Mr. Louis Steven Obeegadoo is appointed Deputy Prime Minister

This announcement was made, this evening, by the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity, Mr.  Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, during a press conference held at the New Treasury Building in Port-Louis.

Prime Minister Jugnauth stated that this change of portfolios allocated to Cabinet Ministers was brought forth by the revocation of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr. Ivan Leslie Collendavelloo, from his post, following the alleged corrupt and fraudulent practices unfolded by the African Development Bank (ADB) concerning the tender for the redevelopment of the St Louis Power Station. He indicated that his decision was governed by the principles of integrity and the zero-tolerance policy against corruption.

The Prime Minister indicated that according to a press release of the ADB dated 08 June 2020, in 2014 and 2015, Burmeister & Wain participated in tenders for the redevelopment of the St Louis power plant in Mauritius, a project financed by the ADB.  He pointed out that the document indicates that an investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption has concluded that it is likely that the company engaged in fraudulent and corrupt practices in the context of this project.

Mr Jugnauth highlighted that evidence supports a finding that Burmeister & Wain, on a balance of probabilities, financially rewarded members of the Mauritian administration and others, through the intermediary of third parties.

He pointed out that he had a meeting with Mr Collendavelloo on 08 June 2020 during which he was informed that the Central Electricity Board (CEB) was not yet aware of the issue, and referred the matter to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on 09 June 2020.

He added that following the circulation of the press release of the ADB on 08 June 2020, the Prime Minister’s Office was called upon to gather the necessary information while the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, and the Office of the Attorney General contacted the ADB.

Following this, the Prime Minister explained that he took the following decisions pending further development and to ensure that an independent investigation is carried out: the Acting General Manager of the CEB was asked to step down and the Board was revoked.

He emphasised that the Office of Integrity and Anticorruption is an internationally recognised institution for its professional ethics and assured that Government will unflinchingly endorse its principles of honesty and integrity in the undertaking of the investigation.