1.Cabinet has taken note of the report of the Committee set up to enquire into the circumstances which led to two casualties at sea at Poudre d'Or and St. Brandon on 21 February and 19 June 2004 respectively. The main cause of the incidents was lack of safety measures on board. The Committee has recommended inter alia that -(a) all fishermen should have life saving devices on board which should be compulsorily worn when at sea;
(b) training in boat handling and manoeuvring should be imparted to all fishermen; and
(c) as regards St. Brandon, a buoyage system should be established and a proper communication link should exist between the operating company and all crafts involved in the fishing campaign.
Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Steering Committee under the aegis of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport & Shipping to oversee the implementation of the various recommendations made by the Committee.
_______________________________
2.Cabinet has agreed to the report of the National Capacity Needs Self Assessment (NCSA) for Global Environmental Management being submitted to the Global Environment Facility. The objective of the NCSA project was to identify the country level priorities and needs for capacity building to address global environmental issues, in particular, enhancing the capacity of Mauritius to meet its commitments under the three Rio Conventions, namely the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The NCSA Report recommends inter alia the setting up of an Inter-institutional Committee under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment & National Development Unit with a view to adopting a holistic approach towards the implementation of the obligations under the Rio Conventions.
_______________________________
3.Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade & Cooperation would lead a delegation, including the Minister of Agro Industry & Fisheries and the Minister of Industry, Small & Medium Enterprises, Commerce & Cooperatives, to the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005. The initial objective of the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting is to agree on the modalities for negotiations on agriculture and non-agricultural market access as key elements for progress in the Doha Development Agenda. Mauritius believes in a rule-based multi-lateral trading system and will engage constructively in the negotiations to ensure the success of the Doha Development Round.
_______________________________
4.Cabinet has taken note that the Second Meeting of the Regional Task Force of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Countries for the implementation of the 'Addressing Land-Based activities (LaB)' project would be held in Mauritius in January 2006. The main objectives of the meeting, which would be attended by some 20 members from the region, are inter alia to prepare a National Survey Report on water and sediment quality status, develop a common regional assessment and monitoring guidelines, including analytical procedures, and implement a national assessment and monitoring programme to fill gaps in data and information on priority contaminants.
_______________________________
5.Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the visit of the Prime Minister to Bamako, Mali, where he attended the 23rd Conference of Heads of State and Government of Africa and France from 3 to 4 December 2005. The main theme of the Conference was "African Youth: its vitality, creativity and aspirations." One of the highlights of the Conference was the proposal from President Chirac to set up a France-African Working Group to study how best to enable African expertise to return to Africa taking into account that nearly 300,000 Africans were currently working outside Africa and about 20,000 Africans leave Africa to take up employment abroad. During his intervention, the Prime Minister stressed on the need to create a favourable environment in order to retain African expertise in Africa, namely political stability, human rights, transparency in the recruitment process, and equal chances for all. He also highlighted that the brain drain from Africa represented a substantial subsidy which Africa was making to the industrial states without getting anything in return. The Prime Minister also had a meeting with President Chirac and imparted to him the apprehensions of Mauritius on the new EU Sugar regime which, if not reviewed, would cause untold prejudice and damage to the economy of our country. The Prime Minister also met Mr Pascal Clement, Garde des Sceaux, (Minister of Justice) in Paris, who agreed to favourably consider the request of the Prime Minister to help Mauritius reform the judicial system.
_______________________________
6.Cabinet has taken note that the WTO Secretariat proposes to conduct a National Seminar on Domestic Regulations in Mauritius on 23 and 24 January 2006. The seminar which would be attended by representatives of public and private sector organisations responds to the mandate of the Doha Ministerial Declaration which recognizes the needs of developing and least developed countries for enhanced support for technical assistance and capacity building, including policy analysis and development.
_______________________________
7. Cabinet has taken note of arrangements being made by the Ministry of Arts & Culture, in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Centre for African Culture and the Municipality of Beau Bassin/Rose Hill, for the celebration of Christmas 2005 at national level at the Sir Gaëtan Duval Stadium, Rose Hill on Thursday 22 December 2005.
_______________________________
8. Cabinet has agreed to a request being filed to the Internet Codes for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the re-delegation of the .mu country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) to the administration of Mauritius.
_______________________________
9. Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius Museums Council will organize an Open Day at the SSR Memorial Centre for Culture, Port Louis on Thursday 15 December 2005 to commemorate the 20th Death Anniversary of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.
_______________________________
10.Cabinet has agreed to a minimum termination rate on international incoming calls into Mauritius being fixed in order to stabilize the incoming international calls market.
_______________________________
11.Cabinet has agreed to Regulations being made for the deproclamation of part of the Black River – Savanne Coast Road (B9) at Bel Ombre with a view to modifying the alignment of the Black River – Savanne Coast Road. The Bel Ombre/Savanne Coastal Road Realignment Programme forms part of the Integrated Plan for Hotel and Leisure Development at Bel Ombre where Government intends to convert the area into a major tourist attraction.
_______________________________
12. Cabinet has taken note of amendments being made to the Civil Aviation (Security) Regulations 2002 with a view to simplifying the designation of security zones for the purpose of civil aviation.
_______________________________
13.Cabinet has taken note of the Interim Report of the Committee set up to monitor the water in the lagoon undertaken from Baie du Tombeau to Pointe aux Sables. The Committee has found that during the period January to July 2005 there has been a general improvement in the water quality at Baie du Tombeau. However, the Monitoring Committee has inter alia recommended that no swimming should be undertaken as from 700 metres north of the public beach of La Pointe up to 100m northwards of Nassau Bay until further notice; there should be no restriction for human consumption of fish caught from the lagoon and all households of the region should be connected to the server network.
_______________________________
14.Cabinet has taken note of the status of the implementation of the UNEP Governing Council Decision 23/9 Sections III and IV regarding the monitoring of the release of mercury and its compounds into the environment and their impacts on human health. Information on the use and the release of heavy metals, like lead and cadmium, in the environment is being compiled for submission to the UNEP.
_______________________________
15.Cabinet has taken note of activities being organized to mark the Human Rights Day on Saturday 10 December 2005. The Attorney General's Office, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, would launch the National Strategy on Human Rights. Organizations which are actively involved in the promotion of human rights would be invited to participate and make suggestions on the strategy to be adopted in order to create better awareness on human right issues.
_______________________________
16.Cabinet has taken note that the Sectoral Partnership Meeting (SPM) on Light Engineering under the EU – SADC Investment Partnership Programme (ESIPP) would be held in Mauritius from 14 to 17 February 2006. The meeting which would be attended by about 350 delegates from SADC region and Europe, aims at promoting investment and facilitating inter-enterprise cooperation agreement in key sectors on a continuous and sustainable basis. The Board of Investment and Enterprise Mauritius would coordinate the participation of small and medium enterprises.
_______________________________
17.Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the missions of –
(i) the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade & Cooperation to Brussels where he attended the ACP Trade Ministers and the G90 Ministers Meeting from 28 November to 02 December 2005. The ACP and G90 reviewed progress in the WTO Doha Work Programme negotiations and adopted a common position for the forthcoming Hong Kong Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference negotiations; and
(ii) the Attorney General, Minister of Justice & Human Rights to Lusaka, Zambia where he attended the First Extraordinary Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General on 30 November 2005. Cabinet also took note that Hon Justice Keshoe Parsad P. Matadeen was elected as Judge Elect of the Appellate Division of COMESA.
_______________________________
18.Cabinet took note of the outcome of the visit of HE Mr Dominique Bussereau, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of France on 2 December 2005. During his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport & Shipping, and working sessions with other Ministers and personalities, the EU Sugar reform and the far reaching adverse impact of the price cuts on the economy were discussed.