Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I will reply to Parliamentary Questions B/915 and B/918 together, as they relate to the same subject matter. With regard to Parliamentary Question B/915, as I have stated in my reply to the Private Notice Question on 25 June 2026, the Commission of Experts was set up in September 2025 to examine and make appropriate recommendations on the three pillars of the pension system, namely – (a) the Basic Non-Contributory Pensions, including Basic Retirement Pension, Basic Invalidity Pension and Basic Widows Pension; (b) the Contributory Pension Schemes, and (c) the Voluntary Private Pensions, including personal retirement savings plans and occupational pension schemes offered by employers. I am informed, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, by the Commission that, since its establishment, it has convened a total of 27 meetings. Of these, 19 were held between November 2025 and March 2026 with a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of – (a) trade unions; (b) Business Mauritius; (c) the Senior Citizens Council; (d) the Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations; (e) the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms; (f) the Financial Services Commission, and (g) other organisations, including pension fund administrators and civil society groups. I am further informed by the Commission that it held a press conference on 04 November 2025 to inform the public of its mandate, and at the press conference, the Commission also highlighted the challenges facing the country's pension system and underscored the need for reform to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system. Furthermore, an email address was made available to invite members of the public to submit their views and proposals on pension reform. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am also informed that the Commission has established three sub-committees to examine key aspects of the pension system. Specifically, the sub- committees were tasked with reviewing – (a) the non-contributory Basic Retirement Pension; (b) the reform of the National Pensions Fund, the Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG), the Portable Retirement Gratuity Fund, and the National Savings Fund, and (c) the pension schemes applicable to the public sector. The first sub-committee on the non-contributory BRP had convened 27 meetings. The second sub-committee tasked with reviewing the NPF, CSG, PRGF and NSF had 14 meetings, and the third sub-committee on public sector pension schemes had 10 meetings. In all, therefore, the sub-committees had 51 meetings in total. I am further informed that all meetings of the Commission of Experts were held before the submission of its Interim Report, with the exception of two meetings, which were convened on 26 May 2026 and 18 June 2026. These were done to take on-board the comments and suggestions made to the Steering Committee. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to Parliamentary Question B/918, as the House is aware, the Steering Committee on Pension Reform was set up on 26 September 2025, a Ministerial Committee chaired by myself, including – (a) the then Deputy Prime Minister; (b) the Minister of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries; (c) the Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity; (d) the Minister of Financial Services and Economic Planning; (e) the Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations; (f) the Minister of Industry, SMEs and Cooperatives; (g) the Junior Minister of Finance, and (h) the Junior Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity. At a meeting of the Steering Committee held on 20 May 2026, the Commission of Experts presented its findings and recommendations. Members of the Steering Committee made a number of comments and suggestions, which were then duly taken into consideration by the Commission in finalising its Interim Report. The Commission, thereafter, submitted its Interim Report, a copy of which I have laid on the Table of the National Assembly. Furthermore, the Steering Committee was informed that the recommendations regarding the State Age Pension and the conversion of the National Pensions Fund into the National Pension and Provident Fund were validated by the Social Pension Specialists of the World Bank. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in reply to the PNQ of last Thursday 25 June, I tabled the version of the Interim Report which was presented to the Steering Committee on May 2026, that is, the version which was done by slides. This was presented. Today, I am further tabling the full version of the Interim Report which includes, inter alia, the projections of the cost of the Basic Retirement Pension under the arrangements applicable in June 2024 and June 2025, as well as those presented in the Budget Speech of 2026-2027. The full version will also be made available on the website of the Ministry of Finance. The Interim Report clearly shows, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, that the unfunded, non- contributory Basic Retirement Pension has already reached an unsustainable level, which is putting tremendous pressures on public finances as well as putting at risk the payment of pensions to future generations. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, many people may not realise it, but there is another elephant – I spoke of an elephant in the room, but there is another elephant – in the room that has gone unnoticed: the accumulated deficits in the defined benefit schemes of the statutory bodies and in the closed National Pension Fund. Based on the latest actuarial valuations, the funding deficit in the pension schemes of the statutory bodies was estimated at Rs53 billion, while that of the NPF stood at Rs113 billion, representing a combined deficit of Rs166 billion, that is, more than 20 percent of the current GDP. As the actuarial valuation for the NPF dates back to 2020, it is very likely that the financial position of the pension fund has deteriorated further, owing, among others, to the increasing life expectancy among scheme members and pensioners, and the contribution rates that have not kept pace with the schemes' long-term funding requirements. The previous Government has done nothing, absolutely nothing, to address the structural challenges facing the pension system in a comprehensive and timely manner. On the contrary, it has aggravated the situation with its irresponsible decisions and the introduction of the CSG, and these have compounded the deficits and the unsustainability of the pension system. In view of the fiscal challenges facing the country and the urgency of restoring the long-term sustainability of the pension system, Government considered it necessary to act without delay on the recommendations of the Commission of Experts. Accordingly, it was decided to implement the reforms relating to the Basic Retirement Pension and other important aspects of the pension system as part of the 2026-2027 Budget. This reform aimed at putting the pension system on a more sustainable footing while ensuring that future generations continue to benefit from a viable and equitable retirement income system. Our primary concern, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, has always been to put in place a system wherein equity is measured as redistribution within generation from high to low-income earners, and across generations in the form of sustainable tax burden.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have listened very carefully to the hon. Prime Minister. It is not clear whether the Steering Committee has, in fact, been apprised of the Report, whether it has been submitted, and whether it deliberated upon it. I will ask the hon. Prime Minister, whether in regard to what the hon. Minister of Social Security stated on 22 June publicly, that the Report was never submitted to the Steering Committee and not debated upon, whether this is rather the course of action that was taken by Government?

He never said that. He said that there was a meeting of the Steering Committee, and they showed us the findings on a slide system. That was what was shown to all of them. All the main points were there, and this was what I deposed. I am prepared to depose the whole – now that it is ready; if someone wants to take it – the whole of the Interim Report.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have a last question.

Okay.

I would like to ask the hon. Prime Minister, again, in regard to what the hon. Minister of Social Security stated in his public announcement that himself, that is, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Social Security, ont été induits en erreur to the fact …

Put your question!

… that the pension would be cut from existing pensioners and I would like to ask the hon. Prime Minister if that is exactly what has happened or not, to clear up that matter?

He answered that question just now. But you are not still not satisfied. What we did, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, is people were complaining that their pension was going to be at 65, although it was done on a gradual basis, not sudden. There was no sudden change to the pension scheme. But because some people were complaining, like some people do some work that are difficult, like les maçons, etc., we decided that we can correct this and allow them the option to take their pension at the age of 60. That is what we did. But the other bit that you are saying, we decided after consultation with the hon. Minister and other members, including members of the Labour Party, we decided now to put out the Means Testing because many people were not accepting it. So, we decided to put it out for the moment and we are relooking at the system.

Mr Deputy Speaker, if I may?

No. Last question if you have a question.

It is not what the hon. Minister of Social Security stated. He stated that on 16 June.

Put your question to the hon. Prime Minister!

That is the question.

Do not refer to what the hon. Minister stated.

Yes, whether the hon. Prime Minister will...

The hon. Prime Minister was not there when he stated.

I am asking my question: whether the hon. Prime Minister will, in reply to what has been stated to the Ministry of Social Security, that he himself and the Ministry of Social Security were told, assurances were given that the pension would not be cut when it was in fact the contrary that has been announced to three days later, whether this is exactly what happened in his office on that day or not? That is the question.

The answer is no! Simple as that. No! We are not cutting any pension. We have changed the system because it became unsustainable because of the Government; you sat there with them and destroyed the pension scheme, as the hon. Minister just said. This is what the anarchy is.

Hon. First Member for Vacoas & Floréal! This will be the last question. STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM AGREEMENT – ACQUISITION & CROSS- SERVICING AGREEMENT – OBJECTIVES & SCOPE