Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Taxi Operators Welfare Fund was established pursuant to the coming into operation of the Taxi Operators Welfare Fund Act 2021 with the objective of promoting the advancement and welfare of the taxi operators and their families. The fund became fully operative as from January 2022. By virtue of Section 5 of the TOWF Act, the fund is administered by and managed by a board, the composition of which is governed by Section 5(2) of the Act. The board consists of a part-time chairperson and four representatives of taxi operators as well as three members representing different ministries as mentioned in the Act. In addition, a secretary provides administrative support to the board. With regard to part (a) of the question, I am informed that the fees payable to the chairperson and members of the board are determined by the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms. The part-time chairperson of the fund is eligible to a monthly fee of Rs22,000, while each member is paid a fee of Rs1,500 per sitting up to a maximum of Rs3,000 per month as well as travelling allowance of Rs375 for each sitting, where applicable. The secretary is paid a fee of Rs1,650 per sitting and up to a maximum of Rs3,300 per month. The TOWF was reconstituted on 20 June 2025 for a period of two years. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to inform the House that the TOWF has no permanent staff under its establishment. Currently, the TOWF is being manned by officers of my Ministry with one officer assigned the duties of administrative officer against the payment of an allowance as approved by the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms and seven other staff of the general administration cadre against payment of appropriate allowances. As regards (b) of the question, I am informed that since its the inception of the fund up to 30 April 2026, a total sum of Rs2.86 million has been disbursed as remuneration detailed as follows, to be precise, Rs2,863,321.05 cents – • Attendance fees to Chairperson and members: Rs721,940; • Allowances to administrative staff: Rs921,527.81, and • Overtime payment: Rs1,228,264.84. Out of the amount for overtime payment, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, which is part of the substantive question, a staggering sum of Rs1,113,011 was allocated to the then Administrative Manager, that is, prior to the 2024 general election. I wish to point out that since the new board was reconstituted to date, overtime amounting to only Rs62,565 has been paid to the administrative staff for clearing a backlog which cropped up due to the fact that there were no board sittings between September 2024 all the way to October 2025. 166 applications received during that period from taxi operators were processed through overtime performance and a sum of Rs3.45 million was consequently disbursed as support to taxi operators. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, when the board of the TOWF was reconstituted in April last year, I met with all the members and outlined what I expected from their management of the fund. I also broadly charted out the host of responsibilities devolving on them to meet the legitimate expectations of the taxi operators. Some 10 months have elapsed, and I take note grievances are still being voiced out by some operators on radios and other media on the lack of communication from the fund on existing welfare schemes, on delays in the processing of applications and also on the absence of schemes they consider essential to meet their operational needs. As I take note of these grievances, I expect the members of the fund to take quick measures to make the fund a more responsive institution. Thank you.

Yes, hon. Member!

Je vous remercie, M. le président. Je remercie l’honorable ministre pour sa réponse. Le ministre peut-il expliquer à la Chambre comment une telle somme, il est question d'un montant – il vient de le préciser – de plus d'un million de roupies pour des heures supplémentaires. Mais comment une telle somme a été autorisée? Précisez s'il estime qu'il y a eu abus ou absence de contrôle dans ce dossier. Je vous remercie, M. le president.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was quite astonished to see the figure as well. If I take the previous manager and today's manager, the previous manager has drawn 92% of the total overtime paid while the current manager has drawn only 8%. So, there is something quite awkward there. We will have to probe into it and see what went wrong. Because this money belongs to the taxi operators.

Je vous remercie, M. le président. En tout cas, le ministre Ganoo, excusez-moi, mais il a fait fort, hein. Le Ministre peut-il indiquer à la Chambre si cette situation ne nécessite-t-elle pas l'ouverture d'une enquête ? De nombreux chauffeurs de taxi de ma circonscription, de notre circonscription, sont concernés dans cette affaire. Je vous remercie, M. le président.

Mr Deputy Speaker Sir, in the interest of the taxi community, I will ask the Internal Control Unit of my Ministry to probe into this anomaly and come up with a report on this.

Yes, you have a question, hon. Ramkalawon?

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. Does the Minister still consider to make this fund, this contribution, optional as discussed in several meetings at his Ministry and or attach any benefit when taxi drivers are paying such funds? Thank you.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, out of the 7,208...

Try to be very brief with your answer because this question has nothing to do with the main issue.

If we do this, if we make it optional, the fund will collapse.

Okay. Thank you. The hon. Third Member for Beau Bassin & Petite Rivière! NATIONAL CADET CORPS OF MAHARASHTRA, INDIA – MAURITIAN DELEGATION – OUTCOMES