PM sacks the only minister who voted against his pension bills
Sydney Pierre lasted only hours as a rebel. The Junior Tourism Minister became the sole government MP to vote against amendments to the National Pensions Act on Friday evening, and by late night PM Ramgoolam had removed him. Party discipline, not the merits of the pension change, settled his fate.
The timing was pointed. In the same interview, the PM defended a second junior minister whose husband had just been arrested, while cutting loose the one who broke ranks on policy. The message to the benches is plain: dissent on a flagship bill costs you the job.
Health ministry chases Rs 103 million for ventilators that never came
Rs 103 million bought Mauritius nothing. The Health Ministry will sue two Spanish suppliers in Spain to claw back the money, paid in 2020 for Covid ventilators that were never delivered. Cabinet signed off on the case on Friday, acting on the first findings of the Spanish lawyers it hired.
Pack and Blister Distribuciones Farmaceuticas and Mediterranean Healthcare Supply Network are the firms in the frame. Five years on, a pandemic purchase turns into a recovery fight in a foreign court.
Britain and Mauritius sign a trade pact to deepen investment ties
Mauritius and the United Kingdom have signed an Enhanced Strategic Trade Partnership, a framework meant to grow trade, investment and joint projects between the two economies. Foreign Minister Ritesh Ramful and British High Commissioner Paul Brummell put pen to paper in Port Louis. Ramful called the signing a start, not a finish.
Mauritius tells Meta it does not want WhatsApp usernames
The government will notify Meta that it opposes rolling out WhatsApp's new username feature on the island. The tool lets people message each other without sharing phone number, which officials worry could shield scammers and make abuse harder to trace. Meta has not yet said how it will respond.
Shorts
Water curbs kick in as reservoirs run low – Authorities impose restrictions on water use after a worsening rain deficit drains the island's reservoirs.
Noemi Alphonse takes Commonwealth silver – Noemi Alphonse claimed silver in the 1500m T54 wheelchair race at the Commonwealth Games.
Preschool staff threaten hunger strike – Preprimary school workers warn of a hunger strike over grant reforms they say hit women hardest.
Another Port Louis car park comes down – Crews demolish the Rogers car park in the capital, clearing a flood chokepoint flagged back in 2015.
Ravatomanga drops his London court fight – Mamy Ravatomanga abandons his UK challenge, leaving the legal fight over his case to play out in Mauritius.
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