Republic of Mauritius- Set objectives for Social Housing Programme reached, says Minister Wong

This statement was made yesterday by the Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, Mr Alain Wong, at the National Assembly in reply to the PNQ pertaining to the Report regarding the Accounts of the Republic of Mauritius for the Financial Year from 1^st July 2017 to 30 June 2018 of the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF).

The Minister indicated that provision has been made for another Rs 50 million for the construction of 50 housing units throughout Mauritius, for which the contract has already been awarded and construction work will start in May 2019. A second tender for the construction of 24 housing units with an estimated cost of Rs 24 million has already been launched and the offers are presently at the evaluation stage, which makes a total of 219 houses, he added.

As regards the Report, Minister Wong indicated that he has taken cognizance of the comments of the Director of Audit and has subsequently chaired a meeting with the Chairman of the NEF Board, the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation and other officials on 28 March 2019, to look into the comments and to take remedial actions on the observations made.

On that note, the Minister announced that the Financial Statements for the year 2012 have already been audited by the National Audit Office (NAO) and filed at the Registrar of Companies while those for the period ended 31 December 2013 will be released shortly. As regard the Financial Statements for the year ended December 2014, he stated that same is at the level of the NAO for audit purposes, adding that those for period ended 31 December 2015 and period 1^st January 2016 to 30 June 2017 have already been prepared and are being examined by the NAO.

Minister Wong reiterated the vision of the Ministry which remains the eradication of extreme and chronic poverty to create an inclusive and a more equitable society. Our mission, he underlined, remains to steadfastly support and empower the vulnerable groups registered and found eligible for social aid under the Social Register of Mauritius. He underpinned the constant and consistent aim of the Ministry to mainstream them in society and improve their quality of life in a sustainable manner through the provision of an effective and efficient service delivery, imbued in equity, fairness and impartiality.

Furthermore, the Minister highlighted that the current budget 2018/2019 also makes provision for the construction of 6,800 housing units by the NHDC over the next two years and that 10%, that is, 680 housing units are reserved for SRM beneficiaries, which makes a total of 899 housing units.

Since December 2016 to June 2018, Minister Wong indicated, over 10,000 families, representing more than 40,000 beneficiaries, have been supported through the various Income Support and Empowerment Schemes under the Social Integration and Empowerment Act 2016, out of which some 2000 beneficiaries have moved out of poverty since December 2016.

Moreover, Mr Wong dwelt on the main schemes and programmes implemented by the Ministry for the fiscal year July 2017 to 30 June 2018, namely:

·         Some 10,000 households have been assessed to be eligible under Social Register of Mauritius and have signed a Marshall Plan Social Contract;

·         Income support in the form of a monthly subsistence allowance to the 10,000 households and educational support to 17,000 school children;

·         Subsistence allowance, amounting to Rs 217 044 561, has been paid to ensure that the basic needs of people living in absolute poverty are effectively met so that they ultimately move out of the poverty trap;

·         School Materials for the sum of Rs 33 688 808 have been distributed to children of pre-primary, primary, secondary schools and pre-vocational institutions, and

·         Fully Concrete Housing units of 40/50 m² each are being built throughout Mauritius for families living in absolute poverty and who are owners of a plot of land but do not have the means to build a housing unit.