1. Cabinet has approved the list of Public Holidays for the year 2005 as follows:
New Year |
Saturday 1 January |
New Year |
Sunday 2 January |
Thaipoosam Cavadee |
Tuesday 25 January |
Abolition of Slavery |
Tuesday 1 February |
Chinese Spring Festival |
Wednesday 9 February |
Maha Shivratree |
Tuesday 8 March |
National Day |
Saturday 12 March |
Ougadi |
Saturday 9 April |
Labour Day |
Sunday 1 May |
Ganesh Chathurthi |
Thursday 8 September |
All Saints Day |
Tuesday 1 November |
Divali |
Tuesday 1 November |
Arrival of Indentured Labourers |
Wednesday 2 November |
**Eid-Ul-Fitr |
Friday 4 November |
Christmas |
Sunday 25 December |
** The exact date of this festival is subject to confirmation as its celebration depends on the visibility of the moon.
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2. Cabinet has taken note of the site visit led by the Prime Minister at Bel Ombre on 17 April, and has agreed to the setting up of an Implementation and Coordination Committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Housing and Lands and Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Handicraft & Informal Sector and comprising Ministries and Stakeholders concerned to ensure that the implementation of public facilities included in the Integrated Master Plan for Bel Ombre keep pace with the hotel developments. These facilities include:-
(i) a public beach equipped with changing rooms, kiosks, barbecue facilities and other amenities;
(ii) a Women's Centre;
(iii) a Residential Youth Centre;
(iv) a Museum at the "Battelage" site;
(v) a Police Station; and
(vi) a Fire Station.
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3. Cabinet has reviewed the situation regarding housing issues and has taken note of the proposal of the National Housing Development Company Ltd to launch tenders for the design, construction and financing of 2,000 Firinga type housing units in different parts of the island.
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4. Cabinet has agreed to the establishment of an Air Access Policy Unit within the External Communications Division of the Ministry of Training, Skills Development, Productivity and External Communications. This Unit will be responsible inter alia for analysis of traffic carried by various international airlines to/from Mauritius, conducting research studies in the airline industry worldwide for determining a realistic rate of growth of traffic between Mauritius and other countries, and to advise Government on the air seat capacity requirements.
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5. Government has reviewed the situation regarding the fish landing station at Mahebourg and has agreed to the dredging of a channel and the modification of the jetty with a view to enabling the fishers to use the Fish Landing Station and the "Maison des Pêcheurs" in a more effective manner. Besides, consideration would be given to the transfer of the Mahebourg Fisheries Post to the "Maison des Pêcheurs" and to the provision of a touristic component thereat.
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6. Cabinet has reviewed the situation in Comoros and has taken note with satisfaction that the first round of the legislative elections for the Union's Parliament held in the Archipelago on 18 April took place in free and fair conditions. The second round of voting is scheduled for 25 April 2004.
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7. Cabinet has agreed to the submission of the financing proposal for the Decentralised Co-operation Programme in Mauritius under the 9th European Development Fund to the European Commission for projects amounting to some EURO 11.2M (Rs 350M). The key areas identified for assistance are poverty reduction, promotion of good governance, fight against unemployment and more efficient use of the natural resources in the Island of Rodrigues.
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8. Cabinet has taken note that the Board of Investment has approved 42 new projects during the period 16 December 2003 to 2 April 2004. These projects would necessitate a total investment of around Rs 3,016M, with Foreign Direct Investment estimated at Rs 605M, and are expected to create some 2,100 new jobs. 22 projects are in the ICT Sector, 16 are in the Industrial Sector, and 4 are in the Hotel and Leisure Sector.
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9. Cabinet has taken note that the Government Information Services will hold a one-day workshop to discuss on communication in the public sector and to define ways towards improving Government communication process.
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10. Cabinet has reviewed the issue of lease of Land to Agaleans and has agreed to the setting up of a Technical Committee under the Chairmanship of the Ministry of Housing and Lands and Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Handicraft & the Informal Sector to look into the modalities thereof and make recommendations.
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