Association for the Protection of the Environment and Consumers
Some 21,000 people have been booked for not having worn a sanitary mask (Section 79 of the Public Health Act) or for having committed a “breach of temporary movement order”, among others, under the Quarantine Act.
224 cases of non-compliance with health protocol during confinement will thus be heard by the Courts from May 17 to 21, 2021. They face a fine not exceeding Rs 500,000 and imprisonment not exceeding five years.
The Small Farmers Welfare Fund will provide financial assistance of Rs 2,000 per arpent in favour of planters, under the Agricultural Calamities Solidarity Scheme, who have suffered losses following the torrential rainfall which occurred in March 2021 and as from 16 April 2021.
In addition, a one-off compensation of Rs 4,000 per arpent would be granted to planters in order to provide better support to planters in restarting their plantations, taking into consideration the factors of production that would be required immediately namely seeds, land preparation and fertilisers.
The Local Government (Amendment) Bill will be introduced into the National Assembly, providing for an amendment to the Local Government Act so as to provide that, at any time, when – (a) a period of public emergency is in force in Mauritius; and (b) there is, or there is likely to be, an epidemic of a communicable disease in Mauritius and a quarantine period is in force in Mauritius, the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, shall, by Proclamation, extend, during such periods, from time to time the life of 6 years of the entire Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Councils, or entire Village Councils, by not more than one year at a time, provided that the life of the Councils shall not be extended for more than 2 years.
Le ministère de l’Intégration Sociale, de la Sécurité Sociale et de la Solidarité Nationale informe le public que la campagne de vaccination antigrippe pour les personnes âgées (60 ans et plus) démarre à partir de jeudi 22 avril 2021.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
1st Quarter 2021
Highlights
1. The Consumer
Price Index, which stood at 106.1 in December 2020, registered a net increase
of 2.4 points (or 2.3%) to reach 108.5 in March 2021.
2. The main contributors for the net increase in CPI from
December 2020 to March 2021 were:
3. The
headline inflation rate for the twelve months ending March 2021 worked out to
2.2%, compared to 1.2% for the twelve months ending March 2020.
4. The headline inflation rate excluding
“Alcoholic beverages and tobacco” for the twelve months ending March 2021
worked out to 2.3%, compared to 1.2% for the twelve months ending March 2020.
A total of 57 contraventions have been issued by the Environmental Police from January 15, 2021 to date, for non-compliance with the ban on single-use plastic products. 22,700 plastic products were seized during the same period.
(Seychelles News Agency) – A campaign aimed at reforesting some of the most eroded mountainous areas of Seychelles’ second-most populated island is on target to plant 250,000 trees in the next five years.
The campaign ‘Rebwaz mwan,’ meaning reforest me, involves widespread planting of 50,000 seedlings annually over the next five years on Praslin Island. The tree planting is seen as the biggest such campaign ever undertaken in Seychelles – 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.
Mauritius and India have embarked on new avenues of bilateral cooperation with the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA).
Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said that this partnership agreement is the first of its kind signed by India with an African country while adding that it will unleash new opportunities in trade in goods and services, investment, economic cooperation and technical assistance.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the CECPA will encourage Indian entrepreneurs to invest both in Mauritius and across the African region, thus consolidating Government’s vision of making Mauritius as a strategic regional economic hub and a centre of excellence. The signing of the CECPA coincides with the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area, he added.
The CECPA and the African Continental Free Trade Area, he said, provide scope for fostering Indian investments in the continent via the Mauritius gateway, particularly through leveraging India-Africa value chains in many areas such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, agro-industry and ICT.
CECPA
The CECPA covers components such as Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons, Telecom, Financial services, Customs Procedures and Cooperation in other areas.
Under the Trade in Goods component, Mauritius will benefit from preferential market access on a list of 615 products, including sugar, tuna, rum, fruit wine, tropical fruits, medical devices and garments. Mauritius will provide preferential access on a list of 310 products including tea, spices, bed linen, material of steel and furniture, amongst others.
On Trade in Services, the CECPA will provide market access in sectors such as financial services, tourism, education, distribution, ICT and professional services. It also makes provision for professional bodies to conclude mutual recognition of qualification in sectors such as architecture, engineering, medical, dental, accounting and auditing.
Ou est la compétition ? Pourquoi Moroil détient-t-il le monopole ?
Depuis lundi matin, Moroil, seul et unique importateur de matières premières pour produire de l’huile comestible pour le marché mauricien, a ajusté à la hausse ses prix dans la fourchette de 10% à 18,6% — sur ses huiles fabriquées localement. Cette entreprise avance que les coûts des matières premières entrant dans la production de l’huile comestible ont connu une hausse de 51% depuis l’année dernière en raison du coronavirus qui sévit dans le monde et qui affecte tant la santé que l’économie mondiale.
De l’autre côté, le gouvernement a annoncé, vendredi dernier, après sa réunion hebdomadaire du conseil des ministres “the imposition of a one-year safeguard measure in the form of a 10 percent customs duty on imports of edible oil (soyabean, sunflower and blended oil) from COMESA countries.” Ce, à partir du 22 février 2021.
Dans les milieux concernés, l’on soutient que cette démarche vise à protéger l’industrie locale, dans ce cas, le Moroil, qui a augmenté d’entre 10 et 18,6% les prix de ses produits tandis que ses compétiteurs, s’il y en a encore, se voient augmenter les leurs par 10% ou plus à cause de l’imposition de10% de droits de douane sur les produits importés des pays de la COMESA. Mais sait-il que cette décision s’attaque directement aux poches des consommateurs car ce sont eux qui devront, non seulement, payer leur huile comestible, importé ou pas, plus chers, mais aussi, avec l’effet domino que cette hausse aura sur de la nourriture – dholl puri, farata, gato piman, et autres gato delwil, etc, sans oublier notre fameux briani, dans la fabrication desquels on utilise beaucoup d’huile. En ce faisant, il est en train de tondre les consommateurs au nombre de 1,3 million au nom de la protection d’une seule entreprise locale et d’une centaine d’emplois. Où est l’intérêt de la population ?
Questionnons la State Trading Corporation (STC), lui, qui a été créé par le gouvernement, il y a de nombreuses années, dans le but de briser le monopole des entreprises opérant dans des secteurs qui auraient des conséquences néfastes sur la bourse des consommateurs, tels l’importation du riz et de la farine, entre autres, produits pétroliers. Pourquoi n’agit-t-elle pas ? Que font ses directeurs nommés par le gouvernement ? Sont-ils si occupés avec l’achat d’équipements médicaux qu’ils n’ont pas le temps de s’occuper de la population ? N’ont-ils pas vu venir cette hausse des prix de l’huile comestible ? Pourquoi le Moroil détient-il le monopole dans ce domaine ? Pourquoi n’y-a-t-il pas d’autres producteurs de l’huile comestible à Maurice?
Pour information de la STC: lors de la présentation de son budget pour 2021/2022, le gouvernement indien a annoncé qu’il compte introduire la compétition, là où il y a un monopole qui se fait au détriment de sa population, surtout ceux de la classe pauvre et moyenne. Pourquoi n’inspirons-nous pas de cette démarche à Maurice ? Ca aurait aidé le marché à jouer sur les prix des produits essentiels au bénéfice des consommateurs, dont les 250,000 ou plus de senior citizens, qui n’ont pas obtenu, comme c’est le cas tous les ans, leur part de Rs 375, découlant de la compensation salariale payée aux salariés, à la fin de janvier dernier.
Suttyhudeo Tengur Président
Latest developments regarding the construction of the National Wholesale Market at Five Ways, Belle Rive and the arrangements being made for its operations by the Agricultural Marketing Board thus entailing the closure of all regional auction markets.
The National Wholesale Market project has four main objectives – (a) to improve the financial livelihood of the planters; (b) to provide quality produce at an affordable price to the consumers; (c) to ensure more transparency and traceability of the source of agricultural produce traded at the National Wholesale Market; and (d) the creation of a modern marketing infrastructure for the handling of fruits and vegetables which would be compliant with relevant legislations and agricultural and food norms/standards. The building which has a surface area of 35,000 m² would provide space for wholesalers as well as for a Planters’ Corner.