Price watchdog sees energy up 24% and fertiliser up 31%
Energy prices are set to rise 24% this year, fertilisers 31% and global commodities about 16%, according to the Commerce Ministry's price monitoring unit, whose mid-July read went to Cabinet.
The driver is the Middle East conflict knotting up supply chains. Sea freight still sits 39% above its pre-war level even after an 18% dip last week, and war-risk cover has been marked up again. Fertiliser feeds straight into what local growers pay, so the squeeze rarely stops at the port. Households tend to meet it later, at shelf.
Nearly 30,000 water fittings bought faulty, guarantee and all
Nearly 30,000 of the 20mm fittings the Central Water Authority bought for new household connections turned out defective, even though they carried a three-year guarantee.
The fittings join a thick file of buying that costs money twice: once to purchase, once to replace. For a utility that keeps asking customers to save every drop, losing water and cash to hardware that failed on arrival is an awkward look. Whether the supplier is made to pay under that guarantee is the open question.
Jail video shows traffickers at ease inside Beau-Bassin
A video doing the rounds online shows notorious drug traffickers calmly rolling cigarettes inside Beau-Bassin prison. The Mauritius Prison Service calls the claims around the clip false and misleading. Either way, footage from inside a high-security wing is not the reassurance the service need right now.
Poorest homes spend half their money just on food
The poorest households in Mauritius put 49.9% of their spending toward food, new figures from Statistics Mauritius show. Fewer than one in five people eat a balanced diet, with salt, sugar, fat and processed food ruling the plate. When half the budget goes on food, a poor harvest or a shipping shock is not an inconvenience. It is the month.
Shorts
Jealous ex rams partner, snatches two children – A man drove his truck at his girlfriend in a jealous rage, hurt a police officer and fled with two kids.
Learner bikers get until March 2027 – Provisional motorcycle and autocycle permits now stay valid to 1 March 2027 to sit the test.
Flic-en-Flac bypass fells 100 old trees – The bypass extension's final phase clears about 100 historic trees despite steady public backlash.
Mauritius law students win a regional moot – University of Mauritius law students took top honours at the ULSA moot court contest.
Retiree robbed after a Rs 180,000 win – A pensioner was robbed of a Rs 180,000 gaming-club win at Rose-Belle.
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