1. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius acceding to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons including Diplomatic Agents.
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2. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction into the National Assembly of -
(a) the Pensions (Amendment) Bill, which aims at amending the Pensions Act to give effect to those recommendations of the 2003 PRB Report, which relate to the retiring benefits of public officers;
(b) the President's Emoluments and Pension (Amendment) Bill which provides for an increase in the emoluments payable to the President and the Vice-President;
(c) the National Assembly Allowances (Amendment) Bill which provides for an increase in the allowances payable to Ministers and other Members of the National Assembly;
(d) the Registration Duty (Amendment) Bill which provides for a new basis for the levying of registration duty on motor vehicles or trailers and for related matters;
(e) the Sugar Efficiency (Amendment) Bill which provides for the entitlement of female workers and male workers under the age of 50 and 55 respectively, at the time of acceptance of the offer of the VRS to receive the actuarially calculated contributory retirement pension on reaching the age of 50 and 55 respectively instead of the age of 60 as at present; and
(f) the Human Resource Development Bill which provides for the establishment of the Human Resource Development Council with a view to developing human resources in Mauritius to meet national needs.
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3. Cabinet has taken note that a delegation from the National Social Security Fund of the Republic of Kenya visited Mauritius from 14 to 16 July to learn from the Mauritian experience with a view to implementing major policy reforms of social security there.
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4. Cabinet has taken note of developments in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Report of GIBB (Mauritius) Ltd. on the study of the Land Drainage System in Mauritius.
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5. Cabinet has taken note that, in the context of the implementation of the Solid Waste Management Strategy, the contract for consultancy services to carry out a feasibility study for the construction of a waste complex within the Medine area has been awarded to Carl Bro in association with Chemcontrol a/s DCDM Mott Mac Donald & Norton Rose. The report will be ready by October 2003.
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6. Cabinet has taken note of the construction of a Police Station in the vicinity of the airport of Plaine Corail, Rodrigues.
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7. Cabinet has taken note that a Technical Committee has been set up at the Ministry of Housing and Lands to review the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1999 relating to the maintenance and the renovation of premises located in urban areas and to make recommendations.
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8. Cabinet has agreed to the ratification of the Labour Administration Convention 1978 (No. 150) of the International Labour Organisation and its corresponding Recommendations (No. 158).
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9. Cabinet has taken note that Export Service Certificates have been granted to three companies for the export of inter alia fruits, vegetables, cosmetics and artisanal products.
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10. Cabinet has taken note of the missions of -
(a) the Prime Minister to Washington where he attended the 4th US-Africa Business Summit and had meetings with President Bush and other personalities; and
(b) the Minister of Education and Scientific Research to India where he attended the Conference on Dialogue among Civilization organised jointly by the UNESCO and the Government of India.
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11. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of -
(a) the Committee for the Registration of Agricultural Chemists and Laboratories under the chairmanship of the Acting Chief Agricultural Officer; and
(b) the National Remuneration Board under the chairmanship of Mr Nazir Bheekhun.
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12. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Environment will make the Environment Protection (Environmental Standard for Noise) (Amendment) Regulations to fix the industrial noise exposure limit to 70 dBA Leq.
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13. Cabinet has taken note of arrangements being made for the organisation of the Second World Urdu Conference in Mauritius from 2 to 6 August 2003.
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14. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the national and regional consultations on the 15-year Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan of SADC.
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