Simmering discontent of car dealers

The majority of car dealers are angry. Five car dealers were asked by the government for written proposals to supply saloon cars, but only two of them have finally been chosen. The Mercedes of Iframac and BMWs of Leal will be used for the Small Islands Developing States? leaders conference scheduled for August and September. Those 180 cars will be free of duty and will be sold to normal customers after the conference. The PM guaranteed that the state is not losing any money with this measure. The two car dealers have also been authorised to import convertible cars.

Pharmacy crisis

The Pharmacy Owners of Mauritius (POM) will be meeting the minister of Health tomorrow to discuss the recent upheaval caused by the apparent shortage of pharmacists. At least 18 pharmacies are thus in danger of closing down. The POM, newly created since the crisis, is worried that this situation could cause some 100 job losses and suggests an amendment in the Pharmacy Act to allow a pharmacist to work in more than one pharmacy in the same area. The owners also want to be authorised to employ Indian pharmacists. Commenting on the declarations of the Association of Pharmacists, which claims there are 280 registered pharmacists, the POM points out that most of the latter work in the public sector.

Mushrooming hotels

Five new high-class hotels will open by the end of the year. Investments of up to 4 billion rupees are needed for the construction of the hotels in Bel-Ombre, Port-Louis and Wolmar that will be creating 1,400 jobs. By 2006, more hotels should be added to the long list of existing hotels in Mauritius: 2 in Bel-Ombre, 4 in Black River, 1 in Albion and 3 in Saint Félix. This will be beneficial to the economy, which will, in future rely more and more on tourism.

Prison reform on the way

The PM, Paul Bérenger, has announced measures to deal with overpopulation in prisons. 60% of inmates are drug-related offenders. Following British experts? recommendations, the PM is thinking of milder sentences for first offences and the consumption of soft drugs. He has guaranteed that prison reform is on the way at all levels: infrastructure, security, training and rehabilitation. The PM was attending the launching of a rehabilitation project for inmates through arts and crafts courses by two NGOs, Craft Academy and Kinouete.