1. Cabinet has reviewed arrangements made for the celebration of -
(a) the National Day 2004. The official Flag Raising Ceremony will be held at the Champ de Mars on 12 March from 1115 to 1215 hours while a cultural programme is scheduled to take place at the Port Louis Waterfront from 1830 to 2100 hours;
(b) the Spring Festival at national level. A cultural show will be organised at the Plaza Theatre on 22 January with local artists and a 23-member cultural troupe from the People’s Republic of China which will be visiting Mauritius under the Cultural Exchange Programme between the two countries; and
(c) the 169th Anniversary of the abolition of slavery on 1 February 2004. UNESCO has declared this year as the “International year to commemorate the struggle against slavery and its abolition” and the activities will be organised on this theme. The official programme will be held at Pointe Canon, Mahebourg from 0930 to 1045 hours and a cultural show at the Football ground at Bel Air Rivière Sèche as from 1600 hours.
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2. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the visit of the delegation led by the Prime Minister to Agalega on 11 January 2004, the purpose of which was mainly to assess the living conditions of the Agaleans and to examine the most appropriate structure to be set up to enable the residents to make representations regarding problems faced by them. The delegation also visited the site earmarked for the development of a Hotel Resort by IBL in North Island. Arrangements are also being made for a Resident Doctor to be posted to Agalega.
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3. Cabinet has taken note of the private visit of President Azali of the Union of Comoros and his wife from 12 to 15 January 2004. President Azali has in a meeting with the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to respect the Agreement reached on 20 December 2003.
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4. Cabinet has taken note of the mission of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Cooperation to New Delhi from 8 to 9 January 2004 where he led the Mauritian delegation to the Ninth Session of the Indo-Mauritian Joint Commission and the Preliminary Meeting of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement. The Indian Government has agreed to finance the Sewerage House Connection Programme at Baie du Tombeau to the tune of US $ 10M, and has also agreed to examine the proposal for the construction of the New Supreme Court building estimated at Rs 800M on a matching grant basis.
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5. Cabinet has reviewed the arrangements for the International Meeting on Small Islands Developing States and has taken note that -
(i) as a follow-up on the Preparatory Regional Meeting recently held in Seychelles, the Prime Minister will chair a meeting today;
(ii) the Minister of Fisheries was currently attending the Preparatory Meeting held in Cap Verde; and
(iii) a UN Planning Mission visited Mauritius from 12 to 15 January to discuss logistic arrangements. Another UN Mission is planned for mid-May 2004 during which the Host Country Agreement will be signed.
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6. Cabinet has agreed to the accession of Mauritius to the Protocol to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament which was adopted on 2 March 2001 and which came into force on 14 December 2003.
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7. Cabinet has reviewed the situation regarding admission in Form I and has taken note that the exercise has been carried out in a smooth manner. Over 99% of students who have been offered a seat have joined a secondary school. The transfer exercise was nearly completed and a few hardship cases were being reconsidered.
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8. Cabinet has reviewed measures to meet new challenges in the tourism industry in order to ensure its sustainable development and growth and has agreed that this issue will be among the priorities to be discussed at the next Government/Private Sector Meeting scheduled for 31 January 2004.
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9. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of a National Numbering Plan for telecommunication/s services, based on an eight-digit numbering system in view of the new competitive business environment. The new system will ensure adequate numbering capacity for the next 20 years and beyond. A new carrier selection services for international calls will also be introduced to facilitate the entry of International Long Distance Operators on the market.
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10. Cabinet has reviewed the situation in the Employment Service and has agreed to the implementation of an Action Plan for the reorganisation of that Service following a brainstorming session held on 8 January 2004. The assistance of the Employment Sector of the International Labour Organisation will inter alia be sought for capacity building and support for specific projects.
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11. Cabinet has reviewed the situation of the bank fishing operators and has taken note that a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister with Ministers concerned and stakeholders on 15 January 2004, and the next meeting is scheduled for 4 February 2004.
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12. Cabinet has taken note of the visit of a team led by Dr A. Kalangos, Chairperson of the “Clinique de Chirurgie Cardiovasculaire, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève” and President of the “Association Humanitaire Coeurs pour Tous” of Geneva to Mauritius from 23 to 27 January, 2004, to operate upon 12 complex congenital paediatric cases at the Cardiac Centre.
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13. Cabinet has taken note of Regulations to be made under the Environment Protection Act to provide that only degradable plastic carry bags with a minimum wall thickness of 20 microns will be allowed for local use. A moratorium period of 3 months will be given to manufacturers, distributors and retailers to dispose of their old stock of non-conforming plastic carry bags.
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