1. Cabinet has taken note that the President of the Republic and Lady Sarojini Jugnauth will be the Chief Guests to the 44th Celebration of the Republic Day of Ghana on 1 July 2004. They will leave Mauritius on 26 June and will return on 6 July 2004.
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2. Cabinet has reviewed the situation regarding the Chagos Archipelago and has taken note that in the light of the further legal advice received, the Prime Minister will chair a meeting on Wednesday 30 June with Ministers concerned and the Solicitor General to decide on the way forward. Further, the Prime Minister will meet Mr D. Mc Kinnon, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth on 10 July in London to discuss the issue.
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3. Cabinet has taken note with satisfaction that the African Growth Opportunity Act has been extended by seven years and the third country fabric by three years has been adopted by the American Senate on 24 June 2004. Further, in view of the goodwill enjoyed by Mauritius, the possibility of the third country fabric provision being extended to Mauritius through Australia Free Trade Area Legislation or any other such Legislation has been evoked.
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4. Cabinet has taken note of the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case Police v/s Khoyratty whereby the Court has ruled that section 32 of the Dangerous Drugs Act and section 5 (3A) of the Constitution are void as they infringe sections 1 and 7 of the Constitution and has agreed that appeal be made to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council against the decision of the Supreme Court.
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5. Cabinet has taken note with concern that leaked proposals of the European Commission to review the Sugar Regime with ACP countries would bring about a reduction of 37% in the price of sugar in the year 2007. Cabinet has decided that the Prime Minister would write to President Chirac for his support and the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Development and the Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology and Natural Resources would seek an appointment with Mr F. Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture in Brussels as soon as possible to discuss the matter. Further, the Prime Minister will convene a meeting with the private sector early next week on the return of the Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology and Natural Resources from Maputo on 26 June 2004.
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6. Cabinet has agreed that Mauritius ratifies the United Nations Convention against Corruption which was signed on 9 December 2003. The objectives of the Convention are inter alia to promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption more efficiently and effectively. Mauritius will be the third country after Kenya and Sri Lanka to ratify the Convention which as to date has been signed by 108 countries.
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7. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction into the National Assembly of the Additional Remuneration Bill 2004 which provides for the payment of an additional remuneration to all employees of the public and private sectors to compensate them for an increase in the cost of living. A compensation of 4.5% will be paid to low income earners although they inflation rate for 2003-2004 has been estimated by the Central Statistics Office at 3.9%.
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8. Cabinet has taken note that former Judge and Master and Registrar Mr Abdullah Malleck G. Ahmed had informed the Prime Minister on Saturday 19 June that in view of health problems, he would not be in a position to preside the Commission of Inquiry on the system of Sale by Levy. Consultations will start soon with several persons whose names have been proposed to preside the Commission of Inquiry. Further, in view of the importance of the problem, consideration is also being given to the appointment of two assessors to assist the President.
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9. Cabinet has extended its condolences to the family of Mr Linley Chelin who has died in the fishing accident near Saint Brandon and that of Mr Bernard Céline who has been reported missing. Further, Cabinet has decided that a full enquiry would be carried out jointly by the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment and the Ministry of Shipping, Rodrigues and Outer Islands to determine whether the fishing boat was in proper condition and whether safety equipment had been provided to the fishers.
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10. Cabinet has reviewed the situation regarding Comoros and has taken note that Mauritius would host a Donors Meeting for Comoros organized by the World Bank. In this connection, Mr Van Eegen, Regional Country Coordinator at the World Bank will arrive in Mauritius on 27 June and will have a working session with the Prime Minister and officials on Monday 28 June 2004.
Further, Cabinet has taken note that Comoros has already awarded two contracts for the supply of generic medicines and the supply of rice respectively for a total amount of about Rs 24M under an interest-free Line of Credit of USD 1M (about Rs 28M) signed in January 2002 to finance 90% of the FOB value of exports from Mauritius.
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11. Cabinet has reviewed the situation in NHDC blocks and other housing estates and has taken note that -
(a) a contract has been awarded for the rehabilitation of septic tanks and leaching fields at Beau Vallon and Dagotiere and for the desludging of septic tanks on 23 housing estates;
(b) tenders have been received for consultancy services for a technical assessment of the wastewater disposal system on 45 housing estates;
(c) an amount of about Rs 1M will be made available in the 2004/2005 budget to cater for emergencies related to overflow of septic tanks on these estates; and
(d) the problem of Syndics was being looked into.
Government will continue to monitor the situation and to ensure that remedial actions are implemented.
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12. Cabinet has agreed, in principle, to the introduction of the Third Generation (3G) Mobile Services in Mauritius as from 01 January 2005. In this connection, the Information Technology Authority will start discussions with all the stakeholders on inter alia licensing policy, frequency range and regulatory issues.
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13. Cabinet has taken note with concern of the proliferation of stray dogs, wild cats, pigeons and crows throughout the country and has decided that urgent result-oriented actions would be taken and thereafter the situation would be continuously monitored.
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14. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the mission of the Minister of Industry, Financial Services and Corporate Affairs to Gaborone, Botswana from 17 to 18 June 2004 where he led a delegation to the SADC Meeting of the Integrated Committee of Ministers (ICM).
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