Titbits from Mauritius August 2011
Written by Editor Monday, 15 August 2011 11:50
MINISTER OF HEALTH
MAYA HANOOMANJEE
AT ICAC
The Minister of Health, Mrs
Maya Hanoomanjee was
summoned by Independent
Commission Against
Corruption (ICAC) on
Wednesday, July 20 to answer
questions in relation to the
MedPoint Clinic inquiry.
The inquiry has developed into
a new stage and ICAC is
investigating the letter written on
July 9, 2010 by the Health
Minister to Minister of Finance
Pravin Jugnauth as regards the
purchase of the Clinic by
government for an inflated price
of Rs144 million.
The Minister was arrested on
July 22 and released on bail.
HOLY MONTH OF
RAMADAN
Ramadan starts on August 2
this year. It is a sacred month
of the year for the one billion
Muslims throughout the world.
It is a time for inner reflection,
devotion to God and selfcontrol.
Muslims think of it as
a kind of tune-up of their
spiritual lives.
Fasting in the month of
Ramadan has, according to
Muslims, many special benefits.
Considered as the third pillar of
Islam, fasting during the month
Ramadan is a religious
obligation.
Ramadan is also a time of
intestine worship, reading of the
Quran, giving charity (zakat)
purifying one’s behaviour and
doing good deeds. Fasting during
Ramadan is compulsory to
Muslims.
MINISTER OF
FINANCE IN
SWIRZERLAND
The Vice Prime Minister and
Minister of Finance Pravind
Jugnauth left Mauritius on
Saturday the 16th July 2011
for Geneva, where he
participated in a meeting to do
with “Aid For Trading”.
While in Switzerland he
supported the Board of
Investment project to attract
investors to Mauritius. The
Board of Investment
representation comprised its
director Mr Prakash
Maunthooreea and Ken
Ponusamy.
It is reported that the Minister
had to cut short his to return
home owing to the arrest by
police of the Health Minister,
Mrs Maya Hanoomanjee, a
member of his MSM party, a
constituent of the ruling Alliance
Government.
AUDIT REPORT 2011
HIGHLIGHTS
WASTAGE OF PUBLIC
FUNDS
The Audit Report 2011 made
public in July highlights
considerable wastage of public
funds in most central and local
government departments. Year
after year, the Audit Department
lays stress on the
mismanagement of government
funds, yet it would seem that no
remedial action is taken to
prevent the annual recurrence.
HONEYMOON
KILLERS COMMITTED
TO TRIAL
On July 18, 2011, the Mapou
Magistrate Court decided that
a prima facie case existed to
commit to trial the two
suspects, Sandeep Moneea and
Avinash, accused of the
murder in January this year of
Irish tourist Michaella Harte.
She was on honeymoon at the
5-star hotel Legend of Grand
Gaube.
The two hotel employees
pleaded not guilty but presiding
magistrate Sheila Bonomally
found that there was enough
evidence to commit both men to
the Assizes Court of Mauritius.
The newly-wed was found
dead by her husband in the
bathtub of the hotel with the
water still running. Since the
arrest of the two suspects
attempts have been made to pin
the murder on the husband.
RAMGOOLAM TO SUE
BERENGER OVER
FALSE NEWS
There is a clash between the
Prime Minister Navin
Ramgoolam and the Leader of
the Opposition, Paul Bérenger.
This is over an allegation by
Bérenger at a recent press
conference that the PM had met
with the Director of the
MedPoint Clinic privately to
discuss the sale of the clinic to
government. Ramgoolam in turn
categorically denied the
allegation at a meeting with the
press, and has made it clear that
he would sue the Opposition
leader to obtain redress..
Bérenger is adamant that he
received the information about
the Medpoint meeting from a
ministerial source.
A NATIONAL ART
GALLERY UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
A collection of paintings worth
millions of rupees will be
transferred to the new
premises of the National Art
Gallery when it will be ready in
2012.
This was affirmed by the
Minister of Art and Culture,
Mukeswar Choonee, in
Parliament. He said that 61
paintings had been restored and
indexed in December. They are
for the time being kept at the
Mauritius Institute in Port Louis
under strict security.
NEW EQUIPMENT IN
HEALTH CENTRES
Most of the country’s health
centres will be equipped with
sophisticated apparatuses such
as foetal scopes to monitor and
measure the heartbeat of
pregnant women’s foetus.
Another up-to-date equipment
will be haemoglobinmeters to
measure the haemoglobin of
the future mothers. This was
announced by former Minister
of Health, Mrs Hanoomanjee.
“Multiple family planning
measures have kept the
population increase to 1%.
Without these measures, the
Mauritian population would have
reached 3.5 million.” The
population now stands at 1.2
million.
JEWELLERY
EXHIBITION
Enterprise Mauritius has
announced the holding of the 2nd
edition of “Eclat Tropical” from
24 to 27 November 2011 at the
Grand Bay International
Conference Centre. Companies
interested in participating in this
high class event were expected to
apply to Enterprise Mauritius by
29th July 2011.
INFLATION
The latest statistical figures release from the
Bank of Mauritius indicate that all three
underlying measures of inflation rose in June
2011.
Core 1 inflation stood at 4.9 % for the twelve
month period ended June 2011, up from 4.6 % for
the twelve month period ended May 2011 to 4,4 %
for the twelve month period ended June 2011. A
year earlier, Core 1 and Core 2 stood at 2.2% and
2.6% respectively. TRIM 10 inflation, which trims
5% of the most volatile items in the CPI on both
sides of the distribution, rose to 4.7 % in June
2011, from 4.4% for the twelve month period
ended May 2011. TRIM10 inflation stood at 2.1%
in June 2010.
BANK TO AWARD SCHOLARSHIPS
TO NEEDY STUDENTS
The State Bank of Mauritius will award
about 100 scholarships to needy students
this year.
The Scholarship Scheme is meant for bright
students in need of financial support to pursue
further studies in tertiary institutions in Mauritius
recognized by the Tertiary Education Commission
(TEC). Students with family household income
less than Rs 15,000 per month are eligible. Last
year, the bank awarded scholarships to 57 students
including 5 from Rodrigues island.
MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK
BUILDING AT GREEN
CONFERENCE
The 2011 Green Building Conference and
Exhibition took place at Sandton Convention
Centre, Johannesburg this week. The 2-day
event saw the participation of world renowned
designers and experts in sustainable
construction.
The conference was an opportunity for local
architect Jean Francois Koenig to present the new
MCB headquarters at St Jean
MON CHOISY DEVELOPMENT
A new Real Estate Scheme project will be
developed at Mon Choisy over 3.4 hectares. This
residential development will consist of a total of
90 luxury apartments and villas. This one-billion
rupees project will be financed jointly the
Mauritius Commercial Bank and the Rand
Merchant Bank of South Africa.
POLICE ENQUIRY ON HADJ
OPERATORS
A police enquiry is going on after a complaint
was made at the Plaine Verte police station to
the effect that, since 2009, the Islamic Cultural
Centre, has been issuing illegal permits to Hadj
operators for the organization of Hadj,
contrary to the provisions of Regulations made
under the Islamic Cultural Centre Trust Fund
Act.
This was stated by the Prime Minister in an
answer to Reza Uteem, an elected member of
Port-Louis South and Port-Louis Central, who
wanted to know “whether information as to if any
allegation of illegal issue of operator’s licence for
the Hadj 2010 by the Centre” has been reported to
the police.
