1.Cabinet has agreed to the introduction into the National Assembly of :-
(i) the Information and Communication Technologies (Amendment) Bill which aims at amending the Information and Communication Technologies Act to bring forward the date limit, i.e. from 31 December 2003 to 31 December 2002, by which the Mauritius Telecom Ltd shall cease to exercise exclusive right to supply, or to enter into interconnection or other agreements for the supply of telecommunication services within and outside Mauritius;
(ii) the Bus Industry Employees Welfare Fund Bill which provides for the establishment of a Fund which will cater for the social and economic welfare of employees of the bus industry and their families; and
(iii) the Urdu-Speaking Union Bill which provides for the establishment, operation and management of a Urdu-Speaking Union. The main object of the Union is to promote the Urdu language in its spoken and written forms, as well as friendship and understanding between Urdu-speaking peoples of the world.
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2.Cabinet has agreed to the Minister of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping making the Road Traffic (Control of Vehicle Emissions) Regulations 2002 to provide for an effective control on vehicular emissions. A campaign will be launched to sensitize the public on the measures provided for in the Regulations.
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3.Cabinet had taken note of the proposed programme of activities which will be organised in the context of the National Day Celebrations 2003. The theme chosen is “Nou Pays Nou Lavenir”.
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4.Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare will provide a hot line service (Tel No 119) called “Service AMI Ecoute et Conseil” on a 24-hour basis to provide first hand counselling and advice to persons having family problems.
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5. Cabinet has agreed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rodrigues examining the possibility of putting up a waste complex at Pointe Moyenne, Medine.
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6. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius accepting the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas, which aims at creating a stronger international regime for achieving sustainable fisheries on the high seas. It also provides for the creation of an international database on high seas fishing vessels.
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7.Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the Workshop on Port Security organised by the Mauritius Ports Authority in September 2002, with a view to keeping stakeholders in the Port abreast of the recommendations of Messrs Portia Management Services on the reinforcement of security measures at the Port Louis Harbour.
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8.Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Technology & Natural Resources, in collaboration with the MSIRI, will organise a Workshop on Bio-safety in the last week of October 2002 with a view to creating an awareness on issues of modern biotechnology and GMOs and on precautionary measures which should be adopted to allow optimal benefits to be derived out of modern biotechnology.
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9.Cabinet has taken note that the National Environmental Laboratory is being reengineered to enable it to play a key role among laboratories at the national level.
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10.Cabinet has taken note of the activities to be organised by the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare to mark the “International Day Against Violence Against Women” which will be commemorated on 25 November.
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11.Cabinet has taken note that, in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding entered into with the National Council of Science Museums of India, the Council has deputed Mr M. Parvathinathan to be the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre.
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12.Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the National Art Gallery Board.
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13. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the missions of :-
(i) the Minister of Arts and Culture to :-
(a) Mozambique from 2 to 10 October 2002, where he inter alia attended the signature ceremony of the Twinning Protocol between the City Council of Ilha de Moçambique and the Mahebourg Village Council;
(b) South Africa from 14 to 16 October 2002, where he attended the 5th Annual Ministerial Meeting of the International Network on Cultural Policy;
(ii) the Minister of Commerce and Cooperatives to India from 10 to 17 October 2002, where he had discussions on strategic alliances in the Cooperative and Handicraft Sectors; and
(iii) the Minister of Housing and Lands to Singapore from 10 to 18 September 2002, where he got acquainted with the Singaporean experience and achievements in respect of Town and Country Planning matters and Public Sector Housing Programmes.
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14.Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the Third Meeting of the “Conseil Permanent International des Jeux des Iles” (CIJ) held at Gold Crest Hotel on 17 and 18 October 2002 in the wake of the organisation of the VI Indian Ocean Islands Games 2003.
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