Thank you, Madam Speaker. As the House is aware, section 49 of the Constitution provides that the official language of the Assembly shall be in English, but any Member may address the Chair in French. Standing Order 5 of the Standing Orders and Rules of the National Assembly provides that the proceedings and debates of the Assembly shall be in the English Language, but a Member may address the Assembly in French. Madam Speaker, the introduction of Kreol Morisien in the National Assembly has been the subject of several Parliamentary Questions in the past. Furthermore, in the context of International Day of the mother tongue, Madam Speaker, you, yourself announced that you would hold consultative meetings with a view to looking into the practical hurdles that needed to be cleared before introducing the use of Kreol Morisien into the National Assembly. I wish to inform the House that following the consultative meetings, a document has been submitted to me on 12 March 2026. The report proposes a structured road map. Then, now we will have to proceed in the following manner. The report, first of all, will have to be submitted to Cabinet. It has not been submitted to Cabinet yet. I will then propose a Motion in the National Assembly for the setting up of a Select Committee that would now be tasked to submit a report to the House within a period of three months so that there is no loss of time. The practical hurdles you mentioned in the report of the Steering Committee, they concern legal procedures, procedural, technical and institutional conditions which are necessary before we introduce Kreol Morisien in Parliament. The Terms of Reference of the Select Committee would be guided by the key actions contained in the report submitted by you, Madam Speaker, on the proposed introduction of Kreol Morisien in the National Assembly. “Consultations between the National Assembly and the Attorney General’s Office for the drafting and – (a) Introduction in the National Assembly of – (i) a proposed amendment to section 49 of the Constitution for the introduction of Kreol Morisien in the National Assembly; and (ii) a motion, requiring notice, for the amendment of Standing Order 5 of the Standing Orders and Rules of the National Assembly, to be accompanied by a draft of the proposed amendment; (…) shall then be referred to the Standing Orders Committee which shall submit, after deliberations, a report thereon, which shall be debated, following a motion moved accordingly and if and when approved, Standing Order 5 shall then stand amended accordingly; and (b) pursuant to Standing Order 77, prescription by Madam Speaker of the Interim Rules Governing the use of Kreol Morisien in the National Assembly during the Pilot Phase, to include the – • scope and limitations of the use of Kreol Morisien in the proceedings of the National Assembly and of Committees; • rules on language decorum, and • use of the English language as the language for administrative, judicial and constitutional purposes.”

Thank you. Yes!

Merci. À la lumière de sa réponse, l’honorable Premier ministre peut- il nous dire si son gouvernement soutient toujours sur le principe l’utilisation de notre langue nationale comme langue d’expression parlementaire ?

Oui, définitivement. This is one of the things, that… I must say, Madam Speaker, in all fairness, I was not too sure that that was a good idea at the beginning but the late Dev Virahsawmy convinced me why it was necessary. I must say that in all fairness. So, then we started, I spoke to Dr. Arnaud Carpooran and then I launched his Kreol Morisien Dictionary, I think it was, at the University of Mauritius in September 2011. Then, the Mauritius Institute of Education has a department now dedicated in the pedagogy and curriculum of the Kreol Morisien. In 2011, the State of Mauritius recognised an orthography for Kreol Morisien and in 2012, it was introduced in primary schools as an optional subject. Later on, it was introduced at the secondary level as well and the first exam for Kreol Morisien has been set at the School Certificate Level, and also the anthology for Kreol Morisien has been published in February 2026 just to show that we are determined that this should be the case now. This is why I put a limit of three months so that we can get on with it.

Thank you, hon. Prime Minister. Yes!

L’honorable Premier ministre peut-il déposer le rapport soumis par la Speaker sur la Table de l’Assemblée ?

I intend to, but first I will circulate it to Cabinet. I think for the moment, just myself and the former Deputy Prime Minister have it. We will have to circulate to others, and then, we will submit it to the National Assembly.

Yes!

Et dans ce cas, l’honorable Premier ministre a mentionné certains hurdles, mais ça reste très générale. Il a mentionné des legal procedures, peut-il dans ce cas préciser spécifiquement quelles conditions doivent encore être réunies avant que la réforme puisse être amenée et que les amendements au Standing Orders et à la Constitution puissent être présentés ? Quels sont spécifiquement ces hurdles ?

I do not think they are unsurmountable hurdles that will delay. That is why I put a time limit of three months. But in the report, Madam Speaker, you mentioned these practical hurdles, which you said concern legal procedures and then technical and institutional conditions, which will be necessary. I don’t think these are hurdles that are going to take us time.

Yes!

Merci! On a eu le calendrier de trois mois pour être présenté au conseil des ministres mais peut-on avoir…

Non ! Non ! Non !

… pour que le Select Committee présente son rapport au conseil des ministres ? Peut-on savoir dans la réalité, concrètement, quand est-ce que les amendements pourront être présentés à l’Assemblée pour la réforme de la Constitution et les Standing Orders ?

Three months will take us just after the budget. So, after that, as soon as it is practical, but there won’t be delay. That is why I put three months there. In your report, you suggested even up to six months, but I reduced it to three months, Madam Speaker.

Yes, I won’t make any comments. Alright, next question! PITON – MR C. V. – ASSAULT CASE – INQUIRY