Africa-Press – Mauritius. The Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms, in collaboration with the ‘Club Le Flamboyant’ organised, this afternoon, a Forum on ‘Retiring without fears’, at the Sir Harilal Vaghjee Memorial Hall in Port Louis.
The Forum aimed at sensitising public officers nearing the age of retirement to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to prepare for an active and stress-free retirement.
The Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo; the Minister of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms, Dr Anjiv Ramdhany; the Secretary for Public Service, Mr Koosiram Conhye; and other personalities were present at the opening of the event.
In both their addresses for the occasion, Minister Jeewa-Daureeawoo and Minister Ramdhany stressed that there was no fear in retirement, which they hailed as a new stage in life.
They underlined that Government was committed to the welfare of the elderly and to enhance their quality of life as epitomised by the increase in the basic retirement pension to Rs 11,000.
According to the Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, retirement was a time for celebration. She called on the retirees to join one of the 900 elderly associations affiliated with the Senior Citizen Council to partake in the activities held for their enjoyment.
While deploring that only half of the 200,000 older persons in Mauritius were members of these associations, Mrs Jeewa-Daureeawoo recalled that community centres, social welfare centres and elderly day care centres also conducted recreation programmes for senior citizens. Moreover, the importance and benefits of regular physical activity among the elderly were highlighted by Minister Jeewa-Daureeawoo.
She talked of the National Sport and Physical Activity Policy 2018-2028 being implemented by Government to address the low levels of sport and physical activity participation of the population as well as the health crises poised by the high incidence of non-communicable diseases like diabetes.
The Minister dwelt too on the demographic transition faced by the Republic of Mauritius with a rapidly ageing population. She spoke of measures that were being taken to protect the elderly against any form of abuse, namely the mobile app ‘Sekirite’, launched in 2022 as a panic button on a smartphone for the safety and protection of older persons.
As for the Minister of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms, he assured public officers of his support and determination to bring about the relevant reforms so as to pursue excellence in the service.
Dr Anjiv Ramdhany appealed to civil servants and the elderly to avail of the sports infrastructure put in place across the country, stressing the crucial role of physical activity and exercise for health promotion, and disease prevention.
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