Local news this week in Mauritius (9-16 March) – what you need to know
We are curating every week the local news that you need to know as a resident in Mauritius. Don’t miss out on any important updates from now on.
SBM Insights , in its latest analysis, notes that after facing the unprecedented repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mauritian economy recovered relatively quickly in 2022. Although macroeconomic vulnerabilities remain, this recovery, supported by strategic measures put in place by the public and private sectors, is an encouraging sign insofar as it demonstrates our country’s resilience and adaptive capacity in the face of exogenous shocks, while underlining the solidity of the local economy. This is emphasized by the SBM group.
Taking into account the latest trends and indicators, economic growth is estimated at more than 7% in 2022, representing a significant improvement compared to the 3.5% rate of 2021. In 2023, the forecasts are around 5, 2%, according to the SBM Group.
The Year – on – Year inflation rate , which was at 12.2% in December and 11.8% in January, stands at 11% in February, compared to 9% in February 2022, as indicated by the latest bulletin from Statistics Mauritius. The situation could change this month with the implementation of new electricity rates. Headline Inflation for the 12 months ending in February 2023 stood at 11.1% last January, and now stands at 11.3%, compared to 5.2% for the 12 months ending in February 2022 .
While several products have seen their prices go up lately, other commodities are selling for less. Close-up on the evolution of the prices of the main commodities at the start of the year.
The recovery in the tourism sector is indeed there, both in terms of arrivals and in terms of receipts. Gross Tourism Earnings for 2022 amount to Rs 64.8 billion, with a sharp increase in November (Rs 7.8 billion) and December (Rs 8.7 billion).
A three-day workshop on capacity building to cope with the effects of climate change started yesterday at the Ravenala Attitude hotel in Balaclava. This Capacity Workshop falls under the umbrella of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) for low-carbon islands.
Speaking on this occasion, the Minister of the Environment, Kavy Ramano, pointed out that under the Paris Agreement, the signatory countries have undertaken to limit the rise in temperatures to below 2°C compared to in the pre-industrial era, while continuing their efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
“For the survival of small island developing states, there is an urgent need to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2050 with a view to keeping temperature rise below +1.5°C,” he points out.
Bringing together operations in the western region of the country and future developments, also bringing together players and partners in the region in the same synergy: this is the objective of the Medine group which, with this in mind, is launching its new territorial brand The West . An umbrella aimed at enhancing the assets of the western region in the same spirit.
The ceremony to lay the first stone of phase 2 of the La Vigie/La Brasserie/Beaux-Songes link road project, at the height of the Pierrefonds roundabout, took place last Tuesday in the presence of the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth. This two-way road, 9.5 km long and 13 meters wide, is part of a road decongestion program developed in three phases. As part of this project, the construction of five bridges and a cycle path is also planned. At a cost of Rs 1.3 billion, the contract was awarded to Beijing Construction Engineering Group Ltd (BCEG).
The development works of the recreation park of Quatre-Bornes, carried out with a bang by the firm J.Dookhun & Sons Ltd on two sites belonging to the State, one opposite the other at rue Farquhar, have arrived at a very advanced stage.
This project was orchestrated with the aim of compensating for the loss of the Gérard Bruneau promenade – sacrificed on the altar of the Metro Express project – which has been the delight of joggers in the City of Flowers for more than 40 years. At the end of the work, the site will have 100 endemic trees and as many exotic trees, in addition to palm trees. It will also include an esplanade, two kiosks, a children’s playground, areas for the gym and an amphitheater. Discovery.
Landscope (Mauritius) Ltd and Metro Express Ltd (MEL) are launching EbèneConnect, which translates into the establishment of free shuttles available to people moving through the cybercity.
This pilot project, which begins this Monday, March 13, consists of a circuit of seven stops from the Ébène metro station. It is the minibuses of Rose-Hill Transport (RHT) which will have the task of serving the said circuits from Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
A series of activities, spread over a year, will be organized to celebrate the 55th anniversary of independence and the 31st of the Republic. This was announced yesterday by the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Avinash Teeluck. He explained that the activities organized during the year will revolve around the theme 55 an larmoni dan nou Repiblik.