Fact Finding Committee sur le Sugar Insurance Fund Board

Lors de la séance parlementaire du 26 mars 2019, le minsitre de l’Agro-Industrie, mr Mahen Seeruttun, a fait une déclaration au Parlement sur ce Fact Finding Committee.

Madam Speaker,

With your permission, I would like to make a Statement on the Sugar Insurance Fund Board (SIFB) in reference to the Fact Finding Committee (FFC) that was set up following the PNQ of the Leader of Opposition on 21 November 2018.

As the House is aware, on 23 November 2018, Government set up a Fact Finding Committee on the SIFB with Mr L. Aujayeb, Assistant Solicitor General, as Chairperson and, Dr G. Rajpati, GOSK, Agricultural Economist as Assessor. Mr A. Aumeerally, an Actuary, was subsequently appointed on 7 December 2018 to assist the FFC in its assignment.

The Terms of Reference of the FFC include the examination of the Report dated 08 August 2018 of the Operations Manager of the SIFB regarding the non-declaration of Event Year for crop 2017 and ascertain if there was a need for crop 2017 to be declared as an Event Year for certain Enlarged Factory Areas (EFAs) and, if so, determine the amount of compensation to be paid to the planters concerned.

The Terms of Reference of the FFC have subsequently been widened to include the purchase of 6 arpents of land by the SIFB at Trianon.

On 13 March 2019, the FFC submitted its Report (Part One) on Crop Year 2017 which concerns the issue of non-declaration of an ‘Event Year’ for crop year 2017.

The FFC will submit a Part Two Report on the purchase/acquisition of land by the end of April 2019.

The FFC has concluded that the 3 EFAs of Médine, Omnicane and Alteo should be declared as an “Event Year’ for crop 2017

The FFC has therefore recommended that a Technical Committee be set up by the Board to determine the amount of compensation to be paid to the insured planters of the 3 EFAs.

The Technical Committee has already been constituted and will submit its recommendations to the Board for its urgent approval.

Moreover, I am informed by the SIFB that payment of the compensation for crop year 2017 will be effected as from the second week of April.

I also wish to inform the House that the Board of the SIFB has also decided that crop year 2018 will be declared an event year.