Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to refer the hon. Member to the reply to Parliament Question B/364 at the Sitting of 15 April 2025, wherein the House was informed that during the period December 2014 to December 2024, Air Mauritius Ltd had disposed of four aircrafts, namely one A340-300 in January 2018, two A319-100 in June 2021, and one A330-200 aircraft in November of 2021. The House was also informed that, in June 2021, Air Mauritius entered into a consignment agreement with a private company for the dissembling of the two A340-300 aircrafts. The net loss incurred for the sale of these aircrafts was approximately Rs1.2 billion. As regards part (a) of the question, I am informed by Air Mauritius that the four aircrafts which were sold between 2014 and 2024 had been in service for a period ranging from 12 to 23 years at the time of sale. I am also advised that information pertaining to the total proceeds received from these sales cannot be disclosed in view of the confidentiality clauses contained in the Sales Agreement. With regard to part (b) of the question, I am informed that during the same period, Air Mauritius Ltd phased-in 11 aircrafts into its fleet. Out of these 11 aircrafts – (i) one was purchased directly; (ii) two through finance leases, and (iii) eight through operating leases. As mentioned earlier, the total costs of purchase and lease rentals for these 11 aircrafts again cannot be disclosed due to the confidentiality clauses in the Lease/ Purchase Agreements. Regarding part (b) (iii) of the question, I am informed by Air Mauritius Ltd that during the period 2014 to 2024, 11 aircrafts were grounded for a total of 100 times. The reasons for the groundings were essentially due to various technical issues, unavailability of spare parts, spare engines, and supply chain constraints. I wish to inform the House Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, that in reply to Parliamentary Question B/1191 on 09 December 2025, I informed the House that the Board of Air Mauritius Ltd had appointed KROLL Middle East Consultancy Ltd to conduct an independent forensic investigation with the following terms of reference – 1. the rationale for the sale and disposal of five aircrafts during the voluntary administration in 2020/2021. A sixth aircraft, namely an A340-300 was sold in 2018 but did not form part of the KROLL investigation as it did not relate to the COVID and the Air Mauritius Voluntary Administration Period; 2. the leasing of two A330-200 aircrafts in 2022, and 3. the order of one additional A350-900 aircraft in 2023. I am informed that the Board of Air Mauritius Ltd met on 25 and 29 June 2026 to examine the Report which was submitted by KROLL. After considering the Report, the Board has treated the matters identified in the KROLL Report with the utmost seriousness and has resolved to take all necessary and appropriate steps to protect the interests of the Company, including – (i) referring relevant matters to the competent authorities, namely the Financial Crimes Commission and the Police; (ii) seeking any civil remedies available to the Company, and (iii) initiating appropriate disciplinary proceedings in accordance with legal requirements. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I understand that there have been concerted acts and conduct on the part of the former Chairperson of Airport Holdings Limited and a number of senior Air Mauritius officials to favour the leasing of aircraft by Air Mauritius from a very specific lesser. Such conduct could tantamount to a criminal conspiracy to prejudice the other bidders and Air Mauritius Ltd. Furthermore, I understand that falsified and misleading Reports were submitted to the then Board in the full knowledge of two persons, namely, the former Chairperson of Airport Holdings Ltd, Mr Ken Arian, and the former Chief Executive Officer of Air Mauritius Ltd, Mr Kučko, with the objective of justifying the purchase of an additional A350-900 aircraft from Airbus contrary to the other internal reports to the effect that the A330 aircraft rather than an A350 aircraft was going to be in the best economic interest of Air Mauritius Ltd. They simply ignored that objection. I also understand that the lease of an aircraft from that particular Lessor has been preceded by inspections of the aircraft overseas by Air Mauritius officials and other persons. The inspection reports omitted essential matters affecting the airworthiness of the leased aircraft. This led Air Mauritius to incur massive expenses to make the aircraft airworthy. Air Mauritius intends to institute disciplinary proceedings against the responsible officers. Finally, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I understand that the former Administrators of Air Mauritius Ltd, namely Mr Sattar Abdoula, could be sued for damages, for negligence in connection with the disposal of an A332 aircraft during the period of administration of Air Mauritius Ltd as Government bail-out money was used to repay foreign creditors and SBM Holdings in circumstances showing clear negligence by the Administrators in the exercise of their duties.

Yes. The hon. Third Member for Port Louis South & Port Louis Central. FIREARMS – LICENSES ISSUES/RENEWED/SUSPENDED/REVOKED – ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA