Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694840220529.pdf (Mauritius)
CABINET DECISIONS – 2 AUGUST 2013 Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the official mission of Dr the Hon Navinchandra 1.

Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, Prime Minister, to France and the UK.

In Paris, the Prime Minister met Mr Manuel Valls, Minister of Interior of the Republic of France, with whom he discussed possible arrangements for the transfer of French nationals who are serving sentences in Mauritius relating to trafficking in Subutex.
The Prime Minister explained that the difficulty lies in the fact that Subutex is not considered an illegal drug in France, while, in Mauritius, it is classified as a dangerous drug under the Dangerous Drugs Act 2000.

Mr Valls would shortly send a team to Mauritius to discuss the way forward with the relevant authorities.
The Prime Minister thanked Mr Valls for the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation on security matters, including training of Police Officers, signed in 2008 by his predecessor, Mrs Michèle Alliot–Marie and himself.

The Prime Minister and Mr Valls, Minister of Interior, also discussed matters of interest to Mauritius and France.

In London, the Prime Minister had meetings with the Team of Lawyers on the Chagos issue to prepare the rebuttal to the Memorandum that the British have submitted.
These meetings were also attended by: (a) the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service; (b) the Solicitor General and the Parliamentary Counsel of the State Law Office; (c) our Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York; and (d) our High Commissioner and the First Secretary in the UK.

~~~ 2.
~~~ 2.

Cabinet has taken note of further developments in the implementation of the Mauritius Light Rapid Transit (MLRT) Project which aims at solving traffic congestion problems and providing an efficient and quality public transport system.
Eleven international companies have responded to the Expression of Interest and, after selection, six entities/delivery consortia, that are suitably qualified for delivery of the MLRT project, have been retained by the Mauritius Land Transport Authority for the Request for Proposal exercise.

~~~ 3.
~~~ 3.

Cabinet has taken note that, under the Maurice Ile Durable Policy, Strategy and Action Plan, the contribution of renewable energy, i.e., Hydro, Bagasse, Wind, Photovoltaic, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Small Scale Distributed Generation, is estimated at 23.4% of total energy generation in 2014 and to reach 35% in 2025.

~~~ Cabinet has taken note of the Tertiary Education Strategy for 2013-2025.
Five main 4. strategic goals have been identified, namely - (a) Widening Access and Ensuring Equity Increasing access to tertiary education to achieve by 2025, enrolment of 68,000 students, including secondary school leavers, students enrolled in continuous professional development, lifelong learning and upgrading of qualifications.

(b) Improving Quality and Relevance Achieving high quality standards of tertiary education and improving the ranking of tertiary education institutions in Mauritius.
(c) Internationalisation of Mauritian Tertiary Education Transforming Mauritius into a prime destination for higher learning with a target of 100,000 international students by 2025.

(d) Enhancing Research and Innovation Rationalising research and innovation to respond to economic and social needs and increasing the number of research publications and patents by 75% by 2025.
(e) Strengthening Governance and Financial Sustainability Introducing a Tertiary Education Act and establish well-defined performance indicators for publicly funded tertiary education institutions and mechanisms to link funding to quality improvement.

~~~ 5.
~~~ 5.

Cabinet has taken note that, at the Global Symposium of Regulators held in Poland in July 2013, Mauritius has been quoted as a good example of an economy that has witnessed significant growth supported by a vibrant ICT Sector, and the ICTA, along with Ofcom of the UK and the Korea Communications Commission of South Korea, recognised to be amongst the three regulators to have the traits of a fourth generation regulator in the world.

~~~ 6.
~~~ 6.

Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives would launch the Mauritius Excellence Awards for Cooperatives to reward the most performing cooperative society in each of the following sectors, namely sugar, food crop, fish, transport, finance, livestock, consumer, food processing, women cooperatives, and other services.

The theme chosen for the first edition of the Mauritius Excellence Awards for Cooperatives is Ensam nou pli fort – Ensam nou progresser.

~~~ 7.
~~~ 7.

Cabinet has taken note that, in line with Government Programme 2012-2015, an E-Library platform for public tertiary education institutions would be launched in October 2013.

The main objective of the online portal would be to provide access to students to e-materials, i.e., books, conference papers, journal papers, dissertations, reports, and non-e-material, i.e., their location and availability on the library shelf.
It is expected that 1,000 e-books and 7,000 non-e-books would be available on the database by the end of 2013.

In the second phase of the project, the libraries of the public funded tertiary education institutions would be computerised and the portal would be upgraded using cloud computing technology.

~~~ Cabinet has taken note that the 11th Edition of the African Junior Athletics Championship 8. would be held at Germain Commarmond Stadium, Bambous, from 29 August to 01 September 2013.
It is expected that some 300 athletes from 26 countries would participate in the Championship.

~~~ 9.

Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer (Dealer’s Registration and Transactions) Protection would promulgate (Amendment) Regulations 2013 to provide for dealers to purchase second-hand jewellery on business premises and during trading hours.

the Jewellery ~~~ 10.
Cabinet has taken note of the various activities being organized by the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life on the occasion of the World Breastfeeding Week 2013, namely – (a) (b) (c) a one-day workshop on Breastfeeding practices and the role of mother support groups for breastfeeding mothers; a two-day Training Programme on Promotion and Management of Breastfeeding for Health Care Assistants; and display of Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and National Policy on Infant Feeding Practices in hospitals and health centres.
The theme chosen for this year is Breastfeeding Support – Close to Mothers.

~~~ 11.

Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the labour dispute reported by the Port Louis Maritime Employees Association against the Cargo Handling Corporation Limited at the Commission for Conciliation and Mediation.
The parties have agreed to – (a) a revised organization structure in respect of all departments; (b) a revision of all the salary scales by an average of 20% increase; (c) the revision of the existing conditions of service; and (d) introduction of a new non-pensionable allowance.

~~~ 12.
~~~ 12.

Cabinet has taken note that the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Development and the President and Chief Executive of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, also known as the PTA Bank, have signed a Host Agreement for the opening of an office in Mauritius.

The Board of Governors of the PTA Bank would, in conjunction with the COMESA Infrastructure Fund, mobilize funds for regional infrastructure projects.

~~~ 13.
~~~ 13.

Cabinet has taken note that the Fashion and Design Institute and the International Business and Trade Tanzania Initiative would sign a Memorandum of Understanding that provides for a framework for both parties to establish academic cooperation in the fields of fashion and design.

The parties would explore opportunities for potential collaboration, amongst others, in the development of professional and undergraduate programmes in design and training of professionals.

14.
14.

Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of – ~~~ (a) (b) (c) the Commission for Conciliation and Mediation with Professor Ved Prakash Torul as Chairperson; the National Remuneration Board with Mr Woopendre Punchoory Gungah as Chairperson; and the Non-Governmental Organization Mrs Madanumbal Boolell as Chairperson.

Trust Fund Committee with ####