First Reading On motion made and seconded, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill (No. IV of 2025) was read a first time. Second Reading THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. IV OF 2025) Order for Second Reading read.

Hon. Prime Minister, the floor is yours! (4.19 p.m.)

I beg to move that the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill (No. IV of 2025) be read a second time. Madam Speaker, as clearly explained in the Explanatory Memorandum, the object of the Bill is to amend the Representation of the People Act so as to provide the compilation of a new supplementary register of electors for the forthcoming Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Council elections, or for such other election as may be prescribed. This will be compiled immediately after the issue of the writ of elections, thus allowing qualified, unregistered persons to submit their claims to be registered and to have their names included in that supplementary register of electors. This is being done, Madam Speaker, so that every elector has the right to vote when the elections are called. Madame la présidente, pendant la campagne électorale, nous avions dit et redit que nous allions approfondir la démocratie à Maurice. One of the ways that we have seen, which we have canvassed before with the Electoral Commissioner and the Electoral Commission, is that very often – and this is a problem – a lot of people turn out to vote for an election and their names are not on the register. There are many reasons for this. First of all, the canvasser, who goes around to register electors, might press the door button, but nobody answers. He is then supposed to come back. I am told that very often, they say, ‘maybe he came back; nobody was there, or else he never came back. These people think that because they voted in the last election, their names will be on the register. We do a lot of advertising, in our Party at least, that they should go and check their names. Very often, they don’t! But the result is that their names are not there. Then, when they turn up to vote, they are told that their names are not on the register. There can be nothing so frustrating. As you wait for five years to go and vote, and then you don’t find your name on the register. You are told you are not going to vote. In the last municipal elections, there were around 1,900 electors who did not manage to vote. Officially, this is the number. But unofficially, I am sure it is higher. Because many people, when they are told they cannot vote, they protest, but they do not protest officially; they go home. So, their number is not counted in that number. So, we end up with this situation where people are not able to vote. Secondly, I think it is absurd that the register is compiled; it closes on 15 August of whatever year, and a person who is born on 16 August of that very year cannot vote until the register is recompiled the following year. So, that person has turned 18 but cannot vote. This is what the situation has been until now. What we are doing, Madam Speaker, is to correct an injustice. You know, Professor Albie Sachs, who came and reported under the electoral system, had this to say – I am quoting offhand. He said that it is unbelievable that a person who is born on 16 August cannot vote in any election until the following year, that is, before 15 August of the following year. That is completely unacceptable! This is what we are correcting here. We are saying that the supplementary registration will be done, but it does not mean that somebody who has already been registered as an elector can go on the supplementary list. That is a separate list for people who have turned 18 after 15 August, who are not on the list at the moment, and who will be able to go on the list. They will have until 5 days after the writ of the election is issued for them to go and ensure that their names are on the list. It is correcting a major injustice that was happening in our system. You have many people who have said that. There is a book called ‘How to Rig an Election’ by Cheeseman and somebody else. They go on about this: suppression of voters from a list is one of the ways to commit fraud in an election. This happens in many countries even today. Even in America, they are complaining that there has been suppression of voters. So, it is not just Mauritius. What we are trying to do is to ensure that people get a chance, if they want to vote, to go and put themselves on the register and be on the list of electors. I must also add, Madam Speaker, that this also applies to somebody who wants to stand in a Municipal Election. If you are not on the register, you cannot be a candidate in an election. So, this will also correct this injustice, especially a young person who has just turned 18 and maybe wants to stand as a Municipal Councillor. He would not have been able to do so unless he was already on the list which was closed on 15 August of last year. This is what we are correcting, Madam Speaker. The second thing that we are also doing – we did not say this in the Bill – is ensuring that counting is done on the same day. Some people think that we will need to amend the law again, but we don’t have to. This is done by regulations. Madam Speaker, in Nigeria, where I think there are 23 million people, they count on the same day. In Kenya, I can’t remember the exact figure; it’s over 40 million. Counting is done on the same day for over 50 million people. In the U.K., it’s around 43 million. Why can’t we, in Mauritius, have counting on the same day? This has an advantage. We did canvass this with the Electoral Commissioner and the Electoral Supervisory Commission as well. There are logistical problems; they have genuine logistical problems. But we must overcome those problems; we are overcoming them now. In the past, there were not enough staff to start with. They were probably not even paid properly – that’s another problem. But we will look into all this to make sure that counting is done on the same day because when we don’t count on the same day, there is this business of carrying ballot boxes in all sorts of lorries. In the preceding General Elections of 2019, in my own constituency - we have witnesses -, boxes were carried in garbage trucks and in CWA lorries with people we didn’t know. The Electoral Commission had said it over and over again that our agents have the right to go in the lorries, but on the day of the election, we had a policeman, who was probably very pro-government, who said, ‘No, you can’t get into the lorries’. Who is going to go now, and challenge him or ask the Electoral Commissioner to come and see what’s happening? This has happened in many places; in Constituency No. 10 and in many villages. This idea of carrying boxes and then storing them in a place is forged with possibilities. What we are doing is closing the loopholes. It is a loophole. In other countries, ballot boxes were changed. In a country, I am told, they had double floors, and during transportation, they were changing. I don’t think this happened in Mauritius, but I can’t say for sure; I can’t say because we were not even allowed to look into the lorries. We are supposed to be allowed, but we were not allowed. In one of the lorries, during the 2019 elections, I asked somebody what he was doing there. He did not answer me. I kept asking, but he did not answer me. You know why? He was a foreigner, not a Mauritian. He was there in the lorry, standing in the lorry, sitting in the lorry, and he was in the lorry to carry out this business of carrying boxes. That is something we are also closing. Counting on the same day is possible; it must be possible. Of course, the ESC will need manpower, but we will have to ensure that this is so, and therefore, this is going to be a thing of the past. We want to be able to do this for the General Elections as well. The third point that was canvassed by the Electoral Commissioner and the ESC, which we totally agree with, is that we should look at the possibility of Mauritians who are abroad to be able to vote in an election; in other words, the diaspora. Today, people from other countries are voting in Mauritius, and yet, Mauritians who are abroad cannot vote for their own country. That is something that we also intend to look at very positively and probably will happen. These are the three main things that I wanted to say on this Bill, Madam Speaker. This is a great leap forward for the youth of this country. My Party gave the right to vote to young people at the age of 18. Today, this Alliance is allowing people who have just turned 18 and are not on the register to be able to vote. This is one of the major, major reforms that we are doing – electoral reform. This is one of the reforms; we are going to have other reforms as well. Secondly, we are going to have counting on the same day, as I said. Madam Speaker, denying a person his right to vote, I can’t see anything more treacherous and unjust. How can we allow somebody who waits for five years to boot out a government, as they did in the last election, and yet not be able to vote in that election? Cases have happened …

(Interruptions)

Sorry? An hon. Member: 10 years for the Republic of Mauritius.

10 years! Thank you for reminding me. The previous government postponed the elections not once, not twice, but thrice, Madam Speaker. For 10 years, people have not been allowed to vote for their councillors.

Shame!

It’s a great shame! They found all sorts of excuses, as you say; all sorts of excuses. We are going to have it; we have agreed. The Deputy Prime Minister, when we were passing the law about not allowing the postponement of the village elections – he was Leader of the Opposition – mentioned at that time that we should do it for all elections, general elections as well. We will do it this time. We have to do it. The thing is that I forgot my speech in my office. But I think I have said what I had to say. This is the first step, as I said.

You have said it better.

I have said it better. As you said, we should not be reading our speeches.

No, you have done very well up to now.

So far!

(Interruptions)

The Representation of the People Act, which is the main piece of legislation governing our electoral process, was enacted back in 1958, at a time when Mauritius was still a British colony. 1958! In England, they have modified that law, but not in Mauritius. The law has stayed the same with just some modifications made. We have just celebrated the 57th anniversary of our independence, and yet a law that was passed in 1958, that is, 67 years ago, still applies for the registration of electors. We know, Madam Speaker, that the right to vote is enshrined in our Constitution. Section 44 of the Constitution provides that every citizen shall be entitled to vote if he/she is registered as an elector in a constituency. The first step in a democracy is to make sure that people can vote; those who are registered should be able to vote. Madam Speaker, I have already said all this; I am not going to go through all this. The Municipal Town Councils have already been dissolved; I think they should have been dissolved yesterday. So, we are going to have the writ, and they will have 5 days after the writ to be able to register again. To quote Albie Sachs, he said – “The disadvantage of the present system is that if elections are held after 16 August [which I just said], that person cannot vote until he is re-registered on 15 August of the following year.’’ Further, he does also say that this house-to-house inquiry depends on the canvassing officers to reach the homes of people when they are there. Madam Speaker, we find it unacceptable; it is an assault on democracy to deny anybody his/her right to vote. With this Bill, as I said, we are correcting this injustice. Voting is a civic duty; we should not deprive any citizen of his or her right to vote. Madam Speaker, I want to quote somebody else, John Lewis, who was a civil rights leader; he has passed away. He said – “The right to vote is precious (…) It is the most powerful nonviolent tool [that we have] in a democratic society. We must [be able to] use it.” As a responsible Government, this is exactly what we are doing. Now, Part IIA of the Act provides for the compilation of the supplementary register, which will be an addendum to the main register. As I said, people who are already on the main register will not be allowed to go on that other register. The Electoral Commissioner, I must say, was of the view that the introduction of a supplementary register directly addresses the key issue of voter suppression. It ensures that eligible citizens who were not on the list are able to go on the list. The Electoral Supervisory Commission was also consulted and welcomed this move. I must also say, Madam Speaker, that this Bill contains adequate safeguards to prevent fraudulent or erroneous registrations. Provision is made under the new section 39F of the Bill for objections to be raised against entries in the supplementary register. The procedure for raising an objection is clearly outlined in the Bill, and if somebody is not satisfied, he can go to a Judge in Chambers to get redress if he/she thinks there has been some fraud. We are also additionally making it an offence to make false statements. It is already an offence, but we are making it punishable by a fine not exceeding Rs10,000 and a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year. Madam Speaker, different democracies in the world have different practices concerning registration. In the United States, they allow qualified citizens to register and cast their vote on the day of the election itself. I do not know how they manage to do this; maybe the Electoral Commissioner could tell us because it is not an easy task to be able to register on the same day. It has loopholes. Others have a continuous voter registration. Australia closes its electoral roll seven days after an election is called. But the success of any electoral reform also depends on the local specificities to be taken into account. We all know; we all agree that democracy should be inclusive. The fundamental principle is that every eligible citizen should have an equal opportunity to vote. With the dissolution of the Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Councils yesterday, we now move to the upcoming municipal elections, where the supplementary register will play a crucial role. We should not allow a democratic process to be hindered for administrative reasons or outdated systems. By extending the voter registration period, we are reaffirming our commitment to a more inclusive and representative democracy; one that truly reflects the voices of all the people. Madam Speaker, I should also say some people might ask, ‘But why this idea of keeping the boxes overnight’? The reason being, a long time ago, there was no electricity in the villages. They did not want to count with the candles because when counting with candles, you never know if some ballots could either inadvertently or deliberately be put on fire; it is not an impossibility. Counting on the same day is modernising our system, and as I said, this has to be done by regulations; there is no need for a law. Let me end, Madam Speaker. As I said, voter suppression is resorted to in many so- called democracies. This is the new trick now: to have elections but have electoral fraud at the same time. In a democracy, there is no higher treacherous act than stealing an election. We should not forget that la voix du peuple, c’est la voix de Dieu. With these words, I commend the Bill to the House.

Thank you. Again, I need it to be seconded. Dr. Boolell rose and seconded.

Yes, hon. Dr. Boolell. Okay we carry on. Yes, hon. Mr A. Duval! Everybody will be getting 10 minutes as from now. (4.42 p.m.) Mr A. Duval (Fourth Member for Port Louis North & Montagne Longue): Thank you, Madam Speaker.

That is my job; part of my job.

Madam Speaker, it is a good thing that we are finally aligning ourselves with other prominent democratic countries, especially let us not forget since so many electors have been left out of elections, have been deprived of the right to vote during the past elections. If we look at 2014, the figures speak of something like 9000; if you look at 2019, the figures are even more shocking – 45,000 electors left out and for many of which did not change their residency and was therefore extremely unfair to leave out electors who, in- between 16 June of the preceding year and the upcoming elections, were not aware or did not verify through omission or negligence whether or not they were on the Election Roll. So, we are correcting a grave injustice to democracy and in fact, the PMSD together with the Labour Party and the MMM, let us not forget co-wrote and co-signed the letter to the Electoral Commissioner on 24 April 2023. In fact, the PMSD has been advocating for keeping the registration of electors, the room open up until the last minute, like in the UK. In the UK, as you may know, Madam Speaker, it is up to 12 days before the election. Here, it will be five days after the writ of election. It will be sufficient to catch all those persons who have been left out. I heard the Prime Minister – I do apologise, I came in late. I was preparing my speech – but I have to deplore the fact that the reason behind this amendment being brought for this Municipal Election is first of all for the young generation of electors who have either turned 18 after 16 June of last year or who are about to turn 18 by the time that they are still eligible to be registered on the supplementary register. However, Madam Speaker, we are catering for the new generation with archaic measures. Instead of doing like other countries of allowing for online registration, as was pleaded by the hon. Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of PMSD to the Electoral Commission, that online registration of electors becomes a reality, it is a shame that this is not the case. Madam Speaker, the system that we have in place today with MauPass, for example, which is secure enough to allow for the Civil Status Office to apply and to hand over birth certificates, or the DPP’s Office to apply and to receive a Certificate of Character. Very sensitive document. If the system is enough good for that, it would have been good enough for electors to register. The system exists. It is in place and it is used by hundreds of thousands of Mauritians, mainly the youth. Let us not forget that participation at Municipal Elections, unfortunately, tends to have lower participation, especially from the youth. Now, we are going to require them to firstly, call at the local electorate desk to register themselves, and then, of course, to get registered. I think there has been sufficient time since this has been contemplated as far back as April 2023. We had sufficient time to do so. So, for me, c’est une opportunité ratée pour le gouvernement. Madam Speaker, the other issue, le problème le plus important qui a attiré l’attention des Mauriciens dans son intégralité reste le fait que les électeurs, les résidents ressortissants des pays issus du Commonwealth, puissent, de par notre constitution, être éligibles pour s’enregistrer comme des électeurs. D’ailleurs, il suffit de consulter les formes qui restent inchangées sous cet amendement. La Forme I, par exemple, si l’on objecte à l’enregistrement des électeurs, cette forme I ou H parle que l’on peut objecter si la personne n’est pas issue d’un pays du Commonwealth. Le bureau du commissaire électoral est obligé d’appliquer cette provision de la constitution. L’agent du commissaire électoral qui est responsable pour l’enregistrement des électeurs est obligé, s’il reçoit des informations par la loi, d’enregistrer quiconque qui a acquis le statut de résident et qui a eu plus de deux ans sur le territoire, à compter du 1er janvier ; deux ans avant d’enregistrement, d’être enregistré. Donc, il peut être non seulement un électeur, mais il peut aussi se présenter comme un candidat aux élections municipales, villageoises ou régionales. Donc, voilà, l’opportunité ratée de ce gouvernement. On a promis, ici, de changer !

Excusez-moi, je n’ai pas bien suivi le deuxième raisonnement. C’est-à-dire que vous êtes contre ?

Non, je m’explique, Madame la présidente. Si je peux m’exprimer.

Allez-y!

Merci. Donc, je disais, une opportunité ratée, manquée, encore une fois, aurait été de venir avec un amendement de la constitution pour changer cette section 42 – ‘Qualification of electors’ et de retirer cette provision archaïque. D’ailleurs, il faut se rappeler que c’est le PMSD qui a emmené cela, ici, dans la Chambre. Il faut se rappeler ! Cette provision archaïque qu’est la section 42 de la constitution qui prévoit, bien sûr, que suffit d’être ressortissant d’un pays du Commonwealth – et la liste est longue –, on devient un électeur. À croire l’honorable Uteem, le manque de main-d’œuvre à Maurice demandant l’importation de main d’œuvre étrangère va continuer d’accroitre ce problème pour les élections d’avenir. Et la question que je pose au Premier ministre : pourquoi n’a-t-il pas jugé bon, fort de sa majorité de 64, d’apporter ce simple amendement ? Simplement d’amender la section 42 pour enlever le droit à tous les citoyens d’un pays du Commonwealth de participer aux élections.

(Interruptions)

D’enlever le droit, oui !

C’est ce que je n’ai pas compris. Ce n’est pas clair !

Le Premier ministre lui-même a fait campagne sur le fait qu’on a laissé les travailleurs étrangers voter en 2019. Si je ne me trompe pas, ce paragraphe est un paragraphe important de son propre challenge dans sa pétition électorale, notamment le droit des étrangers. Alors, Madame la présidente, c’est dommage !

(Interruptions)

Le fait reste, Madame la présidente, qu’avec 64 députés, c’est une occasion ratée parce que le changement, c’est pour tout de suite. Ce n’est pas pour les élections d’après. Vous avez été élus – un gouvernement avec un mandat de changer les choses maintenant. Il y a eu tellement d’occasions. On parlait d’un collège électoral ; ce sera pour après. Tant de choses qu’on a reléguées pour après ! Malheureusement, on permettra, encore une fois, aux ressortissants étrangers de voter pour des élections municipales.

Que ceux du Commonwealth, et non pas les autres !

I am sorry?

Que ceux du Commonwealth, et non pas les autres.

Je parle du Commonwealth, Madame la présidente.

J’ai cru un moment que vous vouliez donner aux autres le droit de vote.

Non, vous avez mal cru, Madame la présidente !

Let me do my job!

Donc, pour moi, c’est là où le bât blesse ! Si on apporte des changements à notre système électoral, qu’on le fasse en profondeur. Parce que, encore une fois, nous avons un document du 24 avril 2023 où de très bonnes propositions ont été faites.

Je vous donne encore une minute !

Je suis content d’entendre que le same day counting, le comptage le même jour et le dépouillement deviendront une réalité. Il n’a pas été précisé, j’espère que cela se fera dans un centre de dépouillement par circonscriptions. J’espère que ce sera le cas pour permettre plus facilement de garder un contrôle sur les boîtes et sur le comptage quand toutes les boîtes seront emmenées dans un centre de vote. Le Premier ministre ne l’a pas spécifié. Et aussi, pour préserver l'anonymité des endroits qui ont voté par rapport à leurs intentions de vote. Parce que pour un politicien, c’est très mauvais de savoir si telle ou telle école de vote a voté avec ou contre lui. C’est pour cela que quand il y a un dépouillement dans un centre de vote, il est impossible de savoir d’où les ballottes sortent parce que le tout est cassé et est mélangé. Mais s’il y a le comptage dans les écoles de vote, ce sera très facile.

Vous avez terminé ? Je vous ai donné une minute encore. Vous avez déjà une minute en plus là.

(Interruptions)

Madame la présidente, une autre chose bien sûr, c’est l’importance et l’occasion ratée d’organiser les élections… An hon. Member : Kot inn rate !

(Interruptions)

…des Collectivités locales le même jour, que ce soit pour les municipales, que ce soit pour les villageoises…

D’accord.

Cela aussi est important.

D’accord.

Pour finir, Madame la présidente, si vous me permettez de conclure…

Je vous ai déjà donné votre point en plus. Allez-y !

On rattrapera sur la dernière fois !

Non, non, on compte…

Madame la présidente, pour finir…

You cannot bring it over!

Pour finir, Madame la présidente…

Allez-y !

… c’est dommage qu’on nous a promis un changement…

(Interruptions)

…et un changement qui se fait de goutte à goutte. Le changement ce n’est pas pour cette fois- ci, ce sera pour après. Ce sera probablement par une autre équipe finalement ! Alors, c’est dommage que le changement intervienne en goutte à goutte, et avec…

Vous avez dit…

…et avec une lenteur ! Merci, Madame la présidente.

Je vous remercie.

(Interruptions)

Je vous remercie !

(Interruptions)

Hon. Attorney General! (4.54 p.m.) The Attorney General (Mr G. Glover, SC): Madam Speaker…

A lot of speeches today!

I have listened with great interest to the…

(Interruptions)

…intervention of my learned friend…

Yes!

…of the Bar, but I think he is labouring under a strong misapprehension of what the law says. Commonwealth citizens cannot vote at municipal elections!

(Interruptions)

An hon. Member: Goal! Own goal!

This Bill, Madam Speaker…

(Interruptions)

…is in fact, a landmark piece of legislation as this will ensure that qualified unregistered persons will, once registered after the issue of writs of elections for the forthcoming Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Council elections, have the opportunity to cast their votes at those elections, thus guaranteeing that they are not deprived of their constitutional rights to vote. Of course, Mauritians and Mauritians only! An hon. Member: Only!

Madam Speaker, many of the orators in this House today will share their opinions on the amendments that are being proposed to this Act. Much will be said on the need for those amendments and it would greatly surprise me if there is any pushback since there is a consensus amongst Members on the advancements of democratic standards. I will not tread the path that many today will take but rather give my opinion on the legal aspects of the Bill, especially on the tight deadlines that have been proposed for registration after the issue of writs for the forthcoming municipal elections. Madam Speaker, it is clearly spelt out in the Explanatory Memorandum of the Bill, the main object of this legislation, which is to amend the RPA, is to provide for a supplementary register of electors for each electoral area, that is, a supplementary register that will be an addendum to the register of electors, already in force, for a particular year and for a particular electoral area. Madam Speaker, the idea seems to be very simple but Members of this House will appreciate that this simple amendment to have a supplementary register, carries with it a lot of legal implications. According to regulation 3(2)(b) of the Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Council Elections Regulations 2012, the nomination day shall be held not less than 15 days and not more than 30 days after the day on which the writs of elections for the holding of the Municipal elections are issued. Therefore, Madam Speaker, there is a minimum window of 15 days before nomination day and during that tight schedule, the Office of the Electoral Commissioner will have to ensure that, on the eve of nomination day, the supplementary register of electors is published. Madam Speaker, allow me to explain the legal implications. As per clause 5 of the Bill in the proposed new section 39D(1), a person who claims to be eligible to be registered as an elector in an electoral area shall not later than five days after the issue of the writs of elections, present his claim to the Registration Officer of that electoral area. So, if writs are out for example tomorrow, on Wednesday 19 March, the five days will extend to Monday 24 and I have been reliably informed that the Registration Offices set up by the Electoral Commissioner will be opened on Saturday and Sunday to ensure full compliance with these provisions. After that preliminary registration exercise is carried out during the prescribed period of five days, the Registration Officer, in accordance with the proposed new section 39E, shall, not later than two days after the expiry of the five-day period, publish a supplementary list of claimants who appear to the Registration Officer to be qualified to be registered as electors. The supplementary list of claimants, as they are called under the Act, will be published for public inspection for a period of two days, and the reason behind same is to allow a person whose name appears on a register or supplementary list of claimants in that electoral area to object to the registration of a claimant as an elector. Any objection, Madam Speaker, will have to be made during the two days of publication and that is as per section 39F(2) of the new RPA of the supplementary list of claimants. If it appears to the Registration Officer that the objection is frivolous and there is no merit, he will reject the objection, but in case he admits the objection, he will have, in accordance to the new proposed 39G, a duty, to serve, the following day after receiving the objection, a notice on the person in respect to whose registration the notice of objection is given, calling upon that person to show cause why his name should not be expunged. That person will then have two days within which he will have to appear before the Registration Officer and show cause why his name should appear on the supplementary register. After hearing the objection, the Registration Officer will have one day to decide on the objection and he will thereafter have to make all necessary corrections to the supplementary list of claimants and do everything necessary to compile that list so corrected into a supplementary register, and this supplementary register must be ready at least one day before nomination day. As explained earlier, after the issue of writs, there are five days for an unregistered person to claim to be registered. However, in case there is no objection, the Registration Officer will, as soon as practicable, publish the supplementary register. But if there is objection, there are certain procedures to be followed as we have set out earlier and from the first day the registration exercise starts, 13 days will lapse until the Registration Officer decides on the objection. These tight schedules have been rendered necessary so as to respect the 15 days period prior to nomination day. Madam Speaker, the procedures that I have enumerated above are not new. We are not inventing a new procedure for the registration of electors. These procedures already exist in the existing Representation of the People Act, more specifically with regard to the compilation of registers under sections 9 to 25 of the law. The only difference with the compilation of the register and that of the supplementary register is the time limit provided for objections and similarly for the compilation of a supplementary register, the time limits are shorter given that it has to be done at least one day prior to nomination day. On another important note, I wish to inform the House that if an objector is still dissatisfied with the decision of the Registration Officer to include the name of a person whose name has been objected to in the supplementary register, he still has the right under section 36 to make an appeal to the Judge in Chambers to have that name expunged from the supplementary register. However, Madam Speaker, as is currently provided with regards to an appeal made to the Judge in Chambers to have a name expunged from the register, the right of a person whose name is for the time being on the supplementary register to vote at the forthcoming municipal elections will not be prejudiced by the appeal, and a vote given at those elections in pursuance of that right will be as valid and effective as if no such appeal were pending and shall not be affected by the subsequent decision of the appeal. I have therefore brushed on the legal implications attached to the registration of unqualified persons on the register and supplementary register, and as stated earlier however, the idea to have a supplementary register appears to be easy. Yet, there are some hurdles to overcome and I can assure the House that all the legal implications have been carefully scrutinised and addressed. Last but not least, I wish to inform the House that this process to provide for a supplementary register will not only be made available for the forthcoming municipal election but it may also be extended to other elections by prescribing same by way of regulations in virtue of the new section 39B of the Bill. The hon. Prime Minister has also stated that there will be same-day counting and the hon. Members will have seen that this is not provided for in the amendments proposed to the House today. The reason is very simple. The appropriate amendments will be made to the regulations in order to render this possible. To conclude, Madam Speaker, I wish to draw the attention of the House and especially to those persons whose name already appear on the register of electors that came into force on 16 August 2024, that they will not be eligible to have their names on the supplementary register, even if they claim that they are no longer residents of a particular electoral area. This registration exercise will not permit an elector already registered in an electoral area to be registered in another electoral area as this supplementary register will apply to only those qualified, unregistered electors, more specifically but not only to those who have attained the age of 18 on/after 16 August 2024 and for those who will attain the age of 18 one day prior to nomination day of the forthcoming municipal elections. So, the claim can be made even before you are 18, provided you turn 18 before nomination day. With these words, I commend this Bill to the House.

Thank you. Thank you for being well within time. Now, I will suspend the Sitting for half an hour. At 5.04 p.m., the Sitting was suspended. On resuming at 5.41 p.m. with Madam Speaker in the Chair.

Hon. Minister of Housing! (5.41 p.m.)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have listened with a lot of interest to the intervention of hon. A. Duval in the Opposition. I must, at the outset, say that it is a very important piece of legislation, as the hon. Prime Minister has explained and as the hon. Attorney General has expatiated upon. When a piece of legislation comes in order to make it possible for people to adhere to the concept of the right to vote, when you have a piece of legislation that comes to open up the possibility of those who have been left out to get back on this electoral register, it is indeed a fundamental piece of legislation. You see, it takes me back to the time when I was to read the Constitution. When you read the Constitution of Mauritius, you go through the various chapters, you go through the various themes in the Constitution of Mauritius, you come across the issue of elections; you come across this very important fundamental right. Another part of the Constitution talks about the position that is occupied by the Leader of the Opposition, that of the Prime Minister, that of the President, and of you, Madam Speaker. Therefore, it is important, in my humble view, that the hon. Leader of the Opposition says something on this piece of legislation. As I said, it concerns le droit de vote, les jeunes qui n’ont pas pu s’enregistrer ou les jeunes qui n’auront pas eu l’occasion de se retrouver sur cette liste ou ceux qui n’ont pu se retrouver sur cette liste pour diverses raisons. C’est une loi d’importance fondamentale. Et quand je regarde la liste des orateurs et que je vois avec effroi que celui qui se retrouve dans la Constitution de l’île Maurice ne daigne même pas être présent, ne daigne même pas participer, nous donner un peu son opinion sur this piece of legislation of utmost importance, I wonder what has this Opposition ended up becoming. Now, I should not wonder much because as a piece of government, they were something else. Now, think about it, you cannot expect better when they are in the Opposition! You see, if he had been here or if he had thought it important to at least earn his pay by participating; or at least sit quietly, if you have nothing to say; or you do not know what to say, be present. He decided to walk himself out and not participate in the debate. What a shame! What a shame! And this is what they believe: they want to challenge us in the forthcoming Municipal elections. Interesting! Now, before I go back to him in a minute, let me just say that I have come across, in my research, some very important documents that show that the Electoral Commissioner’s Office has been working very hard on this very concept voter registration. It has produced documents. It has had workshops on this issue. I have come across certain documents that have eventually been put in the form of representations that have been sent to Government. Back in 2014, on the eve of us losing the 2014 Elections, who, therefore, would have been in possession of those remarks of the Office of the Electoral Commission? It would be the government led by Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Pravind Jugnauth, Joe Lesjongard, Xavier Duval – all of them were in that government! What did that document say? Part of those recommendations was precisely drawing attention to the principles that must be adhered to when registering voters and compiling and maintaining a voters’ roll. It talked about the importance of the rule of law, integrity, inclusiveness, legitimacy, accuracy. And on the chapter of accuracy, Madam Speaker, it says that the information in the voters’ roll must be valid, accurate and up-to-date. This is precisely what this Government is doing, ensuring that it is up-to-date and not information that is old already. That is why I say, I say it again, a fundamental piece of legislation with the objective of ensuring accuracy of the voters’ roll. The system must ensure that ineligible persons are removed from the voters’ roll such as deceased persons; that a voter must also only appear once on the national common voters’ roll and that is, for the voting district in which he or she has registered. Madam Speaker, what did the MSM do when they were in power and in alliance with the PMSD? What did they do? What did they do with the then hon. Collendavelloo? What did they do when hon. Obeegadoo was there? What did they do when they had those representations, and not once but several times from the Electoral Commissioner’s Office? Did they at least pay heed to those observations, that there had to be changes brought to the law in order to ensure that there was a rule of law, integrity, inclusiveness, legitimacy, accuracy, comprehensiveness, accessibility, transparency, security, information privacy steps, etc? He just sent representations but the MSM ignored those representations but it is this Government that has decided to come up; this Prime Minister, this team that has come up with changes to the law in order to ensure that people who would have been forgotten, for statutory reasons but nonsensical in the process, are brought back and caught back and are allowed to vote. Fundamental! Historical! Let me come back to the reasons why, not only because of the absence of the Leader of the Opposition, former Minister, the absence of hon. A. Duval, the least he should have done – he has spoken, allow me to rebut him – he should have been present. He was even Speaker once upon a time. He does not even know l’abc. I call it good manners.

(Interruptions)

But then, you see, the then Leader of the Opposition, on 23 May 2023 – it brings me back to the previous mandate – when he was in government…when he was in the Opposition – I am just being confused because he just keeps jumping and changing beds – what did he say in his speech? Condemning the previous government. Those are the reasons why I am saying to this House and I am saying it for the people outside to listen to what I say. There are the reasons, many reasons, but here, only two reasons why I say to you, do not listen and do not believe what the Opposition are going to blurt out because they are clearly inconsistent, incompetent, and whatever they say, is not even the truth. Look at what the then Leader of the Opposition said in his speech in a debate that took place in this august Assembly, Debate No. 08 of 2023, and I quote – “So, for all these reasons, Mr Speaker, Sir, I ask the Vice-Prime Minister, I ask the Government to withdraw this Bill.” What Bill was it? To postpone election for the third time. He said – “Let democracy win, let democracy proceed and let the people choose freely who they want to bring about all these changes that I have suggested.” And, yes, the people chose freedom. The people chose us to bring those changes. The people chose those who are in the right and condemned those who were in the wrong. And this very then Leader of the Opposition decided to jump in bed with those very people that he criticised to be against democracy. How could you, in Parliament, say, let democracy win, and what he is saying is that ‘those are the very people who are not for democracy’, and you jump in the same bed with them? You take your team and you jump in with them? Thank God, there were those who did not want to follow him in that bed – some of them are here. What about the absent Leader of the Opposition? I shall conclude on that. You know what he said? I will say it again, you cannot believe him, you should not even believe him. Listen to him if you wish, but then again, he is not here. How can we hear? What did he say in that very debate, and I quote – « L’alliance Ramgoolam/Bérenger/Duval, allons le reconnaître, pa morde zordi sa ! Et écoutez-moi, M. le président, – je vais terminer là-dessus parce que je n’ai pas beaucoup de temps (…) » Tellement il n’a pas de temps, il n’est même pas là ! « (…) lors des prochaines élections, le peuple mettra un terme définitif à la carrière politique de deux personnes surtout, l’honorable Paul Bérenger et Navin Ramgoolam. » Oh my God! If you were wrong then, why do you believe that you are right today? You were wrong then; we were right then. We are right today, you are wrong again, Sir! So, when history will judge, it will look in the Hansard and it will say, okay, what did the Opposition said? Oh, the Leader of the Opposition, who is supposed to represent those who voted against this Government, whom the former Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, most probably, somewhere in some kitchen, decided that it should be him, was not here but how is he going to justify his salary at the end of this month? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Dr. Aumeer! Yes! (5.52 p.m.) Dr. F. Aumeer (Third Member for Port Louis South & Port Louis Central): Thank you, Madam Speaker. The main objective of this Bill that is being presented to the House today is to have a supplementary register of electors be it for Municipal Council or City elections or any other election. It has its high importance in Municipal Elections which has been the bed rock of some parliamentarians, namely former Mayors, hon. Nagalingum and hon. Bhagwan, who are now Members of the Cabinet. We have to know why we have such a Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that every eligible elector in this country has access to the right to vote and has access to the democratic process of the election. We will be learning from lessons of the past because that Bill, once passed, will show us what has happened in the past when people, when electoral voters, who were supposed to be on the list, did not have a chance to exercise their democratic right, which is a constitutional one to exert their power. This Government does not want anyone to be deprived of that constitutional right to vote. Madam Speaker, the power of a voter should not be underestimated. It is through the stroke of a pen that these voters decide who they want and when they want to send whom and where, either to the Parliament or in Local Government Councils. We do know the power of the pen; how effective it was in November 2024 – unfortunately, the opposition is not here – when they have been swept out completely like a tsunami and they have disappeared. Today, they are not even here to listen to what we have to say! That pen is so powerful and the people of this country know the effect of how they are going to use the pen. During the November 2024 elections, there were concerns. People were buying their own pens because they were concerned that they were erasable ones and that they could be used to sway the course of election. This supplementary list, Madam Speaker, will have names added to it for those who are not on the registered list, for those who will attain the age of 18 by Nomination Day and who bona fide fulfil the criteria of electors. Such a Bill, therefore, puts our Government Programme at the heart of a vibrant democracy and strengthens our democratic values. If we look at the Government Programme ‘A Bridge to the Future’, it is very clear that the Government is committed to put on track the very founding principles of our parliamentary democracy. Madam Speaker, I will now come to why I said we should learn from the lessons of the past. In 2019, the Alliance that was led by the Labour Party with at its head, the current Prime Minister, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, was tipped to win the general elections. We all know what happened afterwards. We lost. Various reasons were put forward. There were various means of explaining and views to say why we lost. But there was one fundamental cause, an aspect of that loss: figures. The figures of registered electoral members. Let us look briefly at figures. It is well known that within two elections of a five-year period, particularly when you look between 2009 and 2014, there is a swing of approximately 50,000 to 60,000 new electors. It has always been that way. But from 2014 to 2019, there was only 4,744 new electors. Where have all these new electors gone? Where did they disappear? Why were they not registered? Who made sure they were not registered? I am told that approximately 136,000 people, eligible to be registered as voters in 2019, did not have the chance to exercise their right, which makes approximately 14.9% of the population who was entitled to vote. Within the 136,000 – people who have gathered the right statistics –, 50,000 were disfranchised from the list. Madam Speaker, the people who were disfranchised, be it deliberately because of their allegiance to one particular party or the intention to sway the votes and against the will of the government in power or political gerrymandering by some, did make sure that these people did not have a chance to exercise their constitutional right. Unfortunately for them! Now, it will be a golden opportunity whereby every person who feels he has not had the chance to be registered, will be able to do so. Let alone in this forthcoming Local Government Election, but I am sure in other elections, where on the day the writs of election would be issued, they will have the time to do so. Madam Speaker, a swing of 50,000 between 2019 and 2014, and then, we saw only 4,900. But what happened in 2019? When we look at the registered list, we once again have a swing of new electors of approximately 50,000. Why 50,000? Because the population at large in this country has been made aware; they are alert, they are eager, they want to exercise their right. They were fed up with that government. They all made sure they used the app that the Electoral Office has to ensure that they were on the list. It was very difficult for those who had absurd political motives to disfranchise them. Today, this Bill will give to those bona fide electors a window of opportunity to engage in the electoral process. Madam Speaker, a famous topic – the deceased. We all have heard how some people have been impersonated from time to time during the election to vote for those who are no longer here. In particular, I will quote Constituency No. 10 in 2019 where it has been said that the dead rose from the burial grounds at early hours of the morning to return back in the afternoon after having voted. Unbelievable! Such petty minded, deliberate act and cunning strategies and rumours, besides the targeted disfranchising of electors, were used and orchestrated to ensure that the current Prime Minister did not get elected. Who was at the helm of such uncouth strategies? Nobody else, but a brutal, aggressive, belligerent, ill- mannered, rough loudspeaker! Depending on his whims and fancies, he used the same tactics against the members in this august Assembly, his favourite target being Ms Joanna Bérenger and Shakeel Mohamed. Madam Speaker, I cannot be more pleased with such a Bill as nobody will be able to rob the Mauritian elector of his right to vote. I would like to make two humble suggestions to the mover of the Bill. I heard hon. A. Duval, unfortunately, the way he mentioned it, that the way that electoral lists is being compiled is still archaic. He must remember le temps a évolué, oui. Mais il faut rendre justice à tous ces gens qui, pendant des années depuis notre indépendance, ont fait ce détail de registre. Bien sûr, il y aura des améliorations. Mais aller dire que c’est archaïque, c’est vraiment grotesque et mal élevé ! Online registration, I am sure, will be considered within the broader framework of constitutional and electoral reforms. So, therefore, my suggestion will be if an online platform by the Office of the Electoral Commissioner be made for re-registration of those, together with an acknowledgement receipt, which can be used as proof during the days of election. Secondly, I am very pertinent on that one, the updated deceased list from the Department of the Civil Status must be displayed in each voting room so that there is tangible evidence of those who cannot vote because they are lying peacefully in their burial grounds. Madame la présidente, pour terminer, les projets de loi de ce gouvernement se succèdent à un rythme accéléré pour donner un nouvel élan à notre chère démocratie, qui fut l’ombre d’elle-même pendant ces cinq dernières années. Certes, il y a une certaine frustration de certains qui croient que les choses ne bougent pas assez vite. Mais il faut savoir que notre establishment est miné par ce que j’appelle, vous me permettez de servir ce mot, par des chatwas qui font tout pour mettre du bâton dans les roues et faire capoter le changement. Il est donc très impératif et important qu’un procès de déménagement avancé soit fait pour ensuite mettre, comme on dit, the right man in the right place, que ce soit pour les nominations ou les autres.

The right woman!

Yes, right person!

And the right woman as well!

Right person!

As Martin Luther King quotes – “I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.” As far as I am concerned, I have a special dream for a better Mauritius, led by the current Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. Thank you.

Thank you. Cela fait exactement 10 minutes! Hon. Bhagwan! (6.03 p.m.) The Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change (Mr R. Bhagwan): Merci, Madame la présidente. Je ne pourrais ne pas intervenir sur ce projet de loi qui concerne l’administration régionale, que ce soit sur les élections et on parle de toute façon de l’administration régionale, des élections régionales. Ayant été moi-même plus 10 ans conseiller municipal et maire, c’était un des grands moments où vous étiez vous-même maire de Beau Bassin-Rose-Hill. Madame la présidente, après le discours raté du quatrième député correctif de la circonscription No.4 de Port Louis Nord-Montagne Longue, j’aurais souhaité qu’il ait été ici pour lui dire que j’espère que lui et son parti auront le courage de participer aux élections municipales, de venir rendre des comptes aux citadins après avoir joui du pouvoir dans les mairies pendant tant d’années. Je ne parle pas du leader de l’Opposition, lui aussi, j’espère que son parti qui est en hibernation pour le moment aura le courage de venir affronter l’électorat des villes où ils ont beaucoup massacré. Madame la présidente, le 4 mai prochain, le drapeau de la démocratie régionale ne sera plus en berne et il flottera à un nouveau fièrement, je le dis, dans le ciel mauricien. Le gouvernement du Changement, à travers le Premier ministre et le travail d’équipe avec le Deputy Prime Minister, et avec les membres de la Commission électorale ont fait un travail exceptionnel de venir présenter à la population ce projet de loi pour amender la Representation of the People Act, qui veut envoyer un signal puissant à tous les fossoyeurs potentiels de la démocratie. Madame la présidente, avec ce projet de loi la démocratie régionale sera élargie, approfondie et protégée, et les deux amendements proposés par le Premier ministre vont dans ce sens. L’établissement d’un registre supplémentaire des électeurs pour les prochaines élections des conseils municipaux garantira que chaque électeur éligible a la possibilité de participer au processus électoral et que personne ne soit privé de son droit constitutionnel de voter et de se porter candidat. Madame la présidente, ce sont surtout les jeunes qui viennent de célébrer l’âge de la majorité qui apporteront du sang neuf à ce corps électoral et j’espère aussi que de nombreux jeunes brigueront les suffrages. Madame la présidente, plus qu’une fleur envers la jeunesse, cet amendement est surtout un acte de foi de ce gouvernement en faveur de l’engagement de plus de jeunes en politique. Notre société fait face à des nouveaux défis que les générations précédentes n’ont pas vu venir et l’apport de la jeunesse sera un atout dans la recherche de solutions durables. Madame la présidente, le dépouillement des votes le jour du scrutin représente définitivement une avancée considérable dans l’organisation des élections libres, transparentes et crédibles. Encore une fois, cet amendement témoigne de notre profonde conviction que la démocratie doit être constamment approfondie et que la participation de la population au processus démocratique doit être encouragée en permanence. Madame la présidente, la dissolution, hier, des Conseils municipaux par le président de la République marque la fin d’une période sombre pour les collectivités locales. Je suis heureux que le leader de l’Opposition soit là. La présentation de ce projet de loi inaugure une nouvelle ère pour la démocratie régionale. En effet, Madame la présidente, nos mairies ont été plongées dans un coma artificiel depuis 2015 ; un coma politiquement induit qui correspond à un état de perte de la conscience politique et de la sensibilité humaine machiavéliquement orchestré par un gouvernement prônant l’autoritarisme. C’est ce que nous avons vu, c’est ce que nous avons vécu le depuis 2015. Il faut se rappeler, Madame la présidente, que le gouvernement MSM avec la complicité du PMSD et les anciens traîtres du MMM, avait dès le départ affiché ses préférences pour le totalitarisme en amputant unilatéralement le mandat des Conseils élus en 2012 de presque la moitié. Des élections municipales anticipées furent organisées en 2015 quelques mois après les élections générales de 2014. Le MMM avait participé à ces élections. Et, ce n’est que dix ans plus tard que les électrices et les électeurs de nos villes se rendront à nouveau aux urnes. Zot pou regle zot kont ! Pa gagn traka ! Dix ans sans élections dans nos villes permettant à certains élus sortants, Madame la présidente, de battre les records de longévité de mandat municipal, mais point de manière démocratique. Nek li asize gagn kas. Dix ans, Madame présidente, sans élections dans nos villes et les citadins ont beaucoup souffert en termes de services. Dix ans, prolongé dans un profond coma artificiel, parce que les pouvoirs des élus – nous, nous avions connus les pouvoirs des élus locaux – ces pouvoirs ont été confisqués par des PPS – et nous savons tous le rôle de ces PPS et les gâteaux Marie – et les ministres. Les mairies furent transformées en succursales du MSM avec la complicité de certains. Cette bande a été complice dans cette confiscation de la démocratie artificielle. Ce coma artificiel, Madame la présidente, a permis la mise au repos des fonctions démocratiques vitales de nos mairies en sevrant leurs liens avec les communautés de base et en les asphyxiant financièrement et administrativement. L’objectif inavoué demeurait cependant le refus et la peur, ils avaient la peur, Madame la présidente, voilà pourquoi ils n’ont pas organisé des élections. Kifer pann organiz eleksyon ? La peur d’affronter les élections libres et transparentes et rezilta ? Ti pou gagn bate ! Cet état végétatif de nos mairies n’a pas été sans conséquence sur la gouvernance et le développement de nos villes ; gestion opaque, transactions douteuses, gaspillage des maigres ressources tandis que le copinage, n’en parlons pas, et le népotisme furent institutionnalisés au détriment de la méritocratie. Pour ceux, Madame la présidente, comme vous et moi, et comme mon ami, Deven Nagalingum, et d’autres qui sont ici présents, qui ont eu l’occasion de servir leur ville, l’état de délabrement des nos villes, l’insalubrité permanente, les dysfonctionnements chroniques et le vide culturel – à l’époque les mairies organisaient des…, il y avait le Plaza qui était en pleine ébullition, les manifestations culturelles, Madame la présidente. Cela fait mal au cœur. N’en parlons plus, Madame la présidente. Ça, c’est un record ! Une adjointe au maire de Vacoas/Phoenix pe sarye valiz, cela c’est le dernier exemple, Madame la présidente. Je ne vais pas entrer dans les détails, tout le monde le sait. Sayer valiz pou kisanla ek kouma inn gagn sa ? Comment ne pas éprouver de la peine, Madame la présidente, de la tristesse, de la consternation en regardant l’état de la démocratie régionale de nos villes ? Voilà où la petitesse d’esprit des politicards orange a conduit nos villes au bord du précipice. Ala zot bilan ! Voilà le résultat de la politique revancharde du MSM contre les habitants de nos villes parski pann vot zot. Bizin tir revanz. Madame la présidente, vous le savez aussi bien que moi, l’administration régionale de notre pays remonte au milieu du 18e siècle lorsque l’île était encore une colonie française. L’île était alors divisée en huit quartiers administrés par les conseils de communes. Pendant la révolution française, les conseils de communes ont été remplacés par les municipalités, présidées par des maires. Les mairies possèdent une longue et riche histoire que nous avons dignement célébrée en juillet 1990, vous-même, moi-même ; Jean-Claude de l’Estrac alors, d’autres amis, d’autres fanatiques de la démocratie régionale. Nous avions célébré dignement l’organisation du bicentenaire de l’administration régionale à Rose-Hill en invitant la participation de toutes les mairies, tous les maires et aussi ceux des conseils de district, parce que c’était un grand événement qui est resté dans les annales. Madame la présidente, quel triste déclin pour la démocratie régionale qui a connu ces heures de gloire dans le passé ; des grands maires qui ont marqué l’histoire, des grands maires du Parti travailliste, du MMM qui ont marqué l’histoire de ce pays. Madame la présidente, je suis sûr qu’il y aura un changement. Le changement va venir ; persone pa pou bare sa. Il faudra commencer par établir un dialogue permanent entre les mairies et les mandants pour que le développement soit participatif et nous prenons cet engagement au niveau de notre alliance. Remettre sur les rails et refaire fonctionner la machinerie municipale pour relancer le développement de nos villes et les sortir de cet immobilisme paralysant de ces 10 dernières années, relancer l’animation sociale, sportive et culturelle pour que nos villes soient à nouveau des espaces de convivialité et de solidarité. D’ailleurs, Madame la présidente, dans notre programme, nous avons dit, nous ne voulons pas des élus frustrés. Nous ne voulons pas qu’il y ait des conseils sans pouvoir. C’est pour cela que mon ami et collègue, l’honorable Woochit, travaille sur l’amendement de ce projet de loi. Il y a un comité ministériel dont l’honorable Nagalingum, les autres amis ici présents et moi-même font partie. Nous avons invité des suggestions, venant de toute la population que ce soit de la ville –urbain ou rurale parce qu’il faut et nous travaillons sur cette refonte de l’administration régionale. Il est notre ambition d’aller plus, d’inscrire peut- être dans la Constitution l’existence de l’administration régionale comme c’est en Sud Afrique depuis l’époque que Nelson Mandela était devenu président. J’avais participé à cette époque à une première réunion lorsque j’étais ministre des Collectivités locales sous le même Premier ministre, l’honorable Dr. Navin Ramgoolam. Il m’avait envoyé en Sud Afrique, il m’avait délégué d’aller participer à une réunion. Je me rappelle South African Local Governement Appreciation (SALGA) pour la mise sur pied de cette organisation, J’avais eu l’occasion à l’époque de rencontrer Nelson Mandela et j’avais été partie prenante de l’organisation des réunions de travail pour revoir l’organisation, la mise sur pied de leur association des autorités urbaines. Madame la présidente, les dernières élections générales ont permis de sauver, in extremis, le pays de la banqueroute morale et financière et maintenant les élections municipales vont nous permettre de sauver la démocratie et nos villes. Voilà ce que j’avais à dire. Vive les Collectivités locales et nous allons participer nous- mêmes, comme nous le faisons au niveau du gouvernement à une refonte complète de nos villes qui méritent ce changement. Merci, Madame la présidente.

Merci. Hon. Minister for Youth and Sports! (6.17 p.m.)

Madame la présidente, c’est avec un cœur rempli de fierté que je m’adresse aujourd’hui à cette auguste Assemblée ; cœur rempli de fierté car nous allons voter un amendement historique. Ce sera une pierre angulaire dans l’histoire politique de notre pays. Que faisons-nous aujourd’hui ? Nous redonnons ses lettres de noblesse à notre démocratie aux principes fondamentaux qui sont les piliers de notre constitution. La démocratie respire de nouveau. Madame la présidente, nous assistons aujourd’hui à la consolidation des principes fondamentaux de notre démocratie. Non-seulement notre gouvernement a rétabli les élections municipales qui auront lieu bientôt et cela après 10 longues années, mais nous allons encore plus loin en introduisant cet amendement qui permettra à tous les jeunes qui auront atteint leur majorité après août 2024 de s’inscrire sur la liste électorale et même de se présenter comme candidat à ces élections. Le second amendement introduit pour la première fois à Maurice concernant les élections municipales s’agit du dépouillement le même jour – le Same Day Counting qui constitue une étape vers la modernisation de notre système électoral. En un mot, c’est un pas de géant pour notre démocratie. Madame la présidente, do you imagine what it says of a government which deprives its citizen of the democratic rights and this, during 10 years? They invented all kinds of pretexts to postpone those elections twice, depriving around 400,000 of our citizens to choose their representatives to administer their city and towns. La raison de ce renvoi successif était simple. Ils savaient que le peuple en avait marre de leurs magouilles, leurs mensonges, leurs conspirations. Le peuple ne voulait plus supporter leurs corruptions, leurs passe-droits, leur népotisme et favoritisme mais surtout le peuple voulait les punir pour le vol commis dans la caisse de l’État. They kept in power the same incompetent and corrupt Councillors at the head of our Local Government and this, for pure political plans aiming at controlling all institutions of the country. Even the then Speaker at that time, Members in this House will remember, refused to admit questions on local administration. Quel a été le résultat, Madame la présidente ? Une catastrophe. Nos villes sont devenues des fantômes, des villes mortes. Nos villes ont perdu leur splendeur leur grandeur, fini les activités sportives et des loisirs dignes de ce nom. Voilà le résultat de cette politique, décentralisation à l’outrance, pratiquée par l’ancien gouvernement. The last Government mode of governing was simple – ‘Silence! Nou p gouverne.’ or better ‘Silence ! Nou p kokin.’ Madame la présidente, cette dernière victoire de 60-0 que le peuple a offerte à ce gouvernement est le résultat entre autres des pratiques antidémocratiques de l’ancien gouvernement qui a usé et abusé de ses pouvoirs et prérogatives. Ne pouvant plus gouverner démocratiquement, étant depuis longtemps devenu impopulaire, il s’est comporté comme un vulgaire usurpateur et a tenté tous les moyens de ballonner la population. Outre le renvoi des élections municipales, il a tenté quelques jours avant le jour du vote, d’interdire les réseaux sociaux, moyens privilégiés des jeunes pour s’informer et se divertir. Ce fut le coup de grâce porté à notre démocratie et les jeunes ne se sont pas laissés faire. Ils se sont rendus en masse à notre manifestation politique, ils ont voté avec rage contre ce gouvernement pourri. Madame la présidente, allow me to quote Mrs Shirin Ebadi, the 203rd Noble Peace Prize winner for a significant and pioneering effort for democracy and human rights. I quote – “If you want to raise a crop for one year, plant corn. If you want to raise a crop for decades, plant trees. If you want to raise a crop for centuries, raise men. If you want to plant a crop for eternities, raise democracies.” Furthermore, the second amendment introducing the same day counting is to keep pace with the modernisation of our democratic electoral system. All modern democracies start the counting process immediately after the closing of voting centres. Madame la présidente, permettez-moi d’exprimer encore une fois, en tant que membre de ce gouvernement et pour toute ma carrière politique, ma profonde reconnaissance au Premier ministre et au vice-Premier ministre pour leur passion, leur sagesse dans la gestion des affaires de l’État. Ces amendements à la Representation of the People Act sont une nouvelle pierre dans la construction d’une République de Maurice moderne, libre, démocratique et prospère. Madame la présidente, la valeur de nos autorités locales et de nos conseils municipaux ne devrait pas être surestimée. Ils ne sont pas de simples unités administratives ; ils sont les piliers de notre démocratie, les moteurs du développement et les gardiens de nos communautés. N’oublions pas que les administrations locales ont été les berceaux politiques pour de nombreux dirigeants mauriciens qui sont devenus députés, ministres, Premier ministre et même Président de la République par la suite. Citons Sir Seewoosagar Ramgoolam, Cassam Uteem et Rajesh Bhagwan parmi tant d’autres et qui ont débuté leur carrier politique comme conseiller municipal. Avec la volonté du gouvernement central et des équipes passionnées, des femmes et des hommes d’expérience, des jeunes remplis de la flamme de faire progresser leurs villes dans cette nouvelle municipalité, nos villes deviendront plus propres, et cela, dans tous les sens. Ils reprendront vie, retrouveront leur gloire et se moderniseront. Continuons donc à investir dans nos conseils municipaux et à les renforcer et à accroître leur capacité à servir le peuple. Lorsque la démocratie locale prospère, la nation s’épanouit. Madame la présidente, pour conclure, permettez-moi de faire un souhait. Je souhaite que dans mon discours aujourd’hui, la Chambre et le peuple de notre République retiendront surtout la volonté de ce gouvernement d’être le facilitateur auprès des municipalités et de leur donner tous les moyens pour nettoyer nos villes. Le mot d’ordre est le grand nettoyage dans nos villes. Merci, Madame la présidente.

Merci. M. le ministre de la Sécurité sociale, s’il vous plaît ! (6.26 p.m.) The Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity (Mr A. Subron): Madam Speaker, I know we have a heavy agenda this afternoon. So, rest assured, I will not be long. I just want to spell it loud in this House that this Bill confirms the democratic fibres of the Alliance du Changement programme. I am standing as the spokesperson of Rezistans ek Alternativ to express the deep support of my Party to this Bill. Madam Speaker, the right to vote is a guaranteed fundamental right in the Constitution of Mauritius as well as in Article 25 of the Civil and Political Rights Covenant of the United Nations, to which Mauritius is a State party. The Constitution, in section 44, relates to the right to vote at elections. It says – “44. Right to vote at elections (1) any person who is registered as an elector in a constituency shall be entitled to vote in such manner as may be prescribed at any election for that constituency unless he is prohibited from so voting by any law in force in Mauritius (…).” Article 25 of the Civil and Political Rights Covenant of the United Nation stipulates that “every citizen shall have the right and opportunity without unreasonable restrictions to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections.” The Bill aims at registering new electors in a supplementary register of electors after the issue of the writ of elections up to the eve of the Nomination Day. Previously, registration of electors was confined to a specific yearly calendar and date which has been described by other Members of the Parliament. Every register compiled in a year came into force on 16 August in that year and shall remain in force until the next compiled register comes into force. It was this electoral process which was used irrespective of date of elections. The Bill changers basically the registration process of electors in Mauritius. The Bill also ensures fairness as it guarantees the right of any person to challenge the admission of any electors to the supplementary register of electors it proposes to create. Significantly is the fact that this Bill shall apply not only for the coming elections of members of the Municipal City Council or Municipal Town Council, but also specifies that this Bill opens the door to be applied for such other elections as may be prescribed. This Bill, which might appear minor in change or even a rather technical change, in essence, is part of and in a way completes the very franchise processes started in 1948 when universal suffrage was first introduced in the then colonial Mauritius. The universal suffrage at the time, in 1948, was only partial as the colonial power had the power to nominate non-elected legislative council members and the right to vote was restricted to only electors who was able to read and write. The 1948 suffrage was enlarged in 1958 to include all citizens to vote, irrespective of literacy criteria. The system of colonial nominees was abolished. In 1976, the universal suffrage was further enlarged to grant the right to vote the citizens aged 18 years instead of 21 years. All the enlargement processes of the universal suffrage were also translated in Local Government Elections, including Municipal Elections. The recent elections, especially as from 2019 General Elections highlighted the fundamental problem whereby the system of registration of electors was leading to some form of disenfranchisement of thousands of electors. In addition, the criteria to confine electors’ registration to a specific period of time was de facto eliminating the otherwise qualified electors from participating in elections. In fact, it was an unreasonable restriction within the meaning of Article 25 of the Civil and Political Rights Covenant of the United Nations to which Mauritius is a State party. The present amendment is proposing to start from the coming Municipal Elections and is addressing the objective disenfranchisement generated by the registration process under The Representations of the People Act. The Bill in this House is in reality leaping towards a new form of presumptive inclusion whereby the legal and electoral system will protect the voting rights of all subjects by default. In this case, by allowing supplementary register to be opened after the issuing of the writ of elections. This amendment inaugurates a series of democratic amendments announced in the Government Programme adopted by this Assembly. After consolidating the right to vote of citizens in the election, the next anticipated step would be to make the right to stand candidate in general elections as a fundamental right in the Constitution of Mauritius without any compulsory community classification. This amendment marks the opening of a new democratic chapter of the Republic of Mauritius. There are moments in history where what appears to be simple is in fact part of a giant historical process. We are in this historical moment. I appeal to all Mauritians to focus on the fundamentals, to support the democratic transformation underway and with this note, me and my party, Rezistans ek Alternativ commend this Bill to this House. I recommend all- qualifying citizens to rush and register themselves for the coming municipal elections. This Government is widening the franchise while the previous one disenfranchised more than 400,000 citizens living in municipal areas of their right to vote. I again commend this Bill to the House. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you for that. Thank you for being well within time. Hon. Lobine! (6.34 p.m.) Mr K. Lobine (First Member for La Caverne & Phoenix): Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I will say a few words on this very important Bill. We have got the hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Attorney-General, they have very vividly portrayed the importance of this Bill. The hon. Attorney-General went in length with regards to the legal technicalities involved in this Bill. But the very fundamental of this Bill, Madam Speaker, is the right to vote, which is a constitutional right embedded in section 44 of our Constitution. The way this Bill has been drafted, Madam Speaker, I wish to salute the officers, the State Law Officers, the Attorney-General’s office for this very well drafted, clear and precise piece of legislation. Madam Speaker, I would conquer with the hon. Minister Subron with regard to the historical moment that we are privileged to have in this very august Assembly to debate on this very important piece of legislation. Be it a few clauses that are amending a 1958 legislation, but the importance is paramount to the people of Mauritius. We have heard hon. Minister Bhagwan, hon. Minister Nagalingum, yourself, Madam Speaker, you were previous mayors of Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, and today, you are hon. Ministers in this very august Assembly. So, giving back the power of the people of the townships of all these five towns and the city of Port Louis to vote in the near future is a big achievement in itself when we know in this very august Assembly how municipal elections were postponed on three occasions for no reason. The last one was that they were preparing a very comprehensive piece of legislation but to no avail. There have been no major reforms that they did and they just postponed because they knew very well that the people were waiting for them, were waiting to give them an electoral correction. I salute the team of hon. Minister Woochit and the Interministerial Committee that are looking at a comprehensive legislation for the local elections and the local authorities. Madam Speaker, with regard to the right to vote to the youngsters that will turn 18 just one day before the next Municipal elections is a big step towards a participative democracy, and we know how the youth of this country participated in bringing the Alliance du Changement in this very august Assembly with an overwhelming majority. Today, I am very sad to see that well, the hon. Leader of the Opposition is present but he has not participated in the debate, very important piece of legislation and a lack of decorum from hon. Adrien Duval. I will not comment on his exposé because it was most of the time irrelevant to the subject matter of this present Bill. But it is unfortunate, lack of decorum, lack of respect to this august Assembly that he is not even present when he has debated on this very Bill, to listen to the other orators. This is a lack of respect to democracy, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, with regards to the municipal elections in a few weeks’ time, I would like here to pay a particular tribute to the hon. Prime Minister, to the hon. Deputy Prime Minister and to the Cabinet of Ministers that they are walking the talk because coming with another amendment to another big piece of legislation, a 1958 piece of legislation in a very few months is a big step forward to consolidate our democracy. Madam Speaker, I was looking at the debates in 1958 whereby several orators at that time, the Bill was presented on 10 June 1958 by the then hon. Attorney-General, hon. Lavoipierre, and I found a paragraph that is very interesting from the then Ministerial Secretary to the Treasury, the then Dr. Ramgoolam, and I will conclude with what he said, which is very relevant today itself – “Constitutions, I think, Sir, should safeguard the interest of the people. May I make bold to say that it preserves to my mind, the rights and privileges of every citizen. Every citizen henceforth will have the same right in law, in practice and in other ways. I think that it is a good thing. I do not think that anyone today can argue that universal suffrage is not right, that universal suffrage is not practicable because a man or a woman cannot read or write. I think that idea has now been exploded.” This is what the then Dr. Ramgoolam, father of the Nation, said in the debate on 17 June 1958, which to my humble opinion is very relevant with regards to preserving and consolidating our democracy. That is why I congratulate the hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Attorney-General for bringing this Bill to the House, and I thank you all for your kind attention.

Thank you. Hon. Junior Minister! (6.40 p.m.) The Junior Minister of Tourism (Mr J. S. Pierre): Merci, Madame la présidente. Je vais aller directement au projet de loi proposé, l’amendement au projet de loi, et ne pas répéter ce que les autres orateurs avant moi ont dit pour gagner du temps. Mais, je ne peux m’empêcher en pensant aux notes que j’ai lu du Professeur Jocelyn Chan Low, l’histoire politique de Mauritius, être d’accord avec les deux orateurs avant moi que nous vivons un moment historique. Un moment historique parce que ce qui pourrait sembler être une petite formalité, vient compléter effectivement l’exercice de suffrage universel puisque nous allons bientôt aux élections municipales, et il y aurait eu des jeunes, beaucoup de personnes qui n’auraient pas eu ce droit de vote. Donc, je salue ce travail abattu, la proposition des dirigeants de ce gouvernement, le Premier ministre, le Deputy Prime Minister, et tous les partenaires de l’Alliance, le gouvernement dont je fais partie. Je suis heureux de faire partie de cet exercice démocratique que nous vivons en ce moment. Je crois que l’histoire retiendra la date du 19 mars 2025 comme l’accomplissement, l’aboutissement du vote universel. Vous savez, il y a beaucoup de choses même si cela semble être, pour reprendre les mots de l’honorable Duval, être à compte-gouttes. Ce n’est pas à compte-gouttes quand on retire l’homme de l’eau, qui était en train de se noyer. Il faut également retirer l’eau de l’homme, puisque c’est encore plus douloureux que de le retirer de l’eau. Ce bateau était déjà rempli d’eau, maintenant à chaque fois que nous avançons, nous voyons qu’il faut retirer de l’eau. Mais, je suis reconnaissant au chef du gouvernement qui à part de retirer l’eau du navire, revient aussi approfondir la démocratie promise dans le programme gouvernemental. Je vais prendre une citation de Jacques Derrida, être démocrate, même si souvent on voit que le verre est à moitié vide – « Être démocrate, ce serait agir en reconnaissant que nous ne vivons jamais dans une société assez démocratique. » Et c’est ce qui nous fait pousser nos limites pour amener encore un peu plus de démocratie. Je prends note que cet amendement amène avant tout un registre complémentaire qui donne l’occasion à tous ceux – je crois que c’était le 16 août et non juin, comme mentionné par l’honorable R. Duval –pas inscrits sur un registre au 15 août de 2024, la possibilité de voter pour les municipales qui arrivent bientôt. Je reprends également ce que dit l’amendement, que ce projet ne concerne pas que les élections municipales. C’est pour ça que c’est encore plus important cet exercice qui nous amène, aujourd’hui, à ce projet de loi. Ça concernera toutes les élections. Et je profite pour saluer dans l’histoire tous ceux qui ont combattu pour la démocratie, dont le MMM en 1982 qui avait voté la loi pour que les élections législatives ne soient pas renvoyées. Nous arrivons maintenant à deux projets de loi pour amener cet approfondissement de notre démocratie. Ce registre complémentaire – la démocratie ne marche pas toute seule, ce n’est pas que le travail du gouvernement. C’est le travail de la société civile, le travail des médias, le travail de tout un chacun de faire en sorte que la population comprenne qu’elle n’a que cinq jours, une fois le writ proclamé, pour se faire enregistrer puisque ces batailles, ces luttes et ces combats, des fois a pris du sang dans l’histoire, pour nous donner notre droit de vote, mentionné par l’honorable Subron et l’honorable Lobine. Ce droit de vote dont nous parlons, aujourd’hui, il faut que la population puisse comprendre l’importance de ce combat pour qu’elle puisse se faire enregistrer. J’ai entendu l’Attorney General dire que les bureaux seront ouverts samedi et dimanche pour donner l’occasion à tout le monde de se faire enregistrer. Vous savez quand on prend le droit de 400 000 électeurs des villes pendant dix ans, - je suis dans la circonscription numéro 19, Stanley-Rose Hill, et je connais la problématique des citadins tous les jours, quand nous comprenons la gestion d’une municipalité, d’une ville, connaissant le souci, les problèmes que connaissent les gens dans les villes – prendre ce droit équivaut à ce que le gouvernement précédent ne savait pas ce qui se passait dans les villes ou il n’avait aucun souci des gens, des villes ou peut-être des deux. Donc, je trouve inconcevable que le régime précédent ait voté des lois pour repousser trois fois les élections municipales. 400 000 personnes privées de leur droit constitutionnel pendant dix ans, et je suis reconnaissant de voir que ce gouvernement a à cœur le droit fondamental, constitutionnel des gens. Vous savez, ce n’est pas qu’un approfondissement de la démocratie, c’est une leçon de bon sens. Je suis tout à fait d’accord de la façon que ce projet a été rédigé, et je salue le travail de l’Attorney General également et de tous les techniciens puisqu’il y a aussi la manière de faire. Je prends note que quelqu’un peut contester un nom qui est inscrit sur le registre électoral et que l’officier doit obligatoirement informer la personne qu’une correction est faite à son nom. Donc, la manière de faire, ce n’est pas juste la loi mais, c’est la façon de faire aussi qui nous amène à la façon de gouverner. Vous savez, le Premier ministre, en ouvrant les débats, a parlé de suppression de la liste électorale où les gouvernements qui ont repoussé les élections. Pourquoi est-ce que vous enlèverez les noms d’une liste électorale ? J’ai été témoin dans trois circonscriptions où j’ai travaillé, Savanne-Rivière Noire, Belle Rose-Quatre Bornes, et maintenant, Stanley- Rose Hill, à chaque fois le traumatisme connu par les agents, même par les électeurs dont les noms n’étaient pas inscrits, ils n’avaient pas aucun recours. Aujourd’hui, grâce à l’amendement à cette loi, les électeurs ont la possibilité de se faire inscrire. Or, nous savons que les noms étaient mal inscrits, des fois volontairement, donc, ce qui leur donnait aucun moyen et aucun recours pour amener leur devoir électoral. Aujourd’hui, nous avons devant nous un exercice qui redonne à la République de Maurice ses lettres de noblesse. Vous avez un gouvernement qui n’est pas dans les calculs politiques, qui amène la démocratie avec lourd de sens. Une démocratie qui ne calcule pas qui c’est qui va voter, où est-ce qu’il va voter, combien d’électeurs doivent être enlevés de la liste, quel découpage doit être fait. Vous avez un gouvernement, aujourd’hui, qui a vraiment à cœur quand vous voyez tous les amendements – le premier, aujourd’hui - il y en aura d’autres, promis par l’Attorney General et le Premier ministre. Nous savons qu’aujourd’hui nous avons un gouvernement qui n’amène pas le traumatisme à la population. Je vais terminer pour rappeler à tout le monde, aux dernières élections, ce qui s’est passé quand un trauma a saisi la population, se rappelant de ce qui s’était passé en 2019. 2019 – quand les bulletins disparaissaient, quand les boites disparaissaient, quand les camions étaient truqués, tout était truqué, et nous avons tous vécu, tous les candidats, ici, dans l’hémicycle, le trauma causé, que ce soit à la veille des élections, que ce soit le jour des élections ou que ce soit le jour du dépouillement. Nous ne voulons pas revivre ce trauma ; la population ne veut pas revivre ce trauma. J’ai été témoin où une foule entassée près des écoles qui empêchait les camions de sortir, fouillait les policiers et leurs sacs. Maurice ne veut pas revivre cela. Et je suis reconnaissant à ce gouvernement, reconnaissant à cette équipe de démocrates qui amène un vrai sens démocratique à notre République. Merci, Madame la présidente.

Je vous remercie. Merci. Hon. Woochit, please! (6.50 p.m.)

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to address on the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill (No. IV of 2025). A significant legislation reform aims at strengthening our democracy by making the electoral process more inclusive and accessible to our electoral system. This Bill introduces a supplementary register of electors, allowing individuals who missed the initial registration deadline to still exercise their right to vote. By removing barriers that hinder voter participation, it upholds the principles of fairness, democracy and inclusion. Recognising the challenges many citizens faced in meeting the official deadline, this amendment establishes a mechanism for supplementary registration after the issuance of election writ, ensuring that no eligible voter is excluded and reinforcing our commitment to an open and participatory democracy. Now, why the need of electoral modernization? Madam Speaker, a modernized and inclusive electoral system is the backbone of any strong democracy. A robust electoral process ensures that every citizen’s voice is heard and that our Government truly reflects the will of our people. However, outdated procedures, bureaucratic inefficiencies and unnecessary delays erode public trust in governments. As it stands, the Representation of the People Act requires a register of electors be compiled annually, becoming valid on 16 August and the remaining in force until the next update in the following year. This rigid time frame creates a major flaw. Citizens who attain the age of 18 after this date or who failed to register within the initial period are barred from voting in elections held within that year. This exclusionary system is particularly problematic for the Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Council elections scheduled for May 2025. Madam Speaker, under the present framework, voter eligibility is based solely on the National Assembly Election 2024 Register valid from 16 August 2024 to 15 August 2025. This means that any newly eligible voter who turns 18 after 15 August 2024 will not be able to vote. Any unregistered, but eligible voter will also be barred from participating. This unfairly deprived thousands of citizens violating the principles of equal representation in universal suffrage. This problem is further compounded by the repeated postponement of Municipal Elections, last held in June 2015 and originally due in June 2021. These elections were postponed three times – (1) in June 2021 under the pretext of COVID-19; (2) in June 2022 without valid justification, and finally (3) in June 2023 through amendment of the Local Government Act enacted without transparency or proper consultation. Madam Speaker, this unprecedented move bypassed the democratic process, depriving citizens of their fundamental rights to elect their local representatives. Recognising this failure, our Prime Minister, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, has taken decisive steps to restore faith in democracy by ensuring that the Municipal Council Elections proceed in May 2025 without further delay. On a parallel line, an Inter-Ministerial Committee and a Technical Committee has been established to oversee the necessary reforms. Additionally, citizens have been invited to submit their views on electoral improvements by 31 March 2025, reaffirming our commitment to participatory governance and democratic engagement. Madam Speaker, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill directly addresses these systemic flaws by introducing a supplementary register of electors for the Municipal and Town Council Elections of 2025 and the key provisions include – 1. Creation of a supplementary register of electors. This register will be compiled immediately after election writs are issued. It allows individuals who missed the initial registration deadline a second chance to register. Ensure that no voter is denied their constitutional rights due to the rigid administrative deadlines. 2. Strict eligibility criteria. Only unregistered eligible voters may apply. Applicants must meet all legal voting requirements, including citizenship, residency and age. Voters must be 18 years old by Nomination Day and submit valid proof of residence. 3. Public scrutiny and verifications. The supplementary register will be published and available for inspections at the Office of Electoral Commissioner at least one day before Nomination Day. Citizens will have the right to verify their details and raise objections if necessary. 4. Prevention of electoral fraud. Duplicate of registration will not be permitted. The Electoral Commissioner will oversee a rigorous verification process to maintain electoral integrity. 5. Oversight by electoral authorities. The Electoral Commissioner will have the authority to verify and process claims fairly. Fraudulent registration will be punishable by a fine up to Rs10,000 or imprisonment up to one year. Madam Speaker, this proposal has been reviewed and endorsed by the Electoral Commissioner who has welcomed the measure as a progressive step towards greater voter participation and integration. The Electoral Supervisory Commission which has raised no objection and has encouraged further discussion, enabling Mauritian expatriate to vote by proxy. Furthermore, consultations are underway with the Office of the Electoral Commissioner for same day vote counting in the coming election. An initiative aimed at enhancing transparency, efficiency and public confidence. Madam Speaker, this Bill is not just about voter registration. It is about strengthening our democracy. It will increase voter turnout, ensuring a more representative government, restore faith in democratic institutions after years of electoral uncertainty, empower young voters, ensuring first time voters are not excluded due to bureaucratic delays, enhance public trust, making election more transparent, fair and inclusive. While concerns may arise regarding potential administrative challenges, the Government has implemented a strong safeguard to mitigate risks. These include a strict verification process to prevent fraudulent registration, transparency mechanisms with independent observers overseeing the process and public awareness campaigns to educate citizens on registration process. Madam Speaker, before I conclude, I wish to inform the House democracy is more than just election. It is about ensuring that every eligible citizen has a fair and equal opportunity to shape the future of our nation. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill is a bold and necessary step towards securing this fundamental right. It reaffirms that no voice should be silenced, no rights denied and no citizens excluded from the democratic process. I extend my sincere appreciation to the Prime Minister, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, for his visionary leadership in advancing this initiative, not for momentary recognition, but to strengthen our democracy by fostering a fair, inclusive and transparent electoral system that upholds the fundamental principle of representation and integrity. Let us work together to strengthen our electoral system, ensuring it reflects the true will of the people and serves as a lasting legacy of justice and participation. Madam Speaker, I thank you for your attention.

Hon. Minister of Labour! (7.00 p.m.)

Madam Speaker, the Bill concerns compilation of a supplementary register of electors for the forthcoming City and Town Council Elections. So, there was an urgency. When I listen to the hon. Fourth Member for Constituency No. 4, who is not here, who tells us why are we coming with piecemeal amendments. The reason is urgency. We have an election for City Councils and Town Councils. Now, we are amending the law to allow those who had been disenfranchised and the youngsters who have not been able to register themselves to register so that they can participate in this election. Of course, we will come later on, after consultation, with amendments because it is in our programme. We are going to have electoral amendments. We are going to review the electoral system and we will do it after consultation. But right now, there was an urgency. It is important, Madam Speaker, to note that whereas Section 41(3) of the Constitution requires the Electoral Supervisory Commission and the Electoral Commissioner to be consulted before we bring any Bill before this House which relates to registration of electors. In our case, even before the Bill was circulated, after the Electoral Commissioner heard the Prime Minister announce that we are going to dissolve the Town and Municipal Councils after celebration of Independence Day to come with the elections; he wrote to Government. He told to Government ‘Now that you are going to bring elections, now is the time to amend the law to permit registration of those who had been disenfranchised and those who turn 18 after the 15 August.’ Why did the Electoral Commissioner do that? Because we have had a number of meetings since the last elections of 2019. The hon. Fourth Member for Constituency No. 4 is correct. There was a letter dated 24 April 2023, signed by the hon. Prime Minister, who was then only Dr. Ramgoolam, Paul Bérenger and Xavier Duval. I was privileged to form part of the team that drafted those proposals and those proposals relate to improving the registration process of electors, the voting and counting process. So, not just the registration. There were 26 proposals. Today we are applying only one of those 26 proposals. So, we still have time and we will come and we will make the appropriate amendments. The Electoral Commissioner and his Office received us several times and explained to us. We worked together; we tried to find solutions but the major stumbling block was change in legislative provisions. We could not have extended the registration, we could not come with a supplementary register of electors without legislative changes, and in front of us we had the MSM and they were totally reluctant to bring any amendment to the law. This is the truth and today, hon. Duval is sitting next to the MSM, the same MSM who refused to bring any legislative change to permit disenfranchised voters to vote at the elections. Madam Speaker, there has always been complaints by people who could not vote. They turned up to the polling station and their name was not on the list. But what happened in 2019 was unprecedented. Unprecedented! We had officially – I am talking about the official figures published by the Electoral Commissioner – 6,813 people turned out to vote. People who are usually entitled to vote, who usually vote, whether it is for general elections or municipal elections, they are used to vote. They went there; their names were simply erased. They did not have their name there and that had an outcry because 6,813 people, if they were allowed to vote, they could have made a difference. I will give you some figures, official figures, Madam Speaker. Election of 2019 – (i) Constituency No.1, the difference between the fourth Member and the third Member was 47 votes and 550 people complained they turned out and they were not allowed to vote; (ii) Constituency No. 15, the difference between the fourth and the third was 49 votes, and 486 people turned up and were not allowed to vote; (iii) Constituency No. 16, the hon. Ms Anquetil is there. There were only 25 votes between hon. Ms Anquetil and the third elected Member and 500 people turned out to vote and were not allowed to vote; (iv) Constituency No. 19, 443 people were not allowed to vote and the difference is only 80. So, you can see, Madam Speaker, if people who usually vote were allowed to vote, we may have had a different result in 2019. This is why it was very important through the leaders of the parties in the Opposition to come together and meet the Electoral Commissioner, and come with proposals because we could not continue with this disenfranchisement. Today, what we are doing is truly historical because today, we are giving a chance to everyone whose name is not on the list which has already been published, who did not make any complaint in the month of May – which they could have done. Today, we are giving all these people, not just those who have turned 18, but even those whose names are not on the register to go, after writs have been issued, to register themselves for five days. Why only five days? They hon. Attorney-General has explained very clearly. The reason is because you have to work backwards. There is only 15 days between the day of writs and the day of nomination. The minimum is 15 days. So, you have to make concessions for people who are going to object, the hearing of the objection, the determination of the objection, and the publication of the updated register. So, that why we could only give five days. But of course, as he has carefully explained, the Electoral Commissioner has taken all the necessary precautions to make sure that the electoral registration centres be open even during weekend for people to be able to go and register themselves if their name is not on the list. Madam Speaker, the hon. Prime Minister also talked about the counting on same day. Again, we had extensive meetings, hon. Bérenger, hon. Dr. Ramgoolam, myself and other Members of the MMM and even Nouveaux Démocrates, hon. Lobine, was with us. Before the general elections, we wanted same day counting and we came with proposals. We did not want the ballot boxes to move from the polling station. Unfortunately, for practical reasons and also because in order to give effect to same day counting for general elections we needed to amend the law through regulation, but it is the President who makes the regulation, it is the President acting of advice of Cabinet to do so. We did not control Government. Now that we are in Government, now we are able to pass the necessary regulation to ensure that same day counting is a reality, at least for now for the municipal and town elections. But of course, this is still work in progress, Madam Speaker, as I said we had 26 proposals. We still have time to hold consultations and we will come with amendments. For example, we will have – that was one of the suggestions that we made and that was accepted by the Electoral Commissioner – to have a system of continuous registration. At the moment, there are canvassers who come for a few months a year and then the list is computed in May; you object or you do not object, and then it is finalised in August. So, we have to have a system where you can have registration all year round. You should not have a cutoff date. Also, I agree with hon. Dr. Aumeer, it will have to be digitalised. We need to have online registration. Of course, we have to provide all the necessary proof of address, the identity, everything, but then it will be online because it is going to save time and will also avoid what the hon. Prime Minister mentioned about canvassers who come, they say they did not see you, they came back and say again they did not you but we do not if they were lying or not. But if you have a system of online registration, everybody will be able to have their name and will able to exercise their fundamental right to choose a representative of their choice. Madam Speaker, as I said, disenfranchisement is not new. It was already referred by Albie Sachs in his report more than 20 years ago, but history will have it that it is this Government led by the hon. Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, who came with the appropriate legislative changes to allow every citizen of this country to vote. Thank you.

Thank you! Yes, hon. Minister of Agriculture! (7.11 p.m.) The Minister of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries (Dr. A. Boolell): Madam Speaker, the Alliance du Changement under the luminary leadership of Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam is the voice of the people. With Paul Raymond Bérenger, dignified leader of the MMM, and our political landscape, together with our friends from Rezistans et Alternativ and Nouveaux Démocrates, this alliance is the powerhouse of democracy. The Bill moves the democratic process and the key word is ‘inclusivity’. No voter is left behind. It is an amazing feat of democracy. The Attorney-General is right to state emphatically the amendment to the Representation of People Act is a landmark legislation. It is a reform which is prominent in the Government Programme of 2025-2029. The right to vote being extended to 400,000 eligible voters and the circle of opportunities has been widened to all qualified unregistered voters. Yesterday, the President of the Republic, acting on the advice of the hon. Prime Minister under Section 10(3)(a) of the Local Government Act, issued proclamation for dissolution of Municipal Councils. Tomorrow, he will give his assent and the Bill will be gazetted. Democracy has no price and it is of an essence. The Opposition, Madam Speaker, has been caught with pants down and has blurted almost anything. I do not know of any voter who will be against the amendments to Representation of the People Act. The hon. Attorney general has thoroughly explained the merits of the amendment. The relevance of the supplementary register will be extended to other elections by way of regulations. Madam Speaker, the MSM councillors are all out; flat out, total exit! They have left a mess. The forthcoming Municipal elections will be an opportunity knock to redress the situation with dignified, effective, meaningful and transparent leadership at Local Government. Be it Local or Central Government, Madam Speaker, the management were the politics of fantasy, corruption, lies and fake news. It is good to recall we made provision for at least one person of opposite sex to stand as a candidate in every ward. Of course, the hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Deputy Prime Minister gave firm commitment on International Women’s Day celebration for fair representation at the next general elections. The Bill may be halfway home in anticipation of a comprehensive legislation on electoral reform. May I remind the House, the MSM regime deliberately denied the voters of the Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Council their legitimate rights. Under false pretences, elections were postponed till the decadent, filthy corrupt regime was wiped out. It is good to recall that since 2015 to 2023, the then Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Local Government brought the Local Government Act to the House to be amended four times. It was a cowardice act, the fear of being trounced at the polls and it had nothing to do with pandemic COVID-19. Besides, borders were reopened to commercial flights in July 2021. Village Councils Elections were held on 22 November 2020, Rodrigues held its Rodrigues Regional Assembly elections on 27 February 2022 as scheduled despite fair or foul weather. In 2023, the regime came with a Certificate of Emergency to amend the Local Government Act so as to empower the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister to further extend the lives of the entire Municipal City Council and Municipal Town Council or the entire Village Council For another two years. There is a constitutional underpinning to the Local Government Act since there is provision for fair representation of women in every ward. This Bill is a great strive. The hon. Prime Minister is bringing amendments the Representation of People Act to enfranchise all eligible and qualified voters for the forthcoming Municipal Elections. Counting will be held on the same day, in the same Voting Centre and as the hon. Prime Minister has stated, it can be done by way of regulation. Ballot boxes will not be transported. Doubt of tampering will be eliminated. Clarity, certainty, rights and obligations are being fulfilled. The Electoral Commissioner has given firm assurances; it is a reaffirmation of our commitment to democracy, inclusivity and fairness. Under the current Electoral Framework, many eligible citizens who turn 18 after 15 August, have been unjustly deprived of the right to administrative cut-off date. Many eligible voters are unaware of registration procedures and deadlines. The amendments assume people will take the initiative. Government will have to conduct a nationwide Voter Education Campaign that is SMS, email, notification to alert eligible voters about registration deadlines. Collaboration with schools and universities to register students turning 18 since a very long time, for the first time I must say, is a real empowerment of young voters. We have to make sure that mobile registration units be set up to reach a vast majority. Madam Speaker, there will be two registers as has been stated, I will not go over it but let me make it quite clear that there is a sizeable percentage of the electorate who feel more convenient and comfortable to make online application and we said that provisions will be made to ensure that there will be online application to be registered as a voter. Our economy is service-oriented to a large extent and the supplementary register should be the gateway to comprehensive register and it will come as and when required. Madam Speaker, who has not complained to the Electoral Commission that the canvasser has failed to act diligently because of omission over registration and the classical reply is the eligible voter is not at home. People travel and there should be no reason for omission. The loopholes are being plugged to avoid flimsy arguments for non-registration. Madam Speaker, let me remind the House – there are many who do not have the means and acumen to make the online application as and when it will be done but it was Mr Rajsoomer Lallah, then Acting Deputy to the Electoral Commission who advised the premier, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, that door-to-door canvassing for registration should stay forever. It was said two years prior to 1967 General Elections. A note of caution, Madam Speaker, and warning to those who want to manipulate the system to register illegal voters – penalty is clearly spelt out in section 39D (4)(a), the provisions are clear and the penalty is heavy. As responsible voters and citizens, those who deliberately want to foil the process should and would be denied. Madam Speaker, we are yet to be told by the Electoral Commission if voting will start at 7 a.m. and will be over at 5 or 6 p.m. It is good to recall that the last hour of canvassing can make the difference and it is still in the psyche of many voters that the door of voting centres closes at 6 p.m. Let me conclude Madam Speaker by saying, we have travelled a long way and we travel a long way to consolidate democracy, we travel a long way to enfranchise those who are eligible to vote but are not on the register. This is a democracy and the process of democracy’s big move because it is a Government well entrenched in a democratic process. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Hon. Deputy Prime Minister! (7.21 p.m.)

Madam Speaker, aujourd’hui nous allons voter ce texte de loi très important. Nous allons voter ce texte de loi en First, Second et Third Reading – en première, seconde et troisièmes lecture, ce qui n’est pas la pratique démocratique normale mais ceci dit, si nous ne le faisons pas, un certain nombre de jeunes de 18 ans n’auront pas le droit de voter, ne pourront pas voter aux élections municipales du 4 mai prochain et ne pourraient non plus être candidats à ces élections municipales et cela parce que la façon dont l’exercice d’enregistrement des électrices et des électeurs se déroulent sous la loi actuelle. En effet comme a été dit, comme a été expliqué avant moi, chaque année, une nouvelle liste d’électeurs et des électrices entre en vigueur le 16 août après que tous ceux qui ont droit se sont enregistrés et tous ceux qui ont 18 ans à cette date qui ont voulu être enregistrés ont un droit de vote. Mais ceux qui ont eu 18 ans entre cette date et la date d’entrée de la nouvelle liste d’électeurs et d’électrices l’année suivante ne peuvent ni voter ni se porter candidat. C’est ça la vérité. C’est pourquoi nous agissons en urgence aujourd’hui et que nous allons voter, avec la conscience claire, ce texte de loi en première, deuxième et troisième lecture. C’est d’ailleurs ainsi qu’aux dernières élections générales, 1 205 électeurs et électrices des villes ayant atteint l’âge de 18 ans après le 15 août 2024 n’ont pu voter ou se porter candidat. D’où le supplementary register que cette loi permettra au commissaire électoral de dresser avant les prochaines élections municipales du 4 mai 2025.

Oui !

Si cette loi n’est pas votée en première, deuxième et troisième lecture aujourd’hui, je le répète, Madam Speaker, de deux choses, soit quelque 1 200 jeunes électeurs et électrices ayant 18 ans n’auront pas le droit de voter ou d’être candidat, soit nous aurions à retarder de quelques jours ou de même quelques semaines les élections municipales. Et nous ne le voulons à aucun prix. Nous voulons que les élections municipales se tiennent à la date annoncée. Madam Speaker, c’est avec plaisir que je dis qu’il faut noter que c’est le commissaire électoral qui a été le premier à attirer l’attention sur ce problème que nous réglons aujourd’hui. La commission électorale de son côté est d’accord avec le projet de loi qui est devant nous. C’est donc un grand pas en avant. C’est un signe de respect aussi, un grand coup de chapeau, un signe de respect aux jeunes. Même s’il n’y avait que deux ou un, le symbole est très fort. Nous faisons cet effort. Nous passons un petit peu outre à la pratique démocratique normale par respect pour les jeunes parce que nous ne voulons pas qu’un jeune ayant eu 18 ans ne peut pas voter s’il a le désir ou de se porter comme candidat aux prochaines élections municipales. Madam Speaker, c’est quelque chose de formidable que nous réalisons aujourd’hui. C’est notre devoir que nous remplissons vis-à-vis des jeunes une fois de plus. Une fois que nous aurions fait cela, Madam Speaker, le same day counting pour les élections du 4 mai et pour les prochaines élections générales – nous le souhaitons tous – se fera une fois tous les problèmes pratiques réglés. De plus, il est à noter que la commission électorale a demandé au gouvernement d’examiner la possibilité – que nous allons faire – d’amender la loi pour que la diaspora mauricienne, les Mauritian expatriates puissent voter par proxy. Ce n’est pas chose facile à faire. Peut-être que d’autres moyens de donner le droit de vote à la diaspora existent. Nous allons nous pencher là-dessus et porter une attention particulière à ce que la commission électorale nous a demandé d’examiner. Nous profitons aussi pour féliciter encore une fois le commissaire électoral et son équipe pour les idées qu’il nous donne, pour le travail qu’ils font et pour le service qu’ils rendent au pays, Madam Speaker. Nous réalisons tout cela parce que c’est notre devoir. Mais nous le faisons aussi en attendant qu’une bonne réforme électorale avec une dose de proportionnelle fasse de notre système électoral une démocratie exemplaire. Madam Speaker, je suis fier ce soir d’être avec tous les députés ici présents pour franchir encore un pas en avant sur le chemin de la démocratie, surtout quand nous le faisons tous ensemble au nom de notre jeunesse. Merci, Madam Speaker.

Yes, hon. Prime Minister! (7.28 p.m.)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is clear there is consensus in the House. There is a positive response in the public, and also, I see in the media. The hon. Deputy Prime Minister is absolutely right. This was an urgent matter because otherwise, many young people would not have been able to vote, if we want to maintain the date we decided on. But who could really be opposed to giving the people in towns their right to choose their Municipal Councillors after 10 years? Who could be opposed? As hon. Ashok Subron rightly said, we are widening the franchise – this is the word he used. Who could be opposed to that? I must also thank hon. Reza Uteem because he pointed out the narrowness of the votes in several constituencies. I must tell you, Madam Speaker, in Constituency No. 10 in 2019, I lost by some 632 or 638 votes. But there were more than 1,000 people who actually did not manage to vote in that constituency. That gives you an idea. Some complained; some did not complain. They protested on the media; they protested on the radio, but they did not go and complain officially. This is what we have seen. So, every vote is important. I thank him for having pointed this out. Hon. A. Duval was at pains to say he agrees, ‘but’. It is always the same; he agrees, ‘but.’ On ne gouverne pas avec des ‘mais.’ His confusion about a Commonwealth citizen being allowed to vote in municipal elections was incredible! I think the Attorney General’s response was stunning. It was a deadly response! He said: ‘hon. A. Duval is factually, legally and plainly wrong. It is not the case.’ As for the question of online registration which was canvassed, allowing expatriates to vote, allowing the diaspora to vote, this was canvassed also before the last elections. I am glad the Electoral Commissioner has taken it up again. There are difficulties in this. We are aware that there are difficulties. But we will examine this further with the Electoral Commissioner and the ESC because we must be able to overcome all difficulties. They have overcome them in other countries; we should be able to overcome them. The last point was about preserving anonymity. If we do counting on the same day, if we do not move the ballot boxes, you are likely to know which region has voted for whom. But I was just now saying to the Deputy Prime Minister, those who are sur le terrain, they know! In 1991, I knew the area who voted for me and who did not actually vote for me. But it is important that we preserve anonymity. The vote must remain secret. We will do everything for it to remain secret. Madam Speaker, with these few words, I commend the Bill to the House.

Thank you. Question put and agreed to. Bill read a second time and committed. COMMITTEE STAGE (Madam Speaker in the Chair) The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill (No. IV of 2025) was considered and agreed to. On the Assembly resuming with Madam Speaker in the Chair, Madam Speaker reported accordingly. Third Reading On motion made and seconded, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill (No. IV of 2025) was read a third time and passed.

I suspend the Sitting for one hour. Is that alright? At 7.35 p.m., the Sitting was suspended. On resuming at 8.45 p.m. with the Deputy Speaker in the Chair.

Please be seated. Hon. Prime Minister! Second Reading THE FINANCE AND AUDIT (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. II OF 2025) Order for Second Reading read.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I move that the Finance and Audit (Amendment) Bill (No. II of 2025) be read a second time. In the past 10 years, we have seen an unprecedented abuse and misuse of government financial resources. As a result of the irresponsible fiscal stewardship, we have today a most precarious financial situation, to say the least, disastrous. The previous government has been running a high budget deficit, accumulating enormous debts on the shoulders of every citizen of this country, including newborn babies. No responsible government, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, can allow such a state of affairs to continue. This is the very reason why we are introducing this Bill in the House, and there is urgency. This is why, again, it comes in first, second and third reading, because Budget Day is approaching very fast, and there are lots of work which need to be done for us to be able to apply what we want to do. With this Bill, Government will put greater emphasis on policy outcomes rather than how much is being spent. Judging Government policies by the amount of money that is being spent is erroneous and misleading. We want to see the best outcome for every rupee and cent that we are going to spend. I will give you an example, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. I am sure the hon. Minister of Health will not mind my saying so. In the Ministry of Health, we are spending around Rs17 billion on health alone, one item. But can we say that we are getting top-notch public health service? Far from it! What is the point of throwing money without getting results? This is what we are trying to correct. This Bill will facilitate and have a more responsible approach to fiscal stewardship by providing for the reintroduction of Performance-Based Budgeting and the appropriation of funds based on programmes. The PBB – I nearly said PRB – will be a simpler version that is focused primarily on achieving outcomes and improving service delivery. In other words, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it will be result-oriented. The previous government never understood, I think, the importance and the merits of Performance-Based Budgeting. In 2015, they replaced PBB with line-by- line item budgeting, which is based on inputs but not on outcomes. They changed the direction, and then they lost focus on the results and outcomes that we are expecting. Our public finances would not have been in such a disastrous situation had they continued with PBB. They have spent money on reckless projects like this white elephant project, Côte d’Or; just throwing money away. This is why we will also later on bring the Fiscal Responsibility Act. There would not have been so many contingency liabilities that we see now piled up. It is criminal negligence from what I can see. Today, with this Bill, we are restoring the core strength of budgeting. Under the PBB, the budget of ministries and departments will be presented in terms of programmes and sub- programmes. This will help in improving budget formulation, the whole process, by focusing on the purposes and objectives for which the funds are required, which will lead to a more strategic and result-oriented approach. In this respect, clause 3 of the Bill defines a programme as a set of activities or interventions contributing to the achievement of a common outcome. A sub-programme is also defined as a distinct set of activities or interventions within a programme. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the PBB will promote accountability by linking financial resources to specific outcomes, outputs and performance indicators. It will, therefore, make it easier to track how funds are being used and whether they are achieving the intended results. It will also allow ministries and departments to review the processes and identify and eliminate wasteful practices, which will result in greater efficiency and effectiveness in the use of our resources. Also, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it will bring more discipline. Throwing money without accountability is not going to help. We need to have accountability. This is why clause 3 of the Bill defines an outcome as the impact that the programme intends to achieve, not only in the short-term but also in the medium-term, and it is measured by an outcome indicator. It also defines an output as the services to be provided to achieve an outcome. This is measured by Key Performance Indicators. The KPI is linked to the ministries. Therefore, the key element is accountability. If they do not achieve a targeted output, I am afraid the ministry will have to be accountable. Here, clause 4 of the Bill provides for ministries and departments to submit a progress report on the performance in respect to the outputs and outcomes related to the targets that have been set. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will now highlight the other main provisions of the Bill. Section 105(2) of the Constitution stipulates that heads of expenditure should be included in an Appropriation Bill, which is voted in the National Assembly in order to incur the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund. Currently, in the Finance and Audit Act, the head of expenditure is defined as a vote of expenditure. Thus, appropriation has been made by vote of expenditure. With the reintroduction of PBB, appropriation will be made by programme instead of by vote on expenditure. Thus, clause 3 of the Bill provides for the definition of “head of expenditure” as programme instead of vote of expenditure. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, presently, the Finance and Audit Act refers to estimates as annual estimates. Annual estimates are both revenue and expenditure, and it provides for the estimates to be approved by this august Assembly. It gives the impression that both estimates of expenditure and revenue are approved by the National Assembly, whereas, in fact, according to budgeting principles, only the estimates of expenditure need to be appropriated. Clause 3 of the Bill clarifies this issue by providing for “estimates of expenditure” and “estimates of revenue” to be defined separately. Only the estimates of expenditure will then have to be approved by the National Assembly. Along the same vein, clause 5 of the Bill is amending section 22 of the Finance and Audit Act to provide for the Ministry of Finance to issue financial instructions for the preparation of estimates of revenue and estimates of expenditure, both separately. In addition, clause 6 is amending section 23A of the Finance and Audit Act to provide for the Ministry of Finance to present estimates of revenue and estimates of expenditure, again, separately. It will be done as from fiscal year 2025-2026 onwards. Following the enactment of this Bill, the Standing Orders and the Rules of the National Assembly will have to be amended accordingly. In this regard, I will shortly present a Motion in the House to trigger the process for amending the Standing Orders. The House may also note that the Performance-Based Budgeting system will also be reintroduced in statutory bodies, local authorities, and the Rodrigues Regional Assembly as from fiscal year 2026-2027. We are, in fact, providing a transition period of one year for these bodies. In this context, all these will have to be amended again to align the budgeting framework with that of Government. By all these, I mean the statutory bodies, the Local Government Act, the Rodrigues Regional Assembly Act and so on. The amendments will be made in the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill of 2025. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Performance-Based Budgeting should go a long way to addressing this recurrent problem. The Ministry of Finance will work together with statutory bodies, the local authorities and the Rodrigues Regional Assembly to facilitate this transition period of one year towards Performance-Based Budgeting. To conclude, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to reiterate that we are resolute in our endeavour to put our public finances back on a sound footing. We want to focus, again, as I said, on results rather than outcomes. The reintroduction of the PBB is one of our major policy reforms to usher in a new era of transparency and fiscal discipline. It is also a crucial step towards harmonising budgeting with long-term socioeconomic planning. I should also point out that despite the recurrent problems - we have seen it year in, year out; the Director of Audit points out all these wastages every year, but there has been no resulting improvement, at least for the last 10 years, in wastage of public funds. This should address the problem of wastage of public funds significantly. I, therefore, expect the full collaboration and cooperation of my colleague ministers but also of all public officers to ensure the successful implementation of this major reform, which is going to be good for the country and for the finances of this country. With these words, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I commend the Bill to the House. The Deputy Prime Minister rose and seconded.

Hon. Leader of the Opposition! As from now, everybody will have 10 minutes. (8.57 p.m.) The Leader of the Opposition (Mr G. Lesjongard): Merci, M. le président, de me donner l’occasion d’intervenir lors des débats sur le Finance and Audit (Amendment) Bill. M. le président, j’interviens sur ce projet de loi car j’estime avoir une certaine expérience en matière de gestion d’un ministère, tout comme certains membres de l’autre côté de la Chambre qui occupent des fonctions ministérielles. Mais, M. le président, il est de mon devoir de poser un certain nombre de questions avant d’aller de l’avant avec cet amendement qui propose, comme l’a dit le Premier ministre, la réintroduction d’un budget programme axé sur les performances. Je parle de réintroduction, M. le président, car, dans un passé pas trop lointain, nous avions mis en pratique ce système et ce système avait été mis au placard en 2015 ; système qui fut introduit en 2008, sous le ministre des Finances d’alors qui est, aujourd’hui, le gouverneur de la Banque de Maurice, c’est-à-dire M. Rama Sithanen. M. le président, pendant les interventions lors des débats sur le discours programme, j’ai cru comprendre que c’est la même politique économique qu’il y a eu entre 2005 et 2010 qui sera peut-être mise en place par l’actuel gouvernement. Est-ce un bon choix ? Le temps, M. le président, nous le dira. Et j’espère que cette politique d’imposer au peuple de serrer sa ceinture, particulièrement, aux vulnérables et à la classe moyenne, ne sera pas cette fois-ci à l’ordre du jour de ce gouvernement. M. le président, le budget programme axé sur les performances a pour but d’améliorer l’efficience et l’efficacité des dépenses publiques en liant le financement des institutions publiques aux résultats qu’elles doivent obtenir en utilisant systématiquement des informations sur des performances. There will be even more scrutiny of public expenses and I believe, even the way the budget is prepared will change, as stated by the hon. Prime Minister. Mais, M. le président, le BPP exige la mise en place des mécanismes de planifications efficaces et fiables, des systèmes performants de collecte, de stockage, d’analyses des informations sur les performances non-financières. In other words, it requires a paradigm shift at the level of the country and a change in the way government functions and the way government communicates. M. le président, la première question qu’on est en droit de se poser, c’est : est-ce que ces conditions sont, aujourd’hui, réunies afin de permettre ce gouvernement d’aller dans cette direction ? Pourquoi je dis cela, M. le président ? I wish to refer to a report published by the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), rapport qui a été publié en 2013 et qui fait référence à 15 pays africains qui ont implémenté le Performance-Based Budgeting system. Et sur ces 15 pays, que deux pays qui sortent du lot, c’est l’Afrique du Sud et l’île Maurice. And when it refers to Mauritius, Mauritius has been only successful, meaning totally satisfied 9 of the 16 pre-conditions for the implementation of the Performance-Based Budgeting system, and that was back in 2013. That’s why I asked the question, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, whether the conditions now are there for the implementation of the Performance-Based Budgeting System. Autre chose que je voulais savoir, est-ce qu’il y a eu des consultations avec des responsables administratifs de la fonction publique sur l’implémentation d’un tel système ? Déjà, la lourdeur administrative du secteur public est souvent décriée par la société, même par les médias. Ne sommes-nous pas en train de ralentir encore plus l’administration de nos ministères ou des corps parapublics, M. le président ? Autant que je m’en souviens, M. le président, les fonctionnaires avaient eu toutes les peines du monde à cette époque pour pouvoir s’adapter aux Performance-Based Budgeting System à tous les niveaux. Avant d’aller de l’avant, j’ai vu cela dans un certain rapport, est-ce qu’il ne faudrait pas aller plutôt à une refonte en profondeur de l’administration publique et de la fonction publique, visant à augmenter, M. le président, la motivation des fonctionnaires et à élaborer des mesures incitatives à leur égard ? J’ai comme l’impression qu’on veut introduire ce système sans préparation. J’avais posé cette question il y a quelque temps de cela : est-ce qu’il ne faudrait pas une période de transition ? Mais là, je comprends que cette période de transition va toucher seulement les statutory bodies et le Rodrigues Regional Assembly. En ce faisant, est-ce qu’on ne court pas le risque de démotiver l’ensemble de la fonction publique ? Pourquoi je dis cela, M. le président ? C’est parce que nous avons une nouvelle génération d’officiers de hauts rangs dans la fonction publique. C’est pourquoi, moi, je pense qu’il est impératif que cette nouvelle génération à la tête de la fonction publique soit exposée à ce nouveau mode de pensée et à ces nouvelles pratiques de gestion. M. le président, d’autres aspects à prendre en considération, ce sont les modifications et les réallocations des projets. Par exemple, il peut arriver qu’un projet soit sujet à des modifications en cours de son implémentation. On a un budget accordé pour un projet et ce budget doit être réalloué à un autre projet qui est entre-temps devenu prioritaire. Par exemple, nous avons vécu cela sous la pandémie de la Covid où il y a eu une urgence sanitaire et il fallait agir vite en termes de ressources financières et en termes de logistique. Puis, il y a aussi un autre aspect important, c’est-à-dire la variation – aujourd’hui, c’est d’actualité –des coûts liés au changement climatique. La budgétisation verte est pertinente, M. le président, à toutes les étapes, que ce soit au niveau de la planification, de la formulation, de l’approbation, de la mise en œuvre et du contrôle. J’ai cru comprendre qu’il y aura des KPIs. Est-ce qu’on va rendre responsables les fonctionnaires pour le retard ou pour une augmentation des dépenses dans un cas où un projet est retardé, par exemple, à cause des dégâts liés à des inondations ou à une sécheresse, M. le président ? On est en droit de se poser certaines questions, M. le président. Est-ce que nos fonctionnaires dans les différents départements maîtrisent cet aspect ? M. le président, ce qui n’est actuellement qu’une simple lettre à la poste, si je peux me permettre de le dire de cette façon, risque de prendre plusieurs mois à être exécuté sous cet amendement que nous sommes en train de voter. Premièrement, est-ce que le Performance-Based Budgeting peut être adapté à tous nos départements ? Je pense qu’à certains ministères, oui. Mais peut-être à d’autres, non. Par exemple, au ministère de la Santé. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, what realistic targets can we set to achieve and how do we manage the Ministry which requires the most amount of funds ahead of the Ministry of Social Security? Un autre exemple : le ministère des Infrastructures publiques où on a beaucoup de projets, mais avec des variables difficiles à maîtriser. Par exemple, les contestations concernant l’expropriation des terres qui peuvent retarder considérablement l’implémentation d’un projet pour plusieurs mois. Des fois, pour plusieurs années, M. le président. M. le président, certain parmi les membres de cette auguste Assemblée qui sont de l’autre côté de la Chambre et qui avaient les responsabilités ministérielles en 2008-2010, se rappellent comment c’était un casse-tête pour les fonctionnaires pour uniquement, je vous donne un exemple, mettre sur papier les chiffres pour les loyers et les salaires où il existe plusieurs départements sous un même ministère. Certains ministres ne s’y retrouvaient même pas, surtout, M. le président, pendant l’analyse des différentes dotations…

Your ten minutes is over! I am allowing you one additional minute. Your ten minutes is over!

Do I also understand that I had only ten minutes?

Yes, this is what I have said.

That was not told to me!

No, sorry! The Whip of the Opposition is out!

It has been agreed that everyone will have ten minutes. Anyway, I will give you one additional minute to conclude.

Le message ne m’est pas parvenu, M. le président. Je suis navré. Je vais essayer de conclure.

It was an agreement between the two Whips!

Je vais essayer de conclure.

Okay, thank you. Let us listen to his conclusion!

M. le président, on va mieux comprendre, par exemple, au bout d’un an, quand les dossiers sur les projets seront encore à faire des va-et-vient entre les différents ministères et le ministère des Finances. Je comprends l’intention du Premier ministre. Son intention est correcte parce qu’il faut réduire les gaspillages, M. le président. Mais selon moi, on va ajouter encore plus de procédures. Je pense, M. le président, que la priorité pour moi, c’est de poursuivre l’informatisation de la fonction publique. Nous avons démarré ce projet et j’espère que ce sera complété sous son mandat. Comme ça, nous pourrons avoir un vrai contrôle sur la gestion des fonds publics, M. le président. J’en ai terminé. Merci.

Thank you. The hon. Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations! (9.12 p.m.)

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have listened carefully to the hon. Leader of the Opposition. I have to admit that I still do not know after the 10-12 minutes he has spoken, whether he will support this Bill or not. Because he stated by criticising it, and then, he concluded by congratulating the Prime Minister for trying to reduce… An hon. Member: Il vaut mieux tard que jamais!

So, I am confused! I am confused the more so, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, because it’s the third attempt to reform budgetary system in Mauritius. The first one started when he was Minister in 2003, under the Medium-Term Expenditure Programme with a pilot project on six Ministries. Then in 2006, it was applied to more Ministries and in 2008, the law was amended and we had the Programme-Based Budgeting where the budget move from line-by-line budget to a programme and sub-programme-based budgeting. When that Bill was voted in 2008, he was also here, and everybody voted in favour of that Bill. So, everybody back in 2008 was in favour of moving from line budgeting to programme and sub- programme-based budgeting. Then in 2015, after the election, with the MSM-led Government, they changed it again to line budgeting and today, what we are doing is bringing back Performance-Based Budgeting in a slightly more simplified version than it was in 2008. Now, what is Performance-Based Budgeting? It is simply a budgeting approach where funding decisions are based on specific results, on specific outcomes and then you have the output that you need to achieve the outcome, and for the outcome you have key indicators, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to find out whether you are on track and whether you are meeting your objective. So, this is something that, for example, a project which will last for three years, every year, you will have the Minister come to this House and explain during budgetary time what was supposed to be the outcome, what has happened last year whether they are on track or they are not on track, whether the amount which has been voted for that programme is being well-spent, whether they need more money or whether they have decided to change it because as the hon. Leader of the Opposition has mentioned, there may be changes in circumstances, there may be new priorities. So, it is not a case where if you started on a programme, you definitely need to continue with it on three years. It is a dynamic process. But what this Performance-Based Budgeting does? It requires planning. It forces line ministries to sit down with the Ministry of Finance and plan, think, not spend, think then decide, then plan, identify priorities. Ministries may have a lot of spending, prioritise it – for this year, we will prioritise this sector, this programme, this outcome. Then effective resource allocation makes sure that the money that is voted goes for that programme and that includes monitoring.

(Interruptions)

I think he is still going to find out whether he is in favour or not. With this Performance-Based Budgeting, Ministries are forced to monitor spending. They are forced to evaluate service delivery and ensure that we get value for money. So, this section will bring transparency and accountability. An hon. Member: That’s why he walked out!

So, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I still don’t know and I was hoping that he will indicate whether he is in favour or not because I was here in 2015. I was in this House in 2015 when the newly elected MSM government decided to reverse all the good work that had been done. The hon. Leader of the Opposition mentioned the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) and how we got 9 out of 16. There was teething problems; we are not saying that it was perfect. But at least we were on the right track. I was reading an article which said: “Programme-Based Budgeting in Mauritius – A Successful Big Bang Approach”. So, even in the international community, Mauritius was cited as example as the country which was implementing this. So, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, why did the Government in 2015 get rid of this Programme-Based Budgeting? I went back to Hansard and I read it because I just wanted to refresh my memory. There were three reasons. The first reason, and I read it, that was Lutchmeenaraidoo, then Minister of Finance – the reason why he changed the law… An hon. Member: Law?

Yes, because he amended the law. “Programme-Based Budgeting (PBB) is so complex. Madam Speaker, it is so complex that even professionals in this House cannot make any sense out of it. I [hon. Lutchmeenaraidoo] was having problem understanding it because it is very, very complicated.” Because the Minister did not understand, so he changed it. So, all that we have done, all the work, all the FMI’s advice, all the economists, all the good works that the Ministers were doing, all goes to water because you have a new Minister of Finance who found this too complicated. He did not understand it and therefore he changed it. That was the first reason. The second reason is even more laughable. The second reason is – and you will all laugh – we are moving away from a Programme-Based Budgeting Approach to a more Performance-Based Budget Approach. He is eliminating programme-based, he is going back to line budgeting and he is saying that he is doing it and moving to performance-based. So, I don’t know what he had taken on that day before giving his speech.

(Interruptions)

Yes, maybe that. And then the third reason was that this amendment to the Bill, he said, will also contribute to promote accountability and transparency in the management of public money. Totally the opposite, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, because it did not bring any accountability and transparency. Every year, the Director of Audit in his Report highlights wastage of public funds, mainly due to lack of planning, lack of proper monitoring in the implementation phase. I was Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee, you were Chairperson of Public Accounts Committee, we could see week in, week out, how projects were not being implemented because there was no thought process in it, there was no regular monitoring and planning that went through. Transparency, not at all. You would recall, hon. Members who were here in the last mandate, we could not ask questions. What they did is they took money from the budget, put it in Special Purpose Vehicles, including Mauritius Investment Corporation, we were not allowed to ask a single question on Mauritius Investment Corporation. We were not allowed to ask questions on CEB, subsidiaries of CEB because they were companies. So, there was absolutely no transparency. Management, it was totally mismanaged. You know what they did the last five years, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the budget had become a mockery because the then Minister of Finance, every single year would come with Supplementary Appropriation Bills and put us in a fait accompli. Sometimes he would come twice, sometimes three times. In 2021, he came out with three Supplementary Appropriation Bills which shows that they could not care less about budgeting, they were just spending, they were just doing whatever they wanted and they had a majority, they would just come après les faits accomplis, tell us to ratify whatever they were spending. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, now what we are proposing is a simplified version and I agree with the Leader of the Opposition that we will need to have training. I agree that the civil servants will have to change their mindset because it was easy to have just an expenditure item every year in the budget, now they would have to actually think about a programme over three years or more middle term or long term and then they will have to monitor it and they will be answerable to Parliament for that. So, we will have to come up with output and outcome. So, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I fully support this Bill. It is a step in the right direction to bring fiscal discipline, transparency, accountability in management of public funds. Thank you.

Thank you. Hon. Rookny! (9.22 p.m.) Mr K. Rookny (Third Member for Pamplemousses & Triolet): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand before you today in strong support of the Finance and Audit (Amendment) Bill 2025. A landmark reform that will revolutionalise how public funds are managed in Mauritius. This Bill not only sets the pace by which this Government intends to manage taxpayers’ money but it also sends out a clear message. The message is that we will adhere strictly to discipline, something that was sadly missing in the MSM-led government. We need to look at this Bill in the current context. On the one hand, we have the failing state of an economy left by MSM in this country and on the other hand, we have a nation full of hope, tired of waiting and thirsty to see things happen immediately. We will undoubtedly take the appropriate steps, on a la volonté politique but as the Deputy Prime Minister, hon. Paul Bérenger said – l’économie s’en fout de la volonté politique. To gauge the full weight of this Bill, we have to look at it in the wake of the series of Bills that will be introduced in this Parliament, the regulations that will follow the enactment of this Bill and the reforms that will also follow shortly. This is not just another financial amendment. This is a necessary transformation ensuring every rupee spent by the Government aligns with results, efficiency and transparency. Why do we need this Bill? We do not need to go very far from today. The Report of the Director of Audit for the Government’s account for Year 2022-23 said it loud and clear. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to quote the part that hit me harder – “83% of Ministries and Government have not complied with Section 4B of the Finance and Audit Act in respect of submission of their report on Performance within statutory deadline.” Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the previous regime did not only spy on its people, they lied to Mauritians and deprived them of information altogether. Everything was put at play to put our people in a state of anaesthesia where the MSM thought our people will not be not be able to take any informed decision at all. We may have coined the name of our alliance as ‘Alliance du Changement’ but change was really brought about by Mauritians who, by their will and their pen booted out an autocratic regime. It is now our job to make sure that our générations futures will have the right tools to be able to make informed decisions. Maybe everybody will not always agree with us but at least, they will have the information available to intelligently agree or disagree with us. This is one of the intended consequences of this Bill. Once enacted, those who spend or invest taxpayers’ money will be incentivised or compelled to provide information or risk being deprived of funding. That is what Performance-Based Budgeting is about. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, public sector budgeting has focused primarily on inputs, allocating funds based on past expenditures rather than performance but does simply spending more money guarantee better services? Does a larger budget automatically mean greater efficiency? The answer is no. One of the major problems we have in Mauritius is drugs. Be it drug dealing or drug addiction, Government is spending huge sums of taxpayers’ money in repression and on treatment. The question to ask is – whether the money being spent are achieving the intended results or are they achieving anything at all. Are we not funding failures? Should we not be having different programmes? The same thing applies to the health sector. We may have the best Health Minister, we may have the best people in the hospitals but at the same time, we may be running the wrong programmes. At the moment, we know we are on the podium for diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease. Apparently, our score for cancer is not great either. It is about time to tie up our objectives with the resources we want to invest on resolving our problems. This Bill, when enacted, will ensure that Government funds are not just spent but invested in programmes that deliver measurable benefits to our people. The two main elements that appear to me in this Bill are Performance-Based Budgeting where results achieved will be tracked and not just amount spent; where Ministries will have to define objectives clearly and measure outcomes; where we will have to impose on ourselves greater fiscal discipline to Government operations. Also, increased transparency and accountability, nothing needs to be said on this. In what world, more transparency with what is done with taxpayers’ money harmful? Citizen oversight of tax expenditures will be improved. Real power will be placed where it ought to be, that is, in the hands of our people. Today, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have the benefit of insight. We must learn from the shortcomings of other countries and of our own. Countries which have implemented this budgeting methodology, numerous papers having examined the methodology, now recommend that we need to make sure that we have meaningful performance indicators and not just carry out a tick-box exercise. We need to ensure proper training for Government departments and also modernise financial reporting systems, maybe use of AI to simplify tasks that are complex or cumbersome. This is not an experimental law. Countries like the USA, UK, Australia, and France have successfully implemented Performance-Based Budgeting. They are not without challenges. France initially struggled with excessive reporting requirements. South Africa saw agencies prioritising easier to achieve indicators. New Jersey experienced resistance due to fundamental shifts in budget structure. Now, we can learn from this. Therefore, we know there will be merit in addressing resistance to change by maybe implementing as the hon. Prime Minister said, a gradual transition with capacity building programmes and data collection and measurement by using strengthened data systems and independent audits. We also need to address the tick-box bureaucracy by having realistic indicators linked to national priorities. This reform will bring – (i) tangible benefits; (ii) better public services in healthcare, education and infrastructure; (iii)reduce wasteful spending, stronger economic growth, and (iv) investor confidence. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill is about building a more accountable and effective Government. Mauritius stands at cross roads. We cannot continue with the statu quo. We have to embrace a modern results-driven approach to budgeting. Let us ensure every rupee delivers tangible benefit to our citizens. Let us put power back in the hands of our people. I have no doubt that all hon. Members will support this Bill for a more efficient, transparent and results-driven Mauritius. Thank you.

Thank you. Hon. Jhummun! (9.33 p.m.) Mr R. Jhummun (Second Member for Rivière des Anguilles & Souillac): Merci, M. le président. Après avoir écouté l’honorable leader de l’opposition, je peux conclure qu’il s’est transformé en un prophète de malheur. Il nous souhaite tout le malheur du monde – une approche négative et pessimiste, et il a même rentré dans la démagogie. I would like to remind him that we do not want episodes like today, where the hon. Prime Minister said the cost almost doubled within a three-year period at the Air Traffic Terminal, SSR. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill is very technical. I will try to avoid the technicalities so as to reach out to a wider audience. In this world of scarcity, almost nothing is free. Rien n’est jamais donné pour rien. There is no such thing as free lunches. We cannot allow a misuse of the economic resources of the country. I reiterate what I said in my maiden speech. There is no such thing as State money. There is only public’s money. Each rupee counts. Each rupee must be used in the most effective way. Taxpayers’ money must be so spent that we generate the maximum benefit from each unit of expenditure. M. le président, year in year out, the Audit Report published by the National Audit Office shows how public’s money is being wasted, drained and in some cases even looted. We cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening. Business as usual is not an option ! Étant un gouvernement responsable, on ne peut pas rester immobile, ne rien faire, serrer le coude contre le corps ou porter des gants. Ce projet de loi tombe à point nommé. M. le président, I congratulate the hon. Dr. Navin Ramgoolam who is also the Minister of Finance to propose the amendment to the Finance and Audit Bill. The object of the Bill has been spelt out very clearly and accordingly, amendments have been made to the different clauses. However, the crux of the Bill is the introduction of Performance-Based Budgeting (PBB). In order to the link funds with results, improve operational efficiency in Government administration and enforce greater fiscal responsibility, accountability and transparency. M. le président, PBB is a critical reform being introduced by the Government, that ties funding allocations to measurable results, ensuring that taxpayer’s money is being spent effectively and efficiently. It is designed to ensure – (1) efficiency where funds will be used in the most appropriate manner, reducing wastes and inefficiencies, and (2) fiscal responsibility where government funds will be managed prudently, generating fiscal space for new spending initiatives, enhance facilitate fiscal consolidation, that is, reducing deficits and debts. (3) accountability where the different ministries will be responsible for their actions and effects. (4) transparency where the basis of any democracy lies in transparency. This will improve the trust and confidence of the population on public administration. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, from the very outset, key economic decision-makers will systematically take into account the results to be achieved by expenditure. PBB is a result oriented, as rightly pointed out by the hon. Prime Minister. Funding will be a function of results or outcomes. This is why it is also known as managing for results which is very useful in civil service reforms to increase motivation and incentives and strengthen public accountability for performance. The goals and objective are at the centre of PBB. It is an input-output relationship where the output in this case is mostly in terms of services. M. le président, this Bill is so explicit that it has taken care to distinguish between programme and sub-programmes, estimates of expenditure and estimates of revenue in clauses 3,4 and 5. In clause 3, it has also stated that the outcomes, specific objectives and outputs need to be verifiable with a defined target, a given budget and necessary resources, including staffing. M. le président, neither spending too much, which is a waste of resources nor spending too little, which we prevent us attaining our target is desirable. Accordingly, clause 4 of the Bill makes provision for a progress report on performance in respect to outcomes achieved and outputs delivered. M. le président, if we do not know where we are going, we will always end up somewhere else. So, there is a need for a review system, checks and balances and more importantly, costs and benefits of expenditure outcomes upon the society and the national economy. For this, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) must be at work. The KPI can be quantitative, qualitative or subjective data. They need to be measurable, justified, verified and accounted for. Hence, the expected outcome to be achieved must be explicitly defined and the KPI must be so designed that it is able to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the service provider. M. le président, for this system to work, there is a need for reliable and timely information. However, government authorities in the last 10 years are faced with a series of time lags such as – recognition lags - the time taken to recognise a problem like COVID; implementation lags - the time taken to implement any decision; decision lags; execution lags, and in the case of PBB, there can be behavioural lags - the time taken for civil servants to adapt to this new system. I can even say in some cases, I have seen ethical lags where Members of the Opposition are absent when such an important Bill is being passed. One of them has not even been present to listen to his colleague, the Leader of Opposition! They dare to show us what ethical behaviour is! The progress report on performance must not be artificial, arbitrary or subject to window dressing. It is important that decision makers see to it that there is no window- dressing. M. le président, this Bill is not designed to penalise whomsoever as they may pretend. Instead, it is designed to motivate people to work, outdo themselves and increase their commitment to the programme and sub-programme, making ir more likely that they will produce the desired results. This Government believes in treating people as people. Those who are performing will be given a pat on the back. Those excelling will be rewarded. Those who are underperforming will be incentivised to perform better. M. le président, allow me to quote the IMF, I quote – “If the political and bureaucratic leadership is highly corrupt and rent-seeking, with little interest in improving public sector performance, performance-based budgeting will be a waste of effort.” This is why the previous government put an end to PBB! If you have a corrupt mind, you cannot come with such a Bill. Only advocates of transparency and accountability, like the hon. Prime Minister and his team, has dared to come again with PBB. Thank you for your kind attention.

Thank you. Hon. Minister, Dr. Mrs Jeetun! (9.43 p.m.)

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stood here a few weeks ago to deliver my inaugural speech on the Government Programme, and I said that for too long our country has been held back. We want more and we demand more. More for Mauritius, more for the people of Mauritius. I had also said that the foundation of our country is broken, the people have voted to end the era of decay. The people have voted for change. The people, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, now expect delivery. They demand execution and they want to see results, and this is precisely what this Government is doing. We are laying the ground work to rebuild the foundation of this broken country. The Prime Minister presented the State of the Economy in December last year. The people discovered with dismay the dire state of the country’s finances. So, there is little money but there are great expectations. It is therefore, our duty to make sure that there is value for money for every rupee of public money spent. Not only we need to deliver results, we also need to be held accountable for delivering on those results and this is what this legislation is about, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. Moving towards a performance-based budgeting means we will be judged not on the efforts that we put in but, on the outcomes, because what matters is the result. What matters is the performance; what matters is the outcome. Outcomes that are measured by smart KPIs, meaning KPIs that are specific, that are measurable, that are achievable, that are relevant and that are time-bound. Basically, we are looking for efficiency, we are looking for effectiveness, and we are looking for quality. Some may argue that in the public sector it is more difficult to have performance measurement indicators. However, if we consider efficiency, effectiveness, and quality, we can measure efficiency, for example, by the number of cases handled by FSC or as the Prime Minister just said, the number of patients treated in a hospital. Effectiveness can be measured by the number of successful applications processed and service quality can be measured by the waiting time to process an application or the waiting time in hospitals. So, performance budgeting, I must say, will hold first and foremost Ministers, et je dis bien, Ministers accountable for results and performance in our line Ministries. It is very important to understand that first and foremost it is the Ministers who are accountable. It is very important that this performance-based budgeting is championed by the political leaders. It will also hold accountable senior public officers. Following procedures and being compliant with rules will no longer be sufficient. It is essential that those procedures lead to outcomes in a timely manner and within quality standards. It is important to note that we need to have the buy-in of the senior officials in the public sector without whom we cannot achieve the results. This could mean that we will need to provide training and support to public officers as this is a drastic change that requires a culture change, a change of mindset. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I must commend the Prime Minister who also holds the portfolio of Ministry of Finance, for the courage and audacity of bringing a performance- based budgeting from the very first year in Government. Over a hundred countries have adopted this method. Advanced nations like the US, Canada, Japan, most OECD countries, emerging countries like China, India, South Africa, even developing countries have adopted PBB. So, Mauritius cannot lag behind. And as I said, performance budgeting will align expenditure with the strategic goals and priorities of Government. It will promote a management of culture that focuses on performance. Performance measurement will encourage comparison and competition between similar entities as a means of improving effectiveness and efficiency in service provision. Performance budgeting offers a wide range of potential benefits. It contributes to more efficient allocation of funds and a better understanding of Government achievements and priorities as well as better transparency and accountability throughout the budget process. It helps Government understand if goals have been met and if changes should be made to allocate resources to deliver on promised results. For line Ministries, performance budgeting provides us with tools to make a stronger case to Government in support of our budget proposal. If we can demonstrate strong deliverables such as a stronger GDP contribution, more job creation, maintain FATF compliance, faster processing time for permits and licences, high profits in our corporations, establishment of the National Planning Framework within the set timeline, all these will allow us to substantiate our budget proposals. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, for citizens and civil society, performance budgeting will offer greater transparency and accountability in respect of purposes and results of public spending and allow the opening of the black box of the budget. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, having led private sector enterprises for a good part of my professional life, I cannot but applaud this initiative. This is really music to our ears. We have the commitment and willpower at the political leadership level to implement this. Because we mean business, we owe this to every taxpayer in this country. With performance-based budgeting, there is no reason why we will not be able to deliver the so much awaited result that the public is waiting for. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Hon. Parapen! (9.51 p.m.) The Junior Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity (Mr K. Parapen): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the word paradigm shift is defined as a great and important change in the way something is done or thought about. This expression has often wrongly been used in society, especially by politicians who, let us face it, some of them have a tendency to use grand expressions to paper over their shallow thoughts. I hope I will not be joining their ranks today when I refer to the potential of this Bill, especially the introduction of performance-based budgeting as having the potential in bringing about a real paradigm shift. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the people of the Republic have high expectations. For years they have had to endure the sheer mismanagement when it comes to the public administration of affairs of the Republic. There is a seemingly unquenchable thirst among the population for accountability when it comes to the allocation of public funds. This Bill aims to lay the ground work to restore confidence in the action of Government. For far too long, the art of budgeting has relied on approximations. It is high time that we do away with the trial-and-error culture of the previous government and that we move towards a more rigorous methodology. As I see it, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the introduction of Performance-Based Budgeting heralds the dawn of a top-down approach to the public allocation of resources, that is, one where the ultimate objectives of Government become the driving forces behind all the programmes and sub-programmes being initiated. In other words, we are moving towards a world where we define our journey based on where we want to be. With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would now like to touch upon a few points which are not mentioned in this Bill but which, I feel, are of paramount importance if this proposed piece of legislation is to be a real game changer. Firstly, I would like to draw the attention of this House on the need for synchronicity. Most of the consultants we had the opportunity to interact with, as well as all the savvy well-wishers of this Government, have invariably highlighted the need for Government to stop working in silos and to work as one synchronised unit. To this end, I believe that there is a need for Performance-Based Budgeting to be applied to a macro framework, that is, an identification of objectives of Government at a higher level than at Ministries level, be it for high-powered committee or inter-ministerial committee. It is thus essential to identify the outcomes we want at macro level first, be it social or economic, and then have those objectives drilled down across Ministries. For example, the concept of Enn pei kot fer bon viv is an outcome, which I would classify personally, as a macro-outcome. And then, it is for Government to define the outputs associated with such an outcome and have it drilled down through different Ministries. This would ensure synchronicity of actions and avoid the dreaded silo syndrome. Another point I wanted to highlight and which has been touched upon by several other people intervening today, is the dire need for data collection, data analysis and research within the public sector. In a world driven by big data, Mauritius is, unfortunately, lagging very far behind. Performance-Based Budgeting can only be effective if the outputs are clearly defined, insightful, relevant, and most importantly, available. For example, within the Social Integration Division of the Ministry where I am currently posted, we only have two statisticians for the whole Ministry. One can only imagine how restrictive the exercise of performance appraisal has been and will be if we do not change things. So, I would advocate for a major revamp of our approach to data collection, data analysis and research. The previous regime destroyed the credibility of Statistics Mauritius while setting up a new body, Maurice Stratégie, whose ultimate aim was to glorify ‘Padanomics’. The former Minister of Finance did not believe in economics and ultimately, I think it is fair to say, economics stopped believing in him. I would strongly support the shutting down of Maurice Stratégie and lobby for a major revamp of Statistics Mauritius to empower it to become the leading data collection, data analysis and research body in Mauritius. Such an institution should have the ability to provide accurate, in-depth insight in the works of all the Ministries and be the trusted provider of outputs indicators to Government in order to optimise Performance-Based Budgeting. In the same vein, preserving the integrity of data collection is equally important to safeguard the new approach being proposed. As such, rigorous and reliable auditing of the data being collected and analysed is a must. We would advocate for a risk-based approach whereby outputs identified as being high-risk would command a high level of control and those identified as low-risk would command a low level of control. By doing so, Government would provide the necessary safeguards while optimising resources. The final point I would like to touch upon, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, is probably outside the scope of this Bill. However, since we are talking about laying the groundwork for performance and accountability in the public sector, I feel it is highly relevant to talk about the alignment of objectives of all stakeholders, particularly civil servants. We dream of a country where Ministries outperform and where civil servants deliver the goods and the cornerstone of such a dream has to be the alignment of the objectives of Government with that of civil servants. So, isn’t it time, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, to consider incentivising public officials with both financial and non-financial perks linked to performance-related objectives? While it could prove, I agree, quite complex and challenging to assess the performance of public employees on an individual basis, the idea of an across-the-board annual performance reward or bonus, should the country achieve some measurable and well-thought of macro targets, should be entertained in my humble opinion. To conclude, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me reiterate one more time the potential for a paradigm shift of this Bill. It is an approach, as rightly mentioned by Dr. the hon. Mrs Jeetun, which is widely used by OECD countries across the world and other developed countries. I am reminded that Performance-Based Budgeting approach was implemented in Mauritius as early as 2008. When we think that the European Union only adopted it in mid-2010, we can only dream of what might have been had we persevered in that direction for the last few years. Unfortunately, it was discontinued, no need to mention by whom, but had it been maintained, we would surely have a functioning results-driven public sector today. I also want to reply to the hon. Leader of the Opposition because in his usual intellectual dishonesty, he referred to a report, the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), which was published in 2013, and he said that in that report, Mauritius only scored highly on 9 out of 16 criteria but I have a report here, and well, it is right to say that we only scored highly on 9 out of 16 but as hon. Uteem mentioned, when you start a new programme, you are bound to have teething issues. I would like to draw the attention of the House on the conclusion of that report. So, the conclusion is, and I quote – “Whereas implementation of strategic budgeting in Mauritius needs to be consolidated and deepened, the country’s progress in this area has received international recognition and has led several requests for the sharing of its experience with other countries, including from Botswana, Ethiopia, Liberia, Lesotho, Madagascar and Namibia (…)” So, back in 2013, countries were looking to Mauritius to learn from our experience. We had something to share, we had something which we could be proud of. A bit more than 10 years down the line, the government of destruction has been at works. Today, you have this Leader of Opposition criticising a new method which was pioneered for the southern African regions and southern hemisphere region by Mauritius. He dares to criticise that in Parliament today. I think he should have done his homework a little bit more. So, to finish, I would like to say that like in life, it’s never too late to start again. As one very famous Chinese proverb says – “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Thank you. Hon. Damry! (10.04 p.m.) The Junior Minister of Finance (Mr D. Damry): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to cite two quotes that would set the tone for my speech. Firstly, management guru, Peter Drucker – “What cannot be measured, cannot be managed.” Secondly, Scientist Lord Kelvin – “What cannot be measured, cannot be improved.” Therefore, an outcome driven Performance-Based Budgeting constitutes the first set of economic reforms recommended by the OACD and the IMF to better manage and improve the budget process as part of our larger fiscal consolidation framework. The Prime Minister and speakers before me have sufficiently canvassed the technical merits of outcome driven PBB and the building blocks of outcome driven PBB, i.e., outcome, outcome indicators, programmes, sub-programmes, activities, outputs and Key Performance Indicators. Therefore, what I will try to do in my speech is to try to use practical examples to demonstrate how – I am repeating that a lot of time. You will see why – outcome driven PBB will be an enabler in the implementation of the Government Programme for the five budgets with greater efficiency, fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability. Before I go there, I would like to delve a little bit in outcome. I would like all of us to have the same understanding of outcome. What does it mean in this Bill? Because this Bill is tailored a bit on the OECD model. We are in 2025, and we are following the best practices that we have learnt through other countries. So, let me take you back to Vaghjee Hall. Last week, Prime Minister Modi was here and he launched something called MAHASAGAR: Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth across Regions. If we follow Prime Minister Modi, you will see in India, his language, he talks about Jan Dhan, financial inclusion. He talks about Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: one Earth, one family, one future. See, what does outcome do? Outcome puts the Mauritian at the centre of the budget process. Outcome is not quantitative. Outcome is qualitative. Outcome is service delivery. It is citizen centric. I will give you a few examples. If you look at our Government Programme, a free and fair Mauritius is an outcome. The Representation of People Bill that was passed in the House today is an activity that is contributing towards that outcome. A drug free and crime free Mauritius is an outcome. An easy, accessible, convenient, affordable, connected Mauritius is an outcome. A competitive and intelligent Mauritius is an outcome. Now, let me build slightly more on outcome. So, maybe, a gender equal and inclusive Mauritius is an outcome. So, if this is an outcome, how do you measure the outcome indicator? Because its qualitative. I was in a conference yesterday about women entrepreneurship. Now, we have a Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum and Mauritius ranks 107 out of 147 countries. So, that is an outcome indicator. So, through outcome driven PBB, the strategic outcome for the Ministry for Gender could be that we move from that to the top 50% during our mandate. I am not suggesting this is what you are going to decide, but I am just giving an example. So, this could be an outcome and an outcome indicator. I would like to build on hon. Parapen said. I will argue that this Bill already provides for the microframework that you were talking about. Now, how do you get there? So, you need to know where you are today. I have been told to reach gender parity in Mauritius in the private sector, top leadership positions, you need at least 200 years. Are the women of Mauritius willing to wait for 200 years? Are the men who are feminists like me willing to wait for 200 years? I do not think so! What do we do? Let us see where we are. So, I asked them a question: what do women who lead micro, small and medium enterprises contribute to the GDP of Mauritius and how much employment do they create? If anyone in this House can reply to this question, I will be very grateful. But we don’t have this data, unfortunately! If we do not know where we start, how do we know where we will reach? So, this is what outcome driven – I insist on that – outcome driven performance-based budgeting will change. Therefore, we will have programmes and sub-programmes and activities to lead us to that outcome. I will also argue that the other thing that an outcome driven PBB does is it allows you to make choices. At the end of the day, this budget is about choices. So, what happened in Malaysia? We go back many years ago. They were in a similar situation. It compelled them to make decisions because they needed to meet their government programme. It is a case study at Harvard Business School today. So, what did they do? They looked at what the private sector did. There is something called the Blue Ocean Strategy. What does the Blue Ocean Strategy mean? It means low cost, high impact, rapid execution projects. This is what Malaysia did and it’s a case study of how Malaysia progressed. The outcome driven PBB will enable us to employ Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Leadership in the public sector. We can draw from the experience of Malaysia. If I take the example of India, I will argue that outcome driven PBB has a role in lifting India from the 11th economy in the world to the 5th economy in the world, and perhaps, to the 3rd economy in the world soon. So, now, if you allow me, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to give a practical example. The hon. Leader of the Opposition talked about climate change. Let us talk about climate change. So, a national outcome, as defined in our Government Programme, is to create a climate resilient and environmentally sustainable Mauritius. So, what does it do? It breaks silos across ministries because it is not the responsibility of only one ministry to achieve that. You have so many ministries involved. Let me explain. We start with the Ministry of Environment. That is climate resilience. They have the responsibility to determine what we call Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). You then have the Ministry of Public Utilities because this means you have to reduce greenhouse emissions. So, you have to build more renewable power. Then you have climate diplomacy because we raise money from Development Financial Institutions (DFI) and overseas funders, and today, DFIs they do not fund on vulnerability, they fund on GDP per capita. Mauritius is already high on that list; we do not get money on that. So, we have to advocate for more vulnerability and then you come to the Ministry of Finance. Let us say, the previous Government had NDC 1.0, they said you need USD6.5 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40%, now, over 10 years. So, we have a Climate and Sustainability Fund where I believe you have about Rs3 billion per year that you collect in the Climate and Sustainability Fund. Rs3 billion is not enough, so what does the Ministry of Finance do? How can you make the Rs3 billion, how can you leverage the Rs3 billion and make it Rs30 billion? So, the Ministry of Finance will have to look at mobilisation and it is not that it is not being done. Take Indonesia, the third largest greenhouse gas emission producer in the world, so what did they do? They converted a pure government facility into a blended facility. What this means is that they have the Indonesia Climate Fund where the Government of Indonesia puts its money as what we call a General Partner (GP), then you have other DFIs, say the World Bank, the UNDP, l’Agence française de développement they come as limited partners, then you have family officers, you have endowments, so, this is how you can increase the amount of money in the fund. We are at the moment at the Ministry of Finance speaking with the UK Taskforce, AFD, all these DFIs and guess what? Performance is key. If there is no outcome driven performance-based budgeting in your government you will not get a single cent from them. Now, let us see what the previous government did. I really do not like to go into politics but this is what they determined. So, you know what they did? Out of USD6.5 billion which was their estimate, they spent USD420 m. Guess what happened? The share of renewable energy decreased from 22% to 17%, if the share of renewable energy decreased this means greenhouse gas emissions increased. So, they spent taxpayers’ money but they did not meet the output and/or the outcome. I think there is no debate in the world today that outcome driven PBB is what is required in Mauritius but to make it work, and this is coming from the best practices all over the world, you have to have monitoring and evaluation. We should all be thankful to the hon. Prime Minister for setting up the High-powered Committee on the Government Programme. The other thing is that the monitoring and evaluation body should not act as a control agency, it should act as a centre of excellence and this is what we are going to try to do. I know I am pressed for time, but I would like to add one more point is you allow me, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Just one more minute!

Yes. The hon. Prime Minister said that we will bring all local authorities and Rodrigues under PBB, we will do more than that. Other than the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Government of Mauritius is also implementing International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), and what this means is that we will consolidate the financial statements of every single state-owned enterprise and special funds – which the IMF does not like and we have six of them in this country – under our national balance sheet. This means not only the Consolidated Fund, not only the local authorities but also the state-owned enterprises and the special funds will be subject to PBB. I do not have time, I would have loved, you know…

You will have another opportunity.

Okay. Then I wanted to say something about the public servants because without them we cannot do it, but I would like to end on only one note and I hope that the House follows on this. Nelson Mandela said – “Nothing is impossible until it’s done.” And this is what we are going to do. Thank you.

Thank you. Hon. Minister Ameer Meea! (10.18 p.m.)

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, for allowing me to intervene on the Finance and Audit (Amendment) Bill 2025 which is being considered by this august Assembly. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill represents a significant step in strengthening our public financial management framework, enhancing transparency, accountability and efficiency in the administration of public funds. Moving from a line-item budget to a performance-based budgeting system presents several challenges, including resistance to change. But, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Mauritius stands at a cross road. Today, our economy faces rising debt, budget deficits and global uncertainties. We cannot afford complacency, we must act decisively, wisely and boldly. The need for this amendment arises following the commitment taken by our Government to redress the state of the economy. The previous government crippled our institutions, left our economy in tatters and ran the country into the ground. Its policy of economic and political clientelism made it a point of no return where public funds were recklessly squandered into an effort to maintain power. They adopted an approach of injecting money into the economy without any productive activity to sustain it. What our nation urgently requires is a responsible and strategic use of public funds ensuring that every rupee spent is geared towards tangible productive outcomes, and this is exactly why this Bill has been brought before this Assembly. Let me come to the state of the economy which is damning on how public finances were handled during the last 10 years. It is good to highlight and it is good to open the eyes of the population that over the past year, the fiscal position of the country has been marked by significant challenges. The actual budget deficit for financial year 2023-24 stood at Rs38 billion representing 5.7% of GDP. This figure far exceeds the revised estimates of Rs27.4 billion that is 3.9% of GDP as published in the 2024-25 Budget Estimates document. Looking ahead projections with no change in our fiscal policy for financial year 2024-25, that is, this year, indicate a continued financial fiscal strain with the budget deficit expected to reach Rs48.5 billion that is 6.7% of GDP. This represents a sharp increase from the initial estimate of Rs26.8 billion and underscores the urgent need for corrective measures. The rising budget deficit has had a direct impact on our public sector debt which has more than doubled over the past decade. The level of public sector gross debt has increased from Rs238 billion as at December 2014, to Rs559 billion as at end of June 2024, that is, more than double over 10 years, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. This is above the statutory debt ceiling of 80% which necessitates immediate intervention to restore fiscal discipline and without intervention, public sector is projected to reach Rs612 billion by June 2025. As a percentage of GDP, the debt ratio would further increase to 84.5%. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, this downgrading of the public finances has to stop. This is why this Government is ushering in a new economic order, one that breaks away from inefficiency, eliminates wastes and restores faith in public finance management. The Finance and Audit Act which has historically provided the legal foundation for public financial administration in Mauritius requires amendments to improve efficiency and align the public sector with contemporary fiscal management principles. The key provision of this amendment Bill can be summarised as follows –  The amendment reinforces the adoption of PBB ensuring that Government allocations are driven by well-defined objectives and measurable indicators;  Ministries and public entities will now plan and present their expenditure requirements through structured programmes and sub-programmes, facilitating greater coherence in policy implementation;  A more forward-looking approach will be adopted whereby estimates of expenditure and revenue will be formulated on a three-year rolling cycle, allowing for enhanced fiscal trade activity and strategic resource allocation;  This shift will enable public institution to focus on delivering tangible results by aligning resource allocation with expected outputs and developmental goals. They will be compelled to demonstrate how funding translates into concrete outputs and national progress. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, for too long, public expenditure has been viewed merely as allocation in a budget without a direct link to concrete outputs that impact the lives of our citizens. This amendment seeks to change by requiring Ministries and departments to prepare the estimates of expenditure on a three-year rolling basis outlining specific resources, expected outputs and targeted outcomes. This amendment is crucial for enhancing public trust in Government handling of public funds. It will provide stronger checks and balances to prevent financial mismanagement and ensure that taxpayer’s money is used efficiently and transparently. This will also enhance our country’s reputation among international investors and development partners. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let it be heard far and wide, this Government means business. We are not here to maintain the status quo; we are here to deliver on the promises we made to the people of Mauritius. The Government Programme 2025-2029 is our guiding principle and Performance-Based Budgeting is a corner stone of that vision. Without a performance driven approach, we risk spending without productivity leading to inefficiency and economic stagnation. This Bill ensures that our financial decisions are evidence-based, forward looking and geared towards national development. To conclude, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me reaffirm that this Bill is not just about legal reforms but about transforming our Public Finance Eco System. It will foster a culture of responsibility and efficiency within the public sector while ensuring that Government expenditure remains aligned with national priorities and development objectives. This year we will not just plan a budget; we will shape the future of Mauritius, a stronger economy, a more responsible Government, a bridge to the future and a better tomorrow for all. I am done. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Thank you. Hon. Prime Minister! (10.27 p.m.)

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to thank hon. Members genuinely, from our side I should say, who have intervened on this Bill. It is really encouraging to see our backbenchers at that level; the Junior Ministers, the Ministers also, of course. The hon. Leader of the Opposition is not here; I wonder whether I should say it. He seems to have completely forgotten how they managed the economy. I am glad hon. Ameer Meea just said it. Il n’y avait pas de discipline ; gaspillage ! Et il dit oui, c’est bon de réduire la dette, mais… Toujours ‘yes, but’. He cited the report of these 15 African countries and I am glad. I did not read it, I must say. Hon. Parapen just mentioned the conclusion. He completely forgot about the conclusion. Even what he cited, 9 of the 16; at least we did something. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, discipline demands effort. If we just sit like this and let things happen, we will have the result that we got. I wanted to say he is a oiseau de mauvais augure, but I think what hon. Jhummun said, ‘prophète de malheur’, is better. Typical of them! They mismanaged the economy; they drove the country into the ground, and now they say, ‘oh, let things be as they are!’ In other words, continue to throw money without accountability. And he mentions ‘what happens if you have COVID’? That’s why I say prophète de malheur. But nothing is rigid in an economy. If we are faced with an emergency, we will have to react to that emergency but not to steal money as they did on Covid. That is what they did. So, I cannot say much what he said again but I must thank hon. Uteem for having gone through what the previous Minister of Finance did. I did not read it, I must say, but it is mind boggling when you think he was in charge of finance. We must identify priorities, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, and we must grasp the metal. We must not allow ourselves to say, ‘well, let things go out there’. Line-by-line would be easier for me, but we need to do what we need to do. The previous government, in fact, took a major step backward when they reintroduced this line-by-line budgeting at the expense of performance-based budgeting. And there was opacity in the budget; allocations given; inefficiencies; wastage. This Bill shows our commitment to sound fiscal stewardship. As many orators said, we want every rupee of the taxpayers’ money to be spent in the best possible way; optimal. I wish to assure the House that what we will introduce is a simplified Performance-Based Budget that will be easy to understand and to implement. The Ministry of Finance will actively work with different ministries and departments and provide the necessary support to ensure we can get what we expect. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me elaborate on some of the major changes because what I saw in a speech, especially of the Opposition, I mean they do not seem to understand – (i) First of all, the role of the Ministry of Finance itself will evolve. It now has to obligatorily engage more closely with ministries and departments on budget matters, policy objectives, strategies. Action plans will have to be discussed more thoroughly in order to achieve this greater efficiency that we want in resource allocation and effectiveness of policies and measures. (ii) It will be easier to integrate new concepts. I think somebody mentioned gender budgeting, green budgeting. All this will be easier to implement. (iii) Performance-Based Budgeting will make it easier to avoid, as I said in my opening speech, such things like white elephant projects, policy inconsistencies that have been the normal, as if, for the last 10 years. (iv) As I said, there will be greater consultation obviously, and coordination among the various departments with the Ministry of Finance. (v) Each programme will have an accounting officer who will be accountable for the delivery of programme outputs and outcomes. (vi) The staff Performance Management System will be fully integrated in the PBB framework. (vii) The role and prerogative of the National Assembly will automatically be enhanced. Why? Because Members will now be in a position to ask the right questions, as there will be more information on resource allocation and there will be more information on what the targets are. Questions will focus on the performance in terms of implementation as well as outcomes. (viii) Finally, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the public will have a clearer view of the connection between the amount of tax money which is being spent and the services we are providing. Programmes will be become customer focused and more aligned to the expectations and the needs of the population. The previous government, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, has just dished out taxpayers’ money. I think many already said that before me. They increased the debt level without any consideration to the outcome of the money spent. Purely reckless spending. I am glad hon. Jhummun pointed this out in a PQ this morning on the Airport Tower, about how the prices increased. I think nearly 70% when I look at the figures. To conclude, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me stress that we are not introducing performance-based budgeting as an isolated initiative. This Bill is part of a set of reforms to improve service delivery and fiscal outcomes. Our reforms will focus, as we have rightly said - many have said it - on results delivered and not on the processes. They will include, amongst others, the Civil Service Reform to improve the productivity of civil servants. We just inaugurated, with the Prime Minister of India, the Civil Service Institute, which is called the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute. And civil servants want it. They want to have training; they want to learn more. It is not a question that they do not want. This will improve the productivity of the Civil Service; organisational restructuring, again to focus on service delivery. As I mentioned, a Fiscal Responsibility Act will come to consolidate the programme. Together, these actions will ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of public service substantially. With these words, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to again thank all the Members who participated in the debate, and I commend the Bill to the House. Question put and agreed to. Bill read a second time and committed. COMMITTEE STAGE (The Deputy Speaker in the Chair) The Finance and Audit (Amendment) Bill (No. II of 2025) was considered and agreed to. On the Assembly resuming with the Deputy Speaker in the Chair, the Deputy Speaker reported accordingly. Third Reading On motion made and seconded, the Finance and Audit (Amendment) Bill (No. II of 2025) was read a third time and passed.