Cabinet Decisions taken on 17 December 2004

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2. Cabinet has taken note of the overall improvement in the CPE results for year 2004 and of the measures being taken to ensure the smooth registration exercise for new admissions in colleges.

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3. Cabinet has agreed to the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Sale by Levy and has taken note that the issues raised in the preliminary findings in the “Liverpool case” judgement have been taken care of by the amendments brought to the Moneylenders Act in 2002. However, further enquiries into the Liverpool case are being carried out.

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4. Cabinet has agreed on the composition of the Mauritius delegation for the Small Islands Development States (SIDS) Conference to be held on 10 to 14 January 2005 and that in view of the rescheduling of the visit of HE Dr Manmohun Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, the Swami Vivekananda Convention Centre at Pailles will come into operation at the end of December for the forthcoming SIDS Conference with an official opening ceremony taking place at a later date.

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5. Cabinet has taken note of the successful outcome of the official visit the Prime Minister effected to the Seychelles from 7 to 11 December 2004. The delegation comprised the Hon. A. Navarre-Marie, Minister of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare, senior officials and representatives of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry. During the visit, two Memoranda of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation and on Bilateral Cooperation in Demand and Supply Reduction on Drugs were signed respectively with the Seychelles Authorities and discussions were focused inter-alia on bilateral cooperation in the Economic, Fisheries, tourism and cultural sectors and also on the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago and the fate of the Ilois Community.

Cabinet has also taken note that the President of the Republic of Seychelles has accepted the invitation to be the chief guest of the National Day celebrations in March 2005.

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6. Cabinet has taken note that the Prime Minister would chair a meeting on Tuesday 21 December 2004 with all parties concerned to look into all security and environment aspects of the South Eastern Highway Project.

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7. Cabinet has reviewed the developments in the filing of candidature for the post of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and has noted that danger exists of a North-South confrontation developing.

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8. Cabinet has taken note that the representatives of Amnesty International has submitted their report on Le système de prise en Charge de femmes victimes de violence conjugale à l’Ile Maurice: Etat des Lieux et propositions to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Women's Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare and has invited all Ministers to study the report to implement measures wherever possible to address the issue in Mauritius.

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9. Cabinet has taken note of the holding of the third Mega Blood Collection organized by the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life on 22 December 2004 on the Esplanade of Emmanuel Anquetil Building, Port Louis from 800 to 1800 hours with a view to ensuring a safe and adequate stock of blood to meet the demand during the end of year period.

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10. Cabinet has agreed that the Prime Minister would chair a meeting in January 2005 with parties concerned to further coordinate matters regarding the Integrated Plan for Tourism and Leisure at St Félix and the Bel Ombre Integrated Tourism and Leisure project.

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11. Cabinet has agreed that another site visit by the Prime Minister and other Ministers would be effected to Balaclava in January 2005 in the context of the preparation of the Balaclava Master Plan.

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12. Cabinet has taken note that a site visit will be effected in early January 2005 by the officers of the Ministry of Housing and Lands to indicate to private land owners who have encroached on State land at Pas Géometriques Anna (Flic en Flac), the boundaries of their properties and ascertain whether the encroachments identified at the last inter-ministerial site visit in November have been removed.

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13. Cabinet has taken note that the Prime Minister will chair a meeting in January 2005 with all concerned parties to discuss the relocation of squatters of Karo Kalyptis at Case Noyale.

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14. Cabinet has taken note that the Board of the Mauritius Housing Company has approved the request of the NHDC for a loan of Rs 400M for the financing of the construction of 1,000 low cost housing units and on-site infrastructure, which would house inter-alia the squatters of la Ferme.

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15. Cabinet has agreed to the setting-up of a high powered committee under the chair of the Director-
General of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to inter alia verify the assumption underlying the Business Plan of the Mauritius Island Cruises Ltd (MIC) and assess the impact of excluding from the cruise itinerary St Brandon and/or Agalega on the MIC project. The High Powered Committee would also comprise representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Environment and National Development Unit, the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure, the Ministry of Industry, Financial Services and Corporate Affairs, the Ministry of Manpower Development, Training and External Communication and the Ministry of Shipping and Outer Islands.

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16. Cabinet has agreed to the holding of a first Sino-African Tourism Forum in Mauritius in May 2005 which will have as objective to create a synergy among Southern and Eastern African Sub-Saharan Countries with Approved Destination Status (ADS) for effective marketing of the region in China and to provide a better understanding of specificities as well as promote dialogue between African ADS Countries and the Chinese Authorities.

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17. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the mission of –

(i) the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Cooperation to Brussels from 29 November to 3 December 2004, where he attended the 80th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers and the 2nd Joint ACP-EU Ministerial Meeting in the Framework of the Revision of the Cotonou Agreement;

(ii) the Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology and Natural Resources
to –

(a) Algiers on 23 November 2004, where he attended the 12th Summit of the NEPAD Heads of States and Government Implementation Committee;

(b) Rome from 24 to 25 November 2004 where he attended the 127th Session of the FAO Council; and

(c) Brussels on 29 November 2004, where he attended the Ministerial Consultations on Sugar at the ACP House;

(iii) the Minister of Tourism and Leisure to China from 23 to 28 November 2004 where he participated in the China International Travel Mart and had discussions with the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA);

(iv) the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice & Human Rights to Antananarivo, Madagascar from 6 to 7 December 2004, where he attended the Colloque of the Association des Juristes de l’Ocean Indien on ‘Le Code Civil dans l’Ocean Indien 1804-2004; and