The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, inaugurated, this afternoon, the new Administrative Building of the District Council of Pamplemousses, located in the village of Calebasses. This new headquarters of the District Council, constructed to the tune of some Rs 84 million, will house under one roof all the facilities and services of the Local Authority offered to the inhabitants of the 18 villages in Pamplemousses district.
The Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Dr Mohammad Anwar Husnoo; the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Georges Pierre Lesjongard; the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Koonjoo-Shah; the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck; Members of Parliament; the Chairperson of the Pamplemousses District Council, Mr Kalicharan Somaroo; and other eminent personalities were also present at the inauguration ceremony.
In his address, Prime Minister Jugnauth highlighted that the construction of this modern infrastructure comes at an opportune time as it provides all necessary amenities for the benefit of all the villages under the jurisdiction of Pamplemousses District Council as well as its inhabitants. He underlined that, with the inauguration of this new headquarters, the Councillors of the District Council can now deliver their responsibilities by working in a modern environment. The Local Authority’s employees, he added, will also be able to provide an efficient service delivery to each resident.
The Prime Minister moreover expressed gratitude to all stakeholders who have partnered to set up this modern infrastructure in the region and noted that the building has been constructed on a plot of land of some three arpents acquired from Terragri Ltd. He pointed out that necessary funds are being put at the disposal of local authorities so as to bring about infrastructural development all around the country with a view to enhancing the well-being of the population.
Furthermore, he indicated that several development initiatives have been completed in the district of Pamplemousses such as: the construction of drains, setting-up of new street lightings, and resurfacing of roads, among others. All these projects are being implemented to improve the quality of lives of inhabitants and a series of other projects, such as the construction of multipurpose complexes, are under way, he stated.
Mr Jugnauth also encouraged the population at large to practice a regular physical activity, especially persons suffering from non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Regular physical activities, he said, can improve one’s productivity at work and improve his/her quality of life.
Speaking about the vaccination campaign, the Prime Minister urged every citizen, in particular the elderly, to be inoculated with a booster dose at the earliest so as to improve their immune system against COVID-19.
For his part, Vice-Prime Minister Husnoo underscored that Government is providing all facilities to the population so as to enhance the quality of life of every citizen. For instance, a sum of some Rs 300 million has been earmarked for the Pamplemousses District Council so as to cater for various infrastructural projects, he indicated.
Dr Husnoo observed that an I-Council will be set up in all Local Authorities, such as the one recently launched in Port Louis, so as to better monitor and manage ongoing projects.
As for Mr Somaroo, he recalled that in the past, both Pamplemousses and Rivière du Rempart District Councils were located in the same building until 2012. From there, Pamplemousses did not have a proper headquarters, as was the case for Flacq and Savanne. He indicated that land was acquired for the construction of the new Pamplemousses District Council headquarters in 2014 and following all procedures, construction works began at a later stage.
