Republic of Mauritius- Investing in youth is key to overall development of the country, says Prime Minister

The Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, made this statement at the prize giving ceremony of the National Leadership Engine Convention (NLE) of the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) held on Saturday 14 September 2019 at the Paul Octave Wiéhé Auditorium in Réduit. The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Stephan Toussaint, and the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Dharmendar Sesungkur, were also present.

Prime Minister Jugnauth spoke of the importance of inclusive education adding that academic effort coupled with discipline, leadership skills as well as intrinsic talents are essential to the well-being and progress of youngsters. He emphasised the need to further develop aptitudes of youngsters at school in creativity and innovation, music and dance, sports, drama and theatre, amongst others.

The youth, he said, has the power to work towards ensuring the welfare of people in difficulties and change lives with their leadership skills and discipline.  On this score, he urged youngsters to engage themselves in community-based activities and support Government’s initiative to help the most vulnerable of the country and contribute to eradicating absolute poverty as well as bring solutions to environmental concerns. 

He also called for better synergy between public and private organisations as well as Non-Profit Organisations so as to work towards common goals of prosperity and development for the Mauritian youth.

For his part, Minister Toussaint lauded the NLE programme of the NPCC while adding that it is an excellent platform for the youth to demonstrate their capabilities in real-life context. Various programmes and schemes, he said, have been put in place by the Government to ensure that the youth lead a pleasant and comfortable life in most suitable environment. He also recalled the appeal of the Pope Francis during his visit as regards the inclusiveness of the young people of Mauritius in the development of the society.

Minister Sesungkur underlined that the NLE, launched in January 2019, is an innovation-based project to equip youngsters with the requisite skills and talents for the future. Social engagement and community projects, he added, are vital for the advancement of the Mauritian society. Patience, perseverance and determination are key factors that can propel great things to happen in the future, he added.

The winners of the NLE are as follows: Souillac Youth Centre (1st Prize); Pamplemousses Youth Centre (2nd prize) and Rose-Belle Youth Centre (3rd prize). They were awarded a sum of Rs 75 000, Rs 50 000 and Rs 25 000 respectively.

National Leadership Engine

The NLE is an initiative of the NPCC in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to bring Mauritius to the next level of socioeconomic development through a new leadership drive. The initiative calls at young Mauritians to be trained and eventually work on community projects which will contribute in the advancement of society and at the same time demonstrate their leadership skills in different fields.

Some 500 youngsters between the age of 18 to 35 have been trained under the programme and some 42 projects have been completed. They were also offered a free course on leadership and coached by the youth officers, NPCC staff and registered trainers.