102 parliamentary interpellations, including 18 addressed to the Prime Minister, are on the agenda for the resumption of work this Tuesday, March 29, in Parliament. Most likely, the audit report will be tabled this Tuesday. Thus, two weeks after the publication of the report of the Public Accounts Committee, our parliamentarians and the population in general will be informed of the contents of the report of the National Audit Office.
Two bills will also be introduced in first reading. These are ‘The National Flag, Arms of Mauritius, National Anthem and other National Symbols of Mauritius Bill’, which will be introduced by the Prime Minister. The main purpose of this Bill is to consolidate and update the laws relating to the national symbols of Mauritius, such as the Arms of Mauritius, the Flag of Mauritius and the Seal of Mauritius. In addition, the Bill provides for better protection and use of our national symbols and related matters. While the VPM, Steve Obeegadoo, will introduce ‘The Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Bill’, which seeks to amend the Landlord and Tenant Act so as to extend the term of the Act to 30 June 2022.
A new feature of the bill is the drawing of lots to determine the order in which the questions will be asked. The exercise for the registration of parliamentary questions approved by the speaker’s office, has already taken place Wednesday afternoon, to the great satisfaction of the whip of the Opposition. This is a great step forward for parliamentary democracy, says the Opposition Whip, Patrice Armance. The Speaker’s office did not object to the proposal of the two Whips of the House and yesterday led the exercise of drawing lots for the registration of the questions of the Opposition deputies and the government backbenchers for next Tuesday’s session.
This is expected to become a practice to allow everyone to have the chance to ask a question in Parliament. “We have come a long way in our fight for a more equal Parliament. The vote was held in the presence of the Deputy Whip, Kenny Dhunoo, the staff of the National Assembly and I was also present. I must say that I am very satisfied with the way it was done. Some members still expressed their disapproval, but we finally reached a consensus. This ballot was done manually, not by a machine or a computer to make sure that everything was done correctly,” said Patrice Armance.
It is MP Richard Duval, who will question the Prime Minister on the recent cost of the trip to Chagos while Kavi Doolub wants to know what action was taken following the removal of the national flag on Peros Banos by the British. The same goes for his colleague Subashnee Luchmun-Roy. As for Patrick Assirvaden, he wants to know the criteria for selecting members of the press for this trip.
Deven Nagalingum of the MMM is interested in the municipal elections. Kushal Lobine will ask the head of government if he intends to make any changes to the Representation of the People Act. Arianne Navarre Marie will revisit the ballot from Constituency No. 1, found at No. 19, in the recount.
The weather will be in the spotlight. MPs Deven Nagalingum and Osman Mahomed will question various ministers on the efficiency of the Vacoas meteorological station and the recent forecasts following the flash floods. Labour Party MP Osman Mahomed will ask whether corrective action will be taken with regard to the staff and equipment of the Mauritius Meteorological Services Department following the recent inaccurate weather forecast. Adil Ameer Meea, Nando Bodha, Fabrice David, Richard Duval and Patrice Armance want information on the radar in Trou aux Cerfs.
While his colleague Patrice Armance is interested in the censorship of Cardinal Maurice Piat’s speech at the MBC. A subject that also interests Stéphanie Anquetil and Reza Uteem.
Osman Mahomed will, for his part, seek explanations from the Minister of Finance, Renganaden Padayachy, regarding the Rs 479 million provided to solve the problem of high-risk flooding areas in the city center, Tranquebar, Vallée-Pitot and Ward IV.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Renganaden Padayachy will be asked to respond to questions from MPs Nagalingum and Eshan Juman about the Dubai Expo 2020, including the various aspects of the event and especially its total cost. The latter will ask Soodesh Callichurn, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection, why the sale of edible oil has been limited to 2 liters per person. In addition, the questions will also be based on the prices of Mogas and Gas Oil as well as foodstuffs, such as flour and rice.
The Attorney General and Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Maneesh Gobin, will have to answer a question from the same MP on the National Biomass Framework and on the water seepage and leakage during the recent downpour at the new Supreme Court building.
MP Mahend Gungapersad will question the Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchmun on the number of students born between June 01, 2015 and December 31, 2015, who will not be eligible for Grade 2, thus seeking clarification on the criteria for moving from Grade 1 to Grade 2.
The red deputy will question the Minister of Local Government, Anwar Husnoo, on the amount allocated to the District Council of Rivière-du-Rempart and Pamplemousses for the purchase of street lights. He also wants to know the name of the successful bidder and the number of street lights already purchased and installed to date in each village of the district No. 6.
MP Gungaparsad targets the Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, on the criteria and the number of people, who are beneficiaries of wheelchairs, glasses, dentures. In addition, the list of suppliers, who provided these products and the amount paid to each of them since January 2020, will be requested.
Mahend Gungapersad wants to know the number of industrial leases granted to real estate and hotel developers since January 2015, regarding the Geometric Steps of Melville, Grand-Gaube. He will thus solicit the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, Steven Obeegadoo.
Gasoline taxes for Covid-19 and Solidarity Fund and the review of the current pricing structure (Nagalingum, Ameer Meea, Uteem, Juman); the purchase of Molnupiravir (Foo Kune-Bacha, Aumeer, Boolell); the report on the dead dialysis patients of Covid-19 (Uteem, Foo Kune- Bacha and Juman), and the death of Aniket Doohkit (Arianne Navarre Marie).
