(4.12 p.m.) CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO – SOVEREIGNTY – DRAFT AGREEMENT

Madam Speaker, as the House is aware, on 03 October 2024, on the eve of the dissolution of Parliament, Mauritius and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement confirming that after 13 rounds of negotiations, the Prime Ministers of the two countries had reached a political agreement on the exercise on the sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. Since the progress made in and the contents of the negotiations between Mauritius and the United Kingdom during the past two years were unknown to the new Government, I have had discussions with local officials and external legal advisers since my assumption of office regarding the status of the negotiations. The British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Sir Keir Starmer, sent his political envoy, Mr Jonathan Powell to meet with me on 25 November last and he has briefed me on what has been proposed in the draft agreement. I wish to inform the House that I have asked for an independent review of the confidential draft agreement agreed so far. I will keep the House informed of the next steps in the negotiations after Cabinet will have had the opportunity to consider the outcome of the review exercise and any related discussions thereupon with the local and external officials and advisers. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, hon. Prime Minister. Hon. Minister, you may! (4.14 p.m.) MARE CHICOSE LANDFILLL - FIRE OUTBREAK - O5 NOVEMBER 2024 The Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change (Mr R. Bhagwan): Thank you, Madam Speaker. With your permission, I would like to make a statement on the fire outbreak at Mare Chicose Landfill which occurred on the night of 05 November 2024. Following my swearing in as Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, I carried out a visit at the site on Saturday 23 November 2024 together with Junior Ministers and other MPs of the constituency to take cognizance of the situation and to look into ways and means of scaling up the rate of extinguishing fire. I was informed that immediately after the fire outbreak, fire fighters from the Mauritius Fire Rescue Service were deployed on the site to combat the fire, and are still there. The fire spread over an extent of around 42,300 m2, owing to the dry nature of the waste and the prevailing windy weather. Every effort is being made to contain the fire. The advice of the experts from the Reunion Fire Authorities was sought, and they were agreeable on the methodology adopted by the Mauritius Fire Rescue Service, that is, breaking of the waste mass by means of excavators, cooling by application of water, and finally, covering the extinguished waste with soil. A Coordination Committee chaired by the Solid Waste Management Division of my Ministry with representatives of the main stakeholders such as the Mauritius Fire Rescue Service, Police, Special Mobile Force, the National Environmental Laboratory, the local authorities, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, as well as the contractor and consultant meet on a daily basis to coordinate the actions, interventions required to combat the fire. We have sought the collaboration of the private sector, NGOs and the community at large. The fire has been subdued to around 50% as at today. With the current rate of progress, it is expected that the fire will be completely extinguished by mid-December 2024. The National Environmental Laboratory of my Ministry is and will continue monitoring the air quality of the surrounding regions of the landfill on a daily basis. Test results show no toxic gases. Moreover, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has provided ambulances and extended its services to assist and intervene in any case of sickness or minor casualty on site and neighbouring localities. I wish to place on record my appreciation for the valuable support of the fire fighters, the private sector, NGOs, various public authorities, the different Units of my Ministry, the Police, the Police de l’environnement, the Special Mobile Force, health authorities, the civil society, as well as my colleague, the Minister of Local Government, and the MPs of the constituency. Madam Speaker, I shall come up with a more comprehensive statement on the issue and the whole solid waste management system. Thank you.

Thank you, hon. Minister.