaken by the following committees on Maritime and Harbour Security :

(a) a Maritime Security Steering Committee, chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Rodrigues;

(b) a Port Security Committee, chaired by the Director General of the Mauritius Ports Authority; and

(c) a Maritime Search and Rescue Standing Committee, to be chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping.

9. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade would enlist the consultancy services of the E-Governance Academy of Estonia for establishing a “Technical Proposal to Develop an Electronic Document Management System and Business Communication System” at that Ministry.

10. Cabinet has taken note of the latest situation with regard to the incidence of Fall Army Worm (FAW) in Rodrigues following the visit of a scientific team from Mauritius and of the measures put in place for the effective control of the population of the FAW.

A Crisis Committee, under the chairmanship of the Commissioner for Agriculture, and comprising several stakeholders including the Mauritius Revenue Authority, Mauritius Ports Authority, Police de L’Environnement, Airport Operation of Rodrigues, Air Mauritius and the Police has been set up to monitor the situation closely.

11. Cabinet has taken note of the holding of the Capacity Building Workshop on Early Childhood Leadership by the Inter Country Quality Node for Early Childhood Development (ICQN-ECD) in Mauritius from 19 to 21 June 2019. The objectives of the Workshop
are to :

(a) share country experiences of current status of Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) workforce and showcasing innovations;

(b) engage in policy implementation issues relating to needs and priorities in the delivery of an integrated package of ECED services;

(c) support policy implementation at national level for early learning; and

(d) contribute towards the development of an on-line ECD leadership programme for sustainable capacity building.

The Workshop targets 13 countries in Africa, civil society actors, ECD professionals, academics, Regional Economic Communities and organisations engaged in the
Early Childhood Education and Development with 30 international and 15 local participants.

12. Cabinet has taken note of the organisation of a Regional Trade Policy course by the World Trade Organisation, in collaboration with the University of Mauritius. The course aims at enhancing the human and institutional capacity of WTO members through a greater exposure to the rules of the multilateral body, deepening the participants’ understanding of the functioning of the WTO and its rules and procedures, enhancing the participants’ understanding of regional economic perspectives on trade policy and development and developing their capacity to find relevant information and documents on WTO-related issues, including the use of the WTO legal texts. Some 27 participants from African countries as well as local participants are expected to participate in the Trade Policy Course.

13. Cabinet has taken note of the organisation of the Second Edition of the International Conference on Global Trends in Management, Information Technology and Governance in an e-World by the Open University of Mauritius, in collaboration with the University of Kwazulu-Natal from South Africa on 14 and 15 May 2019 in Mauritius. The main objective of this Conference is to bring together participants from a wide range of disciplines to showcase global trends in such domains as Management, IT, Governance, Law and Education. The Conference will serve as a platform for the development of leadership and capacity in the African region. Some 120 academics and researchers, are expected to attend the Conference.

14. Cabinet has taken note that the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa will hold a Regional Coordination Meeting of the Tobacco Control Partners in Mauritius, from 25 to 28 June 2019. The main objective of the Partners’ Meeting is to review the progress made and challenges in the implementation of the grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation allocated to grantees, namely, the African Capacity Building Foundation, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Tax Justice Network Africa and WHO AFRO and WHO Headquarters.

15. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security will host the
5th Joint Coordination Committee Meeting for the Southern African Development Country Project on Forest Conservation and Sustainable Management from 14 to 17 May 2019. The project is governed by three entities, namely the Joint Coordination Committee, the thematic expert working groups and the Project Management Unit. The objective of the meeting is to develop the capacity of the SADC Member States and the Secretariat in Forest Assessments and Information Management, Participatory Forest Management and Trans-boundary Forest Fire Management.

16. Cabinet has taken note of the remedial actions taken by the Wastewater Management Authority (WMA), following the sewerage overflow at Jawaharlal Nehru Street, St Paul. The WMA has already initiated action to upgrade the sewer network in the region.

17. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent mission of the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives to Bahrain where he participated in the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) which, inter alia, provides an ideal platform for decision makers, entrepreneurs, investors, researchers as well as economic, financial and educational entities from government and private sectors for effective communication, knowledge sharing and skills improvement. The Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives also had meetings, among others, with :

(a) Mr Safa Sharif A. Khaliq, Director, Investment Department of Tamkeen, to promote business and SME related activities by the Government of Bahrain and agreed to have a Memorandum of Understanding between the two entities; and

(b) HE Redzuan Yusof, Minister of Entrepreneur Development of Malaysia and agreed that the Malaysian side will provide technical assistance and training for entrepreneurship development in Mauritius.

18. Cabinet has taken note of the constitution of the Board of the Quality Assurance Authority with Dr Mitrasen Bhikajee as Chairperson.