Africa-Press – Mauritius. On the occasion of the 54th Independence Day of Mauritius and 30th Republic of the country, the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth dwelt on the current crisis facing the world and called upon citizens to put concerted efforts to brave future challenges in unity and solidarity.
Prime Minister Jugnauth made a televised address, today, on the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation. The 12 of March, he highlighted is a memorable date and a proud moment for each and every Mauritian.
The Prime Minister expressed optimism that all Mauritians will celebrate the national day with patriotism and recalled the hardships undergone by the elders to build this nation.
Speaking of the country’s classification in terms of democracy, he pointed out that last month, the Economic Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index Report ranked Mauritius 19th on 167 countries.
Mauritius, he said, is the only African country which features among countries with full democracy whereby everyone’s rights is respected. The World Bank has classified Mauritius fourth for the support provided to the population and enterprises amid the COVID-19 crisis, he added.
With regard to the country’s progress, Prime Minister Jugnauth pointed out that all children have access to free education till tertiary level. He further highlighted that infrastructural development is ongoing at all levels in the country.
To this end, he spoke of the Metro Express project to modernise the transportation system. Speaking on the COVID-19 pandemic, he indicated that this year, as well, the national day celebration is being held by respecting sanitary protocols and no celebration will be carried out at Champ de Mars.
Many people, he said have lost their lives due to the pandemic while emphasising that with necessary sanitary precautions, provision of vaccines and medicines, the population is being protected. Despite the economic crisis posed by the COVID-19, the economy is getting back on track, he added.
The construction sector has registered a growth of 25% for 2021 and private investment has known an increase of 13% compared to 2020 whereby it decreased by 23.2%, stated the Prime Minister, adding that the exportation sector has recorded an increase of 17% in 2021.
Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Prime Minister Jugnauth stated that many people are sacrificing their lives for their country. The conflict, he said, will negatively impact on Mauritius in terms of an increase in prices of commodities adding that there is a worldwide increase in petroleum products, gaz and wheat.
Prices can no longer be controlled. He recalled that Government introduced a price control on to provide subsidy on essential products. As for the Chagos Archipelago issue, Prime Minister Jugnauth pointed out that “as we celebrate 30 years of our Republic, this year, we have been able to exert our rights and hoist our flag on Chagos”. The Prime Minister also paid homage to Former President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Karl Offmann who passed away on the Independence Day.
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