1. Cabinet has agreed to the recommendations made by the Committee set up by the Government under the chairmanship of Justice D.B. Seetulsingh to review the Cane Planters and Millers Arbitration and Control Board Act.
The main recommendations of the Report relates to:
(a) the increase of the apportionment ratio of planters from 76% to 78%;
(b) numerous measures to enhance cane quality which will enable the country to produce an additional 25,000 tonnes of sugar; and
(c) strengthening the functioning of the Cane Planters and Millers Arbitration and Control Board.
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2. Cabinet has approved the following Bills for introduction into the National Assembly:-
(i) the Mauritius Ex-Services Trust Fund Bill. The object of this Bill is to provide for the establishment and management of the Mauritius Ex-Services Trust Fund which will better cater for the social and economic welfare of all ex-servicemen, irrespective whether they served during the war or post war period, and to repeal the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Fund Act 1946;
(ii) the Statutory Bodies Pension Funds (Amendment) Bill;
(iii) the Local Authorities Pensions (Amendment) Bill; and
(iv) the Pensions (Amendment) Bill.
The main objects of the three Bills are to amend the existing legislation in order to give effect to the changes in the terms and conditions of retirement benefits of Officers as recommended by the PRB reports of 1993 and 1998 and make better provisions for computation of such benefits.
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3. Cabinet has agreed to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Corporate Affairs & Financial Services, in consultation with the Ministry of Labour & Industrial Relations, Employment & Human Resource Development, running a Skills Development Programme for Young Graduates. The aim is to enable unemployed young graduates to develop and enhance their skills and knowledge, and acquire experience in the such fields as industrial and trade development, corporate affairs and financial services. The recruits will be posted to the various units and parastatal bodies falling under the Ministry and will draw an allowance of Rs 8,070 monthly.
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4. Cabinet has taken note of the achievements, under the Skills and IT Development Fund, in promoting entrepreneurship among unemployed youth, in collaboration with the Mauritius Employees Federation, the DBM and SMIDO. Some 200 potential entrepreneurs in the region of Roche Bois, Plaine Verte, Plaine Magnien and Triolet have already followed the training programme, which will be extended shortly to Flacq and Rivière du Rempart, and will be launched in Rodrigues on 22 April 2000.
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5. Cabinet has agreed to amendments being brought to the Fair Trading Act 1980 with a view to inter alia stop the proliferation of fake and counterfeit products in the country, and give consumers the right to return defective goods to a trader, within a specified period of time.
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6. Cabinet has agreed to the Minister of Labour & Industrial Relations, making Remuneration Order Regulations (R0) for persons employed in the pre-primary sector of education on the basis of recommendations made by the National Remuneration Board, with a view to upgrading the salaries and conditions of service of employees of that sector.
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7. Cabinet has approved the grant of 3 Pioneer Status Enterprise Certificates under the Industrial Expansion Act, 1993. The projects relate to the provision of value added services using telephony and computer integration technology, provision of consultancy services in the field of textile technology and processing of sound and images.
The implementation of the three projects would create some 40 job opportunities and would entail investment amounting to around Rs 83 million.
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8. Cabinet has taken note of the different measures being implemented by the Ministry of Education & Scientific Research to upgrade the school environment, the quality and the level of education in Special Support Schools, whose average pass rate at the CPE examinations during the last five years have been less than 40%.
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9. Cabinet has taken note of the proposal of the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare to set up "Comités de Sages" in all Social Welfare Centres and Community Centres. The aim is to tap the knowledge, experience and wisdom of senior citizens, for the benefit of the younger generation and the community of the region. Each "Comité de Sages" will consist of at least 15 senior citizens who will work on a voluntary basis to identify the problems that are affecting the inhabitants of their locality and will work in consultation with appropriate authorities for remedial action.
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