1. Cabinet has taken note that admission procedures in Form I have been carried out satisfactorily. 17,847 seats have been allocated by the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate and 1200 out of 2200 requests for transfers have been approved. Cabinet has also taken note of measures being put in place to prepare for admission in secondary schools in January 2005, in line with the policy of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research to introduce compulsory education for children in the schooling system up to the age of 16 as from next year. In this connection, necessary legislation are being prepared.
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2. Cabinet has reviewed the water situation in the country following the rainfall received after 31 December 2003 and has taken note of the improvement in the level of water in the main reservoirs and that the water supply situation in the regions of Port Louis, the South and the West which were most affected prior to the rainfall has practically returned to normal.
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3. Cabinet has taken note that the Prime Minister has sent a message of sympathy to President Mohammed Khatami of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the earthquake in the City of Bam and has agreed to the setting up of a “Fonds de Solidarité” in favour of the victims of the earthquake with a contribution of Rs 1.0 M by Government and Rs 5,000 by each Minister. The public will be invited to contribute through bank accounts to be opened at the State Bank of Mauritius, the Mauritius Commercial Bank and the Barclays Bank.
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4. Cabinet has taken note that the Prime Minister has sent -
(a) a congratulations note to the Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee and to the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf on their agreement to start dialogue on bilateral issues including the dispute over Kashmir;
(b) a message of sympathy to President Jacques Chirac after an Egyptian plane carrying 148 people, most of them French tourists crashed in the Red Sea;
(c) a message to President Marc Ravalomanane of the Republic of Madagascar on his decision to allow the former Prime Minister, Tantely Andrianarivo who was recently sentenced to 12 years imprisonment to travel to France with his wife and his doctor to receive medical treatment.
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5. Cabinet has taken note that in the light of representations made by the Nursing Association, the Federation of Civil Service and other Unions, the measures taken in the interest of officers working on shift, roster and staggered hours to deduct period of lateness directly from their salary in accordance with the new provisions in the PSC Regulations, have been reviewed. Henceforth, the same principle will be adopted as for other public officers i.e., the period of lateness will be deducted from their leave entitlement in the first instance and deductions will be made from their salary only in case of persistent late attendance.
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6. Cabinet has taken note that disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against a “Permanencier” and a Medical Records Assistant on duty at Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital on 28 December 2003, who have acted negligently following a call for assistance to the SAMU Control Room of Dr Jeetoo Hospital. Mr Kateel Sardoya of Vallée des Prêtres who suffered from asthma passed away as a result of this negligence.
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7. Cabinet has taken note that 49 out of 85 cattle imported from South Africa and which reached Mauritius by Air Mauritius flight at 0100 hour today were found dead due to asphyxia caused by inadequate ventilation. All necessary precautions have been taken for the burial of the carcasses today itself at the Quarantine Site owned by the importers, Socovia Ltd.
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8. Cabinet has taken note with satisfaction that following the agreement reached in Comoros on a power-sharing formula on 20 December 2003, the “Comité de Suivi” chaired by the African Union and responsible for monitoring the implementation process has met successfully in Moroni. Elections for the Assembly of the three autonomous islands have been fixed for 14 and 21 March 2004, and for the Federal Assembly of the Union of Comoros, elections will be held on 18 and 25 April 2004.
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9.Cabinet has agreed to the National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abusers (NATReSA) hosting the 21st Conference of the International Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations for the Prevention of Drug and Substance Abuse (IFNGO) next year.
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10. Cabinet has agreed to the payment of a capitation grant of Rs 95 per day per child being effected to charitable institutions providing accommodation to children, following a Court Order issued under the provisions of the Child Protection Act.
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11. Cabinet has taken note that SMEC International Pty Ltd has been awarded the contract for the detailed GIS Study for Estimation of Rock Resources in Mauritius, the main objectives of which are to locate and estimate the volumes of rock reserves that can be exploited for the construction industry and to recommend the best method for rock extraction and options for the rehabilitation of the sites.
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12. Cabinet has taken note of the positive outcome of the official visit of Mr Pierre-François Unger, 'Conseiller d’Etat, Chargé de Département de l’Action Sociale et de la Santé, Conseil d’Etat de la République et Canton de Génève’ to Mauritius from 20 to 23 December 2003. New areas of cooperation in the health sector between Mauritius and the State of Geneva have been identified and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the Department of surgery of the 'Hôpitaux Universitaires de Génève (HUG), whereby the HUG will inter alia provide training to a Mauritian surgical team to enable it within five years to carry out independently liver and pancreas surgery as well as renal transplantation.
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13. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the Mission of the Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunications in Geneva from 8 to 12 December 2003 where he attended the 4th Global Symposium for Regulators and the first Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, respectively.
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