(7.06 p.m.) RODRIGUES – RISING COST OF LIVING – REMEDIAL MEASURES Mr J. F. François (Second Member for Rodrigues): Thank you, Madam Speaker. Tonight, I raise a concern about Rodrigues rising cost of living which is worsening due to price increases felt in local market. I address the issue to the hon. Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection. Basic products and items have seen noticeable price hikes, forcing families to drastically adjust the budgets and in some cases, to make tough choices and sacrifices about spending priorities. It is not a question of stock availability but high freight rate. Madam Speaker, I seize this opportunity to urge the hon. Minister to advocate for Government’s compassionate response to the challenges Rodrigues population faces. I humbly ask for remedial measures grounded in the people’s needs to be continuously considered and maybe, in the coming budget exercise, knowing that there is the price stabilisation structure, subsidy on some essential goods and maximum price system for some controlled products that should be extended and reviewed. I believe we have to go the extra mile to alleviate the expenses of Rodriguan consumers, kou lavi pli ser dan Rodrig anou soulaz pouvwar achat ban famillies. To conclude, Madam Speaker, I urge the hon. Minister to engage with local stockholders to initiate an enquiry to understand in detail the impact of a high cost of living on different aspects of Rodrigues’s residents lives especially vulnerable families and our youngsters. I thank you.

Thank you so much.

Madam Speaker.

Yes.

I wish to inform the House that my Ministry is already working on a new list of products to be subsidised. It will be for Mauritius and Rodrigues.

Thank you. Hon. Beechook! (7.08 p.m.) MY.T – PREPAID DATA PACKAGES – VALIDITY PERIOD Mr R. Beechook (Second Member for Flacq & Bon Accueil): Yes, Madam Speaker, I will seek your indulgence for this issue which is addressed to both the hon. Minister of ICT and the hon. Minister of Commerce who is in charge of consumer protection. Madam Speaker, currently prepaid data package users of MyT buy data packages which has a fixed duration of its validity. It can be daily, weekly or monthly or even more. However, after the balance, the credit is over, the mobile service provider recklessly stops the data package instantly. All of a sudden, a mobile user has no means of communication, he is deprived of his data connection despite being valid. Consequently, he has no internet connection to log on to any online recharge platforms like Juice, Tag, MyT Money to recharge his or her balance. This is ridiculously unreasonable, Madam Speaker. Therefore, I would request both the hon. Minister of ICT and the hon. Minister of Commerce in charge of consumer protection to make sure that this deceitful practice ends. Thank you, Madam speaker.

Thank you very much. The Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation (Dr. A. Ramtohul): Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Member for having raised that issue but if when we are driving a car, petrol gets over the car breaks down immediately. So, I believe that while we are using this mobile device whether, we have a fixed contract or a contract of determined time, there is a moment where it will lapse. There are notifications that are sent.

Yes.

And there is also an SOS service available that will give you additional credit for which you can pay later but having said that, I will confirm this latter statement and revert on this. As far as I remember, Madam Speaker, that service is available because we are very well conscious of the fact that people may need connection at some point in time and at times, it can be in very urgent cases. So, I will check that second statement and I will revert hon. Member. Thank you.

Yes. Thank you very much everybody, enjoy your evening. At 7.10 p.m., the Assembly was, on its rising, adjourned to Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 11.30 a.m.