1. Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Cabinet Committee to examine the Report of the Select Committee on the Funding of Political Parties which was chaired by Hon E.J. Leung Shing, QC, and to make recommendations thereon. The Cabinet Committee will also review recommendations made by the Sachs Commission on the Funding of Political Parties. The Cabinet Committee will be chaired by the Prime Minister and will comprise the following members:
- the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Development
- the Minister of Housing and Lands and Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Handicraft & the Informal Sector,
- the Minister of Industry, Financial Services and Corporate Affairs,
- the Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunications and
- the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Human Rights.
_______________________________
2. Cabinet has agreed that the White Paper on a New Legal Framework for Industrial Relations in Mauritius be made public and parties concerned be invited to submit their views thereon to the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment up to the end of December 2004.
______________________________
3. Cabinet has, in principle, agreed to the setting-up of a Land Restitution Commission based on the South African model with a view to assisting members of the public with limited financial means, who are not well informed, have no means of carrying out research work and who have serious claims on ownership of land under dispute, to eventually recover their land. In this connection, Cabinet has agreed that a delegation comprising former Judge R. Ahnee, Mr Jocelyn Chan Low, Director, Mauritian Cultural Centre and Mrs J. Jeetun, Chief Executive of SIT, and a representative of the Ministry of Housing and Lands should proceed to South Africa to study the legal framework and the system which has been put in place there and make recommendations to Government. The persons concerned are being approached.
_______________________________
4. Cabinet has taken note of the contents of the National Drug Control Master Plan for 2004-2009 and has agreed to make the document public. The Master Plan focuses on demand reduction, supply reduction and a series of other strategies to control illicit drug use, abuse and trafficking. Findings of the Research Work conducted by the National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abusers (NATRESA) in both Mauritius and Rodrigues, have been used as basis for the formulation of the Master Plan.
_______________________________
5. Cabinet has agreed to the early introduction in the National Assembly of the Mauritius National Lotteries Bill which provides for the selection and licensing of an operator to operate the Mauritius National Lottery on behalf of Government, and for part of the proceeds to be used for the promotion of community development mainly in the field of education, health, sports and culture.
_______________________________
6. Cabinet has taken note that in view of the low water level in reservoirs and aquifers, special measures were being taken to ensure an adequate water supply in all regions specially during the Divali festival period.
_______________________________
7. Cabinet has reviewed the situation regarding fishers in general and has taken note that the Prime Minister has on 4 November 2004 chaired a meeting with Ministers concerned and the fishers of Port Louis, Bel Ombre and Le Morne to examine their problems in particular.
_______________________________
8. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius hosting the Fifth Meeting of the African Committee of Experts of the African Union Commission on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in March 2005. The African Committee of Experts has been established within the African Union to promote and protect the rights and welfare of the African Child as enshrined in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. 20 experts from Member States are expected to attend.
_______________________________
9. Cabinet has also agreed to Mauritius hosting the World Meteorological Organisation Global Positioning System Radiosonde Intercomparison Session in February 2005. The session will be attended by experts from 25 Member Countries of the World Meteorological Organisation and will focus on the introduction of new techniques in the monitoring of the temperature, humidity, pressure and wind.
Cabinet has also taken note of the holding of the meeting of the SADC Ministers of Finance and Investment on 11 November 2004 at the Grand Baie Conference Centre.
_______________________________
10. Cabinet has taken note of the activities to mark the-
(i) International Volunteers Day from 5 to 12 December 2004;
(ii) International Day Against Violence Against Women (IDAVAW)-2004 from 25 November to 10 December 2004; and
(iii) World Diabetes Day from 14 November to 4 December 2004, and having as theme “Fight Obesity – Prevent Diabetes!”
_______________________________
11. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the Missions of:
(i) the Minister of Environment and National Development Unit to Geneva from 25 to 29 October 2004 where he attended the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the Basel Convention on the control of hazardous wastes;
(ii) the Minister of Civil Service Affairs and Administrative Reforms to Singapore from 23 to 27 October 2004 where he attended the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) 10th Anniversary Biennial Conference. Cabinet has also taken note that the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service has been re-elected Director of CAPAM for a second term of office for a period of two years as from November 2004;
(iii) the Minister of Arts and Culture to Seychelles from 24 to 30 October 2004 where he attended the festival Kreol;
(iv) the Minister of Industry, Financial Services and Corporate Affairs to London from 16 to 24 October 2004 for the promotion of the financial services sector and from 25 to 26 October 2004 to Paris where he attended the Financial Action Task Force Plenary Meeting; and
(v) the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Human Rights to London from 21 to 22 October 2004 where he attended the Meeting of Law Ministers and Attorney-General of Small Commonwealth Jurisdictions.
Cabinet has also taken note of the outcome of the “Conference Ministerielle Regionale des Etats Francophones d’Afrique pour la Ratification et la mise en oeuvre des Conventions des Nations Unies contre la corruption, la criminalité et le terrorisme” held from 25 to 27 October 2004 at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel.
_______________________________
12. Cabinet has taken note of the proposed visit of Mr Bernard Gruson, Director-General of “Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG) to Mauritius from 25 December 2004 to 6 January 2005 to explore new avenues of cooperation in the health sector.
_______________________________
13. Cabinet has taken note of the proposed participation of a Mauritian delegation to the International Integration Camp and Children’s Assembly from 14 to 20 November 2004, at New Delhi, India under the existing cultural exchange programme between Mauritius and India.
_______________________________