1. Cabinet has taken note of developments on the Chagos issue particularly regarding the recent action of the British Government to amend the Declaration of the UK accepting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, and of proposed action by the Government of Mauritius in this regard. Further, Cabinet has taken note that the Prime Minister will meet Mr Don Mc Kinnon, Secretary General of the Commonwealth and the legal advisers of the Mauritian Government on the Chagos issue in London today.
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2. Cabinet has also taken note of the situation regarding the proposal of the European Commission to review the Sugar Regime with ACP countries leading to a 37% reduction in the price of sugar by 2007 and has taken note of the outcome of the mission of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology and Natural Resources who had meetings with the Agriculture Ministers of Belgium, Austria and France, and with the EU Commissioner Franz Fischler in Vienna.
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3. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of the Tourism Bill into the National Assembly which provides inter alia the consolidation of the Tourism Act 2002 and the Travel Agents and Tours Operators Act 2001 and the setting-up of a Tourism Authority.
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4. Cabinet has reviewed progress in the implementation of the various school and hotel projects and has taken note that the implementation programme is proceeding as scheduled.
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5. Cabinet has agreed that an Export Services Certificate be issued to Mr Gundeep Singh Mehta for export activities, quality control and pre-shipment inspection services. The project is expected to generate a total of Rs4.22M of foreign exchange in the first year of operation and to create employment for nine persons.
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6. Cabinet has agreed to exempt short range equipment such as alarm systems, Barcode readers, Garage door operations, cellular mobile phones, cordless telephones, remote control, video surveillance, etc. from the requirement of a licence under the ICT Act and the payment of spectrum fees with a view to promoting the use of such new emerging wireless technologies.
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7. Cabinet has agreed that Mauritius bids for the hosting of the Senior African Athletics Championship in 2006.
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8. Cabinet has agreed to regulations be made under the Export Processing Zone Labour Welfare Fund Act to provide for the fixing of a surcharge on contributions not paid by enterprises within the prescribed delay.
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9. Cabinet has taken note that the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) Examination will be held this year from Monday 11 to Thursday 14 October 2004.
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10. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the mission of -
(i) the Minister of Environment and National Development Unit to Sirte, Libya from 29 to 20 June 2004 where he attended the 10th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCE);
(ii) the Minister of Health and Quality of Life to Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 24 to 25 June 2004 where he attended the Global Government Health Partners Leadership Forum 2004; and
(iii) the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Human Rights to Bali, Indonesia from 21 to 25 June 2004 where he attended the 43rd Session of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO) Annual Meeting.
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11. Cabinet has taken note of
(i) the reconstitution of the Mauritius Accounting and Auditing Standards (MAAS) Committee under the Chairmanship of Ms Clairette Ah Hen.
(ii) the Board of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for the next three years under the Chairmanship of Mr Baboo Rajendrasing Gujadhur.
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