Local Mauritius

Jugnauth slammed for sexist remarks

Talking to The Independent on Thursday, Nushrat Gunoo fumed, “This is unacceptable.” Gunnoo, a lawyer by profession, is the vice-champion of Women in Politics. “How dare he (MSM leader Pravind Jugnauth) say that Mireille Martin was on ‘sale by auction’?” she asked. She continued, “How about the MSM men including Jim Seetaram, appointed minister, who [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Wheelchair victim compensated

Following a road accident which took place in the capital, Danielle Wong filed a lawsuit against the Municipality of Port Louis. She told the court that her husband was pushing her on her wheel chair when the wheel got stuck in a hole and she was thrown on the road. As a consequence, she had [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Minister Dayal pledges to eradicate poverty

The Minister for Social Integration, Suren Dayal is planning site visits to assess the living conditions of families living in poverty. The minister plans to reach out to the most vulnerable groups. “It’s an enormous job. We will continue the work by visiting community centres. There are 50 families who are in immediate need of [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Diaspora creates cultural fusion

The Organisation of Diaspora Initiatives (ODI) and SELEX held a music and dance competition to showcase the diverse cultures of the Mauritian diaspora. This event was held at the M Marot Centre at Quatre Bornes on August 13. The event, which showcased various components such as music, dance and cuisines of the diaspora, was attended [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Miss Mauritius 2010 gears up for Miss Universe

After a lot of hard work and waiting, the Miss Mauritius National Organisation, along with Miss Mauritius 2010, Laetitia Darche, presented the collection that Darche will be wearing during the Miss Universe contest, Brazil. Darche will leave for Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 20 via London. The garments were presented at Imperial China, Trianon on [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Tengur opposes electoral reforms

In a communiqué issued recently Suttyhudeo Tengur, president of the Government Hindi Teacher Union, said, “Electoral reform, especially proportional representation, seems to have become Mauritius’ priority, putting all other social, political and economic issues aside.” He said that at the time when the world faces an economic crisis, it seems that the leader of the [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Duval rules out second stimulus package

During the swearing ceremony of newly appointed ministers, Sutyadeo Moutia and Mireille Martin, which was held at the State House on Thursday, The Independent spoke to new minister of Finance and Economic Development, Xavier-Luc Duval. He shared his approach as Finance minister. Duval said that it is early days to speak on the budget exercise [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Cancer patients get Rs 200,000 for treatment abroad

Nearly 1,500 new cases of cancer and 950 deaths due to cancer are reported each year. Twenty-five children were diagnosed with cancer. This is or 1.7 per cent of the 1,500 total cases. This is according to the latest figures provided by the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life. From 2005 to 2008, 96 [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

4,436 addicts receive methadone

Around 4,436 drug addicts are currently undergoing the methadone treatment that was introduced in 2006 and is used as a pain reliever as part of drug addiction detoxification. This was stated by Imran Dhannoo, the president of the Idrice Goomany Centre, at a press conference on Thursday in Port Louis. There are 257 women among [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Total Mauritius Ltd launches promotional campaign 2011

The oil company, Total Mauritius Limited launched its national promotional campaign 2011 titled ‘Plein Tank Tap Plein’, on Thursday at Labourdonnais hotel, Port Louis. The campaign will start on August 22 to end on December 23. For every fill of Rs 500 of unleaded petrol, diesel, GPL-c or five litres of lubricant, the customer is [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

India targeted for high end tourism

On Thursday, the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) launched a workshop for representatives of 36 Indian tour operators at the Intercontinental Resort, Balaclava. The launch was attended by Donald Payen, executive vice-president of Air Mauritius Ltd, Karl Mootoosamy and Robert Desvaux, president and chairman of the MTPA respectively. Desvaux read out the speech of the [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

MTPA readopts publicity slogan

On Thursday, at a workshop, the ‘old brand new’ chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), Robert Desvaux, as described by Donald Payen, announced the reintroduction of the ‘Maurice c’est un plaisir’ (Mauritius it’s a pleasure) campaign. “It is sad that the country’s image has been tampered with under various slogans on the international [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Help desk in ministries to combat suicide

All the ministries will soon have a help desk for the fight against suicide. The help desk will be available to employees to share their problems. “The aim is to support any employee suffering from emotional problems,” said an officer of the Ministry of Social Security. To recall, a Suicide Prevention Unit has also been [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Beebeejaun rejects allegations

Deputy prime minister Rashid Beebeejaun did not wait to hit back at insinuations that he is tied to the MedPoint deal. He was reacting to a front page article in one of the French dailies. According to the article, he had set up the Medinvest company with three members of his family as directors to [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

MSM activists leave party

Following the departure of Jim Seetaram and Mireille Martin, it is now the turn of the members of the Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien central committee of constituencies no 7 Piton / Rivière du Rempart and no 15 La Caverne / Phoenix to follow suit. Activists who have been working for MSM for years have decided to [...]

19 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Wind farm to be set up at Plaine des Roches soon

An 18-megawatt wind turbine project will soon be set up in the village of Plaine des Roches in northeast Mauritius. The wind farm, which will be constructed by French wind and solar energy producer Aerowatt, is estimated to cost Rs 1.6 billion will cover an area of 55 acres. Construction is set to begin soon [...]

18 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Ebeneway, Kaddy-Plus tie up for new venture

Intermart, a supermarket brand, is now in Mauritius. This follows the new partnership between two independent retailers Ignace Lam (Ebèneway) and Stéphane How Hong (Kaddy Plus of Curepipe). Intermart’s launch was held on Wednesday at the Labourdonnais Hotel. Present on this occasion was the president of Intermart, Ignace Lam, who stated, “Our commitment is focused [...]

18 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

MACOSS to organise Dry Day on August 29

A Dry Day is being organised by the Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS) on August 29. This is to promote the concept of saying no to alcohol. A march will also be organised with the slogan ‘No buying, no selling and no drinking’. The march will begin at the Sports Complex of Rose Hill [...]

18 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Statistics reveal jails overcrowded

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the fourth issue of the Economic and Social Indicator (ESI) on crime, justice and security statistics. The report covers areas such as prison and probation, international homicide, police expenditure and conviction, among others. The statistics reveal that in 2010, nine prisons had a total capacity of 2,132 detainees but [...]

18 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily

Ministry takes steps to manage stress at work

A talk on stress management was organised for the officers of the different ministries at the Sir Harilall Vaghjee Hall in Port Louis on Wednesday. The Public Officers’ Welfare Council (POWC) and the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity, Reform Institutions emphasised the benefits of effectively managing stress to individuals, organisations and society. “More and [...]

18 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily