The Prime Minister was the Guest of Honour for the celebrations of Rodrigues’ 21st Anniversary of autonomy held today.
In his address for the occasion, the Head of Government recalled that 21 years ago, Sir Anerood Jugnauth had placed his trust in the compatriots of Rodrigues and since then the island has experienced significant developments.
The Prime Minister, Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, underscored that the budget allocated to Rodrigues increased from Rs 2.7 billion in 2015-2016 to Rs 5.2 billion rupees in 2023–2024. On that note he underlined that today the island has better infrastructure and services.
The Prime Minister underpinned that water remains a priority for Rodrigues, while adding that the last Budget proposes an investment of one billion rupees through the M.I.C so as to improve this sector.
He reiterated his determination to continue the development of Rodrigues. This includes the construction of a new landing strip which will be financed through a loan of around eight billion rupees from the World Bank. The Prime Minister also announced the allocation of a grant of around Rs 720 million from the European Union.
Concerning air and maritime connectivity, the Head of Government announced that Air Mauritius will put a new ATR 72-600 in service by the end of November to ensure service between Mauritius and Rodrigues.
A new boat should also soon cover the journey Mauritius – Rodrigues and the Government is already working on the acquisition of a second boat.
The Prime Minister also congratulated the Rodrigues athletes for their performances during the last Indian Ocean Islands Games. He further expressed his full commitment to ensuring Rodrigues’s ongoing development, so that every citizen of our Republic can enjoy equal opportunities.
Johnson Roussety, Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues, addressed the Head of Government. He emphasized that the theme chosen was “Ansann Anou konstrir l’aviner meyer….”, reflecting the willingness of Rodriguans to work together. He thanks the Prime Minister for his support in the development of Rodrigues and his presence in Rodrigues for this celebration.
For 21 years, the Regional Assembly ‘ine respected so bann and took its responsibilities as a local Parliament for the well-being of the Rodriguan population. However, the Regional Assembly’s location within the Port Authority is a little out of date. Another site has been identified, the former Pointe Venus Hotel.
He spoke at length about the biggest development yet to come, i.e. the expansion of Plaine Corail airport. “Alliance Libération is proud to have been able to convince the World Bank to help us. It will be a 2,100 m runway with infrastructure capable of handling aircraft such as S320s and Boeing 737s. The project will cost Rs184 billion.
The Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues thanked the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the members of his government and the technicians who had worked on the project.
One of his government’s priorities is the water problem in Rodrigues, and Johnson Roussety affirms that the government is working on this issue.
