In his solemn speech on the occasion of the 54th Anniversary of the Independence of Mauritius and the 30th anniversary since its accession to the status of a Republic, the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth addressed several topical issues. The health situation in the country; the Russian/Ukraine conflict and its impact on our economy; development projects in the country; the government’s fight for Mauritius’ sovereignty over the Chagos Islands; Mauritius’ good scores on international rankings among others.
« Depi 1968, nou tou ine travay ensam pou bâtir sa pays la. Nou fine traverse beaucoup cyclone ek ine surmonte beaucoup obstacles. A la fin, nou fine touzour vaincre l’adversité ek nou fine reussi » that’s what he said. “Despite the fact that we were unable to organise large celebrations at the Champ de Mars to celebrate the anniversary of our Independence and our Republic in a dignified manner due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I am sure that the national anthem will resound in the hearts of all Mauritians on this 12 March,” he said.
Pravind Jugnauth began by pointing out that « nous fine fer ene parcours incroyable en tant que nation et avec le temps, sa ine permette nou occupe ene place honorable dans banne classements internationales, surtout concernant démocratie ». He cited the latest Democracy Index report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which ranked Mauritius 19th out of 167 countries. “We are the only African country with a true democracy. This shows that we live in a country where all human rights and civil liberties are respected,” he said. He also welcomed the fact that the World Bank ranked Mauritius as the 4th country in the world that supported its people and businesses during the Covid-19 crisis.
Covid threat is going
By extension, the Prime Minister wished to congratulate Mauritians who, he said, had shown resilience in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he said he had a special thought for all those who lost a family member to Covid-19. “What is encouraging is that with the health restrictions, the national vaccination campaign and the drugs available in Mauritius, the government is in a better position to better protect the nation,” he said. He added: « Menace covid pe reculer. Kan nou pou tourne la page pour de bon, nou bizin assurer ki Covid pa pou affecter nou couma avant ».
PM concerned about Russia/Ukraine conflict
However, with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Prime Minister says he fears possible repercussions on our economy. « Li malere ki pandan ki le seil pe eklersi par rapor a Covid, ena lezot niaz ki fin aparet. Nou leker fermal kan nou guete ki pe arive en Ukraine. People sacrifice themselves to defend their country. Even our compatriots have gone through this nightmare,” the PM says sadly. He says that although the war between Ukraine and Russia is far away from Mauritius, it is already having an impact on our country. “Mauritius is already starting to feel the impact in terms of price increases on several items. The whole world economy will be impacted because of this conflict. No one knows when this crisis will end,” he said.
Pravind Jugnauth concedes that there are some factors that we will unfortunately not be able to control. “The price went up even before the war in Ukraine. The pandemic has created a huge imbalance in the world, causing an impact on purchasing power. Last year, the government introduced price controls on several new products and announced subsidies on basic foodstuffs,” he said. “We must pray that these two countries will find a consensus and that this conflict will end for the well-being of the whole world.
No one has the right to take the territory
The PM also referred to the two-week journey undertaken by a delegation comprising lawyers, officers, British and American journalists, scientists as well as members of the Chagossian community on board the Bleu de Nîmes to the Chagos Archipelago. “This year, as we celebrate 30 years of the Republic, we should be proud that we have been able to exercise our right and we have been able to hoist our quadricolour on our territory, the Chagos Islands. We have done everything in accordance with international law, following the decision of the International Court of Justice and the United Nations resolution which recognised Mauritius as the sovereign state over the archipelago,” he added. He added: “Nobody gains the right to take our territory.
