SPEECH BY THE

Rt. HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER

AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE
47th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Africa Region Conference

Intercontinental Hotel, Balaclava

Wednesday 24 August 2016 11 h 00

Honourable

Ministers,

Madam

Speakers

of

Montserrat, Uganda and Mauritius Legislative

Assemblies.

Distinguished

Executive

members

of

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,

The Chairperson of CPA Africa Region,

the

The Acting Chairperson of the Commonwealth

Women Parliamentarians Africa Region,

Distinguished Parliamentarians and delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to all of

you, especially to our friends from abroad and
wish them a pleasant stay in our island.

It is indeed a privilege and honour for Mauritius to

host

the

47th

Commonwealth

Parliamentary

Association Africa Region Conference, under the

theme Africa and the Sustainable Development
Goals: the Role of Parliaments.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are blessed to belong to the great family of the

Commonwealth. It is well known that the twin
pillars of the Commonwealths activities are the
promotion of democracy and socio-economic
development. In fact democracy and development
are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.

Democracy creates the necessary conditions that

favour economic development by giving the
citizens the liberty to freely make choices for their
wellbeing and future. On the other hand, when
there is development and the economy goes well,
there is political stability which reinforces
democracy.

Sustainable development brings along another

crucial element which is environmental stability
without which life would itself be threatened. It
also calls for judicious and responsible utilisation
of natural resources that are at the core of our
existence on Earth. This brings me to the issue of
climate change that is affecting the whole world
including obviously Africa.

As a small island developing state, Mauritius is

highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
We are fully aware of the dangers we face and that
is the reason why we have been at the forefront in
international forums to make a plea for financial
and technical assistance so that countries like ours
and Least Developed countries can implement

climate

change

adaptation

and

mitigation

measures.

As you are aware, at the last Commonwealth Head

of Governments Meeting in Malta, I was present at
the launch of the Commonwealth Climate Finance
Access Hub which will assist in unlocking existing
and new climate finance to SIDS and Least
Developed

Countries

and

facilitate

cross-

Commonwealth cooperation. The hub is hosted in

Mauritius and we are actively doing the needful to
make it operational.

I am informed that a General Manager for the hub

has already been recruited and he is expected to
join office as from next month.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Commonwealth has a solid track record of

resilience-building in small states as well as in
developing and least developed countries.

Taking that into consideration, I am pleased that

this conference will focus on how parliaments can
ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals of
the United Nations are achieved in Africa.

The African continent is being increasingly

referred to as the land of opportunities and the next
frontier of growth. While this is certainly so, we
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feel aggrieved by the level of poverty in many

parts of Africa.

The SDG goals, if even partly attained in Africa,

can change the face of the whole continent.

Indeed, as rightly pointed out in its report, the

Africa Progress Panel led by Kofi Annan,
highlighted:
[ I quote ]- The Sustainable Development Goals
do much more than just extend for another 15
years the remit of the Millennium Development
Goals. The SDG agenda, an unprecedented push
to tackle the root causes of poverty, looks at the
big picture. It embraces the need for economic
development that leaves no one behind and gives
every child a fair chance of leading a decent life.
And it faces squarely our duty to protect future
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generations by limiting climate change, adopting

renewable

energy

sustainably.

and

managing

resources

[Unquote].

To add to these are challenges related to gender

equality and empowerment of women in Africa.

Although progress has been noted and this is

testified by the presence of distinguished Madam
Speakers and lady parliamentarians in the audience
today, much remains to be done towards a
transformational change for women and girls in
Africa.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the face of such challenges, there is no room for

complacency. The role of Parliaments is crucial.
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Members of Parliament have indeed a daunting

task. In choosing to discuss on the way forward in
this conference, we are all committing ourselves to
deliver in the interest of our respective people.

As you are probably aware, my Government has

made of sustainable development the lynchpin of
its

socio-economic

strategy.

Preserving

our

environmental assets and promoting inclusive

development top our priority list.

We want economic development to benefit one

and all. We are fighting absolute poverty in an
unprecedented manner.

We have introduced in this years budget a scheme

under which every adult on the Social Register
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will be entitled to a monthly subsistence allowance

based on a threshold of 2,720 Rupees.
This threshold is 40% higher than the World
Banks absolute poverty threshold of USD 3.10
per day per individual calculated on the basis of
purchasing power parity.
This means that henceforth we shall be wiping out
absolute poverty in Mauritius as per World Banks
criteria.
By so doing, we shall be progressing steadily on
our agenda to meet the objectives of the SDGs as
regards poverty alleviation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Democracy

must

have

an

effective

dimension, if we want it to flourish.

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social

Parliamentarians must endeavour to convince their

constituents that democratic institutions can
transform their lives.

For this to be possible there must be mutual trust

between Members of Parliament and constituents.
Through the democratic process, your constituents
have entrusted you with the responsibility to better
their fate. You cannot, in any circumstances,
betray this trust.

Parliament is the forum which gives you the

opportunity

to

voice

out

the

needs

and

apprehensions of your constituents, especially the

poor and the marginalised.

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If through your intervention in Parliament, you

succeed in bringing the Executive to address the
aspirations of your constituents, you would have
succeeded in boosting up social peace and
stability. And when there is peace and stability,
there is development.

As the link between the electorate and the

Executive, you are in a privileged position to
influence government decisions. You can, through
your participation in debates, influence or improve
legislation

and

through

committees

monitor

implementation of government projects so that

development is fair and just. Moreover, through
oversight of government action, you can promote
accountability and good governance.

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We should not forget that good governance is

important for democracy and for development and
progress. Poor governance leads to malpractices
and corruption.

These ills, if not contained,

undermine the legitimacy of Government. It is a

real and serious threat to stability and democratic
institutions. It is therefore our duty to tackle the
scourge of corruption.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have, in the course of my address, touched upon

the role of democracy in the achievement of the
SDGs. I have at the same time addressed matters
which may be real obstructions to the attainment
of these Goals.

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I am sure that this Conference will enable you to

exchange views, share your experience and bring
new ideas and perspectives in the light of my
observations.

look

forward

to

the

outcome

of

your

deliberations.

With these words, I have the pleasure to declare

open the 47th Conference of the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association Africa Region.

I thank you for your kind attention.

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