1. Cabinet has taken note of the tentative programme of the official visit of Hon Smt. Sonia Gandhi from 29 to 30 November 2004. During her visit, Smt. Sonia Gandhi will inaugurate the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre at Belle Village, on 30 November.
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2. Cabinet has agreed to the review of the compensation to be paid to net fishers and net licence holders in the context of the phasing out of Net Fishing exercise. The new level of compensation has been calculated taking into account inflationary rates and the increase in the cost of living. Fishers opting to leave net fishery will in addition to being paid a compensation, continue to maintain their fishermen cards to enable them to re-orientate their fishing activities off lagoon and around Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs).
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3. Cabinet has agreed to the Ministry of Fisheries entering into an Agreement with the Department of Fisheries of Western Australia to formulate a Fisheries Development and Management Plan for Mauritius and to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the fisheries sector between the two parties by April 2005. Areas of co-operation will include banks fisheries, stock assessment, new species for aquaculture development, control and surveillance of fishing activities and capacity building.
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4. Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Technical Advisory Committee under the Chair of Dr Khalil Elahee, lecturer at the University of Mauritius to look into the technical, financial and other implications of introducing better quality fuel for vehicles in line with the Worldwide Fuel Charter.
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5. Cabinet has agreed to the Draft Consumer Protection (Importation and Sale of Second-hand Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2004, and the Consumer Protection (Control of Imports) Amendment Regulations 2004 being made to regulate the conditions for the importation and sale of second-hand vehicles. The new regulations will be effective as from 1 December 2004.
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6. Cabinet has taken note that the Central Electricity Board will be assigned the responsibility to-
(i) prepare a Master Plan for the Electrification of Agalega; and
(ii) study the possibility of providing electricity to the island on a 24 hour basis.
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7. Cabinet has taken note that the sixth round of the Continuous Multi-purpose Household Survey (CMPHS) will be carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) from January to December 2005. The main objective of the survey is to provide a permanent platform for the collection of information relevant to the computation of appropriate indicators to keep tract of social development.
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8. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the Joint Donors’ Ministerial Meeting on Wastewater Sector, held under the chair of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Development on 22 November 2004 at Domaine les Pailles. The key objectives of the meeting were inter alia to follow up on the last Mini Donors’ Technical Meeting on the wastewater sector which was held in December 2003 and to exchange information on the different components of the National Sewerage Programme.
Cabinet has also taken note of measures which the Wastewater Management Authority is proposing to take to address its immediate and future requirements for qualified staff for the smooth implementation of its projects .
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9. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the missions of -
(i) the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Cooperation to Brussels from 25 to 27 October 2004 where he attended the 10th Meeting of the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee and the 5th Meeting of the Joint ACP/EC Ministerial Trade Committee and also to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe from 28 to 29 October 2004 where he attended the 16th Special Meeting of SADC Ministers of Trade and Industry; and
(ii) the Minister of Tourism and Leisure to Bangkok, Thailand from 6 to 10 November 2004 where he attended the Ministerial Conference on Alternative Development - Sufficiency Economy and to the United Kingdom from 11 to 14 November where he attended the World Travel Market.
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10. Government has taken note that the Joint Australian - Madagascar proposal for the listing of the great White Shark (Carcharondon Carchanias) under Appendix 2 of the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) tabled at the 13th Conference of Parties held in Bangkok in October 2004, has been adopted.
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11. Government has taken note of the ecological status of the lagoon following the ban of coral sand extraction from the lagoon since October 2001. Monitoring exercises have been carried out jointly by the Ministry of Environment and National Development Unit and the Ministry of Fisheries at Mahebourg, Grand River South East, Poudre dOr and Grand Gaube. Ex-sand mining sites have been identified for implementation of a rehabilitation programme and works have started at Pointe des Lascars. Future projects will include rehabilitation works at Roche Noires, Pointe Jêrome and Deux Frères.
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12. Government has also taken note of the findings of the lagoonal monitoring exercise undertaken in the Port Louis region, namely from Baie du Tombeau to Pointe aux Sables.
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13. Cabinet has taken note of the recommendations of a Steering Committee set up to review proposals for the catching and disposal of stray dogs and has agreed that the Mauritius Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) will be responsible for the implementation of the recommendations.
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14. Government has agreed to the setting up of Technical Committee under the Chair of the Ministry of Public Utilities as Enforcing Agency for water resources and wastewater disposal under the Environment Protection Act, to harness efforts of all stakeholders for an effective mechanism to be put in place for the monitoring and control of wastewater disposal systems in hotels.
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15. Cabinet has taken note that the Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile (CMT) Group is in the process of acquiring a building belonging to the Esquel Group at Les Casernes Curepipe with a view to setting up a new production unit of knitted garments which is expected to come into operation in January 2005. About 1,500 additional workers will be recruited by the company for the operation of the unit.
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