The Cabinet met today under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, the Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.  The highlights of the deliberations are as follows:

1.​ Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of the Construction Industry Development Board (Amendment) Bill into the National Assembly.  The object of the Bill is to amend the Construction Industry Development Board Act so as to provide for a more appropriate and modern legislative framework in view of the accelerating development in the construction industry.  The Bill makes provisions, inter alia:

(a)​ for the registration of providers of construction works and construction services, and suppliers of construction materials, equipment, plant and labour for construction purposes;

(b) ​to the effect that nothing shall preclude a professional architect, a professional quantity surveyor and a registered professional engineer to take or use the name, description or title of “consultant” in his respective field;

(c) ​to give additional powers to the Construction Industry Development Council in determining applications for registration under the Act;

(d)​ to empower the Construction Industry Development Council to issue a compliance notice to a person who offers his services as a consultant, contractor, service provider or supplier without being registered under the Act, ordering that person to make an application for registration;

(e)​ to empower the Construction Industry Development Council to compound, with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions, some specific offences committed by a person where the person agrees, in writing, to pay such amount not exceeding the maximum penalty specified for the offence as may be acceptable to the Council; and

(f)​ to empower the Construction Industry Development Council to review the registration of every consultant, contractor, service provider and supplier, and the power to collect statistical information in the construction industry.

2. ​Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Ministerial Committee chaired by the Prime Minister to look into the development of a road map for the teaching of the Kreol Morisien at upper secondary level.

3.​ Cabinet has taken note of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by Hermes Properties Ltd, Landscope Mauritius Ltd and the Road Development Authority for the cost sharing of the construction of a Flyover at M1, Ebène, with slip lanes and a link road leading to Wellkin Roundabout at Réduit.  Cabinet has also agreed to the implementation of the project for the Interchange Construction and Improvement along M3-A14 corridor at Ebène.

4.​ Cabinet has agreed to the implementation of the project for the rehabilitation of Cavendish Bridge at Ville Noire.  The Cavendish Bridge was built in 1911 in reinforced concrete and it crosses Rivière La Chaux.  In view of its old age, there are several signs of degradation, such as spalling of concrete on the deck, rusting of main steel elements, corrosion of reinforcement bars and decay of wooden planks on the footpath.

5.​ Cabinet has taken note that the operational licences in respect of the three private Vehicle Examination Stations namely Autocheck Ltd, Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) Ltd and Eastern Stone Crusher Ltd, which were exceptionally extended for a period of three months up to 31 March 2021, have been further extended up to 31 December 2021, in order to ensure that vehicles plying on the roads are roadworthy.

6.​ Cabinet has taken note of the Customs Tariff (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 and the Excise (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 would be promulgated.  The Regulations provide for a review of the customs/excise duty rebate scheme for motor vehicles introduced under the Economic Recovery Programme.

The revised rebate scheme which would be effective as from 5 April 2021, would be as follows:

(a) a motor car up to 1,000 cc (whether hybrid or not): 40 percent of the excise duty payable on the motor car; and

(b)​ a motor car (whether hybrid or not) above 1,000 cc, double/single space cabin vehicle, van and bus: 30 percent of the excise duty payable on the motor vehicle.

7.​ Cabinet has taken note that on 31 March 2021, the Metro Express Ltd carried out its first trial run successfully from Rose Hill Central Station to Quatre Bornes Central Station.

8.​ Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance would arrange for the publication of the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering (Review Panel) Rules 2021 which have been made by the Chairperson of the Review Panel.

​The Review Panel would be responsible to review:

(a) ​a decision of regulatory bodies, namely the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Attorney General’s Office, the Registrar of Companies, the Gambling Regulatory Authority and the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants in relation to imposition of administrative sanctions under section 19N of the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act;

(b)​ a decision of the Financial Reporting Council under section 23A of the Financial Reporting Council; and

(c)​ a decision of the Registrar of Associations under section 14K of the Registration of Associations Act.

9.​ Cabinet has taken note that Mauritius is submitting its Third Progress Report to the FATF Secretariat on 2 April 2021.

10.​ Cabinet has taken note that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of India has entered into force on 1 April 2021.

11.​ Cabinet has taken note that an “Agent Agreement” would be signed between the Ministry of National Infrastructure and Community Development and the Crown Agents Japan Limited, for the procurement of products and services to promote the Economic and Social Development Programme of Mauritius, and for which a Grant Aid of 600M Japanese Yen has been made available by the Government of Japan.  The Grant Aid is meant for projects relating to the Ministry of National Infrastructure and Community Development, with focus on procurement of equipment for undertaking geotechnical investigations.

12.​ Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world.  With regard to Mauritius, as at 2 April 2021, 1,083 cases (including imported cases) of COVID-19 had been registered.  There were currently 342 active cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius, out of which 337 were local cases and five imported cases.  Contact tracing exercises and random testing are being carried out in accordance with the established protocol.  The public should observe strict sanitary precautions.

Cabinet has also taken note of progress in the implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme and arrangements being made to administer the second dose of vaccine.

13.​ Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius Post Ltd would start to operate anew as from Monday 5 April 2021 as follows:

(a)​ for pension payment purposes for the period 5 to 10 April 2021 in alphabetical order in accordance with the Second Schedule of the COVID-19 (Closing Down of Premises and Restriction of Activities) Regulations 2021;

(b)​ for Red Zones, pension delivery would be on a door to door basis during the period 5 to 9 April 2021.  Post Offices in the Red Zones would not be opened to the public during that period; and

​(c)​ during the period 5 to 10 April 2021, in order to avoid long queues at Post Offices, no postal services (including home delivery by Postmen) would be available.

​​Cabinet has also taken note that Post Offices would resume normal operations, including postal services, in all regions, as from Monday 12 April 2021.  The resumption of postal services would be made in strict compliance with sanitary protocols for the general public as well as staff of the Mauritius Post Ltd.

14. ​Cabinet has taken note of the setting up of a Technical Committee at the level of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare to study the phenomenon of child/revenge pornography following the circulation of indecent photos and videos against payment on the social media application “Telegram”.  The National Computer Board has already issued a Communiqué alerting the population of the dangers and consequences of sharing inappropriate content including nudity, online.

Cabinet has also taken note that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare has already referred the matter to the Police for enquiry.

15.​ Cabinet has taken note of the setting up of a Multi-Sectoral Committee on HIV and AIDS under the chair of the Minister of Health and Wellness.  The objectives of the Multi-Sectoral Committee would be to, inter alia,:

(a)​ lead, plan, coordinate and monitor the National HIV and AIDS Response;

(b)​ identify emerging needs and gaps in service delivery and articulate priority areas for HIV and AIDS activities;

(c)​ ensure holistic inter-organisational collaboration across relevant sectors to address common and specific goals leading to the elimination of AIDS by 2030; and

(d)​ coordinate and support the monitoring and evaluation of HIV programmes projects.

The Multi-Sectoral Committee on HIV and AIDS would ensure that cross-cutting issues with different stakeholders are addressed and all targets of the national HIV response are met for an updated reporting to be made to the High Level Drugs and HIV Council chaired by the Prime Minister.

16. ​Cabinet has taken note of the recent participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade through video conference, in the 30th Summit of the African Peer Review (APR) Forum of Heads of State and Government.  The APR Forum was presided over by the President of the Republic of South Africa.  In his opening statement, he highlighted the great suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which has placed systems of governance and service provision under significant strain, pushing resources and capabilities to the limit.  He stressed that the APRM mission to promote the African Union’s shared values of democratic governance and inclusive development remains a priority.  He called on Member States to tackle instability, conflict, corruption and maladministration.  The Chairperson of the African Union Commission also made an address during the Opening Ceremony wherein he underscored the celebration of 18th year of accomplishments for APRM in 2021.

The Forum welcomed the accession of the Democratic Republic of Congo as the 41st APRM Member State.  The APR Forum took note of the African Governance Report 2021 which is a publication of the African Union on the state of governance in Africa.

17.​ Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare in the 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) which was held in a hybrid format with virtual participation from Member States. The priority theme for the year 2021 was ‘Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’. The Ministers responsible for women’s affairs and gender, had the opportunity to deliver their statements regarding progress made so far and challenges faced in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The CSW65 meeting provided also for a review of the implementation of the Member States of the Agreed Conclusions of the 60th Session of the CSW on ‘Women’s Empowerment and the link to Sustainable Development’, five years after the adoption of the global Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals.

Source: Government Information Service

#beSafeMoris