PM Pravind Jugnauth at the African Union Summi

“Africa should speak with one voice and act as a unified entity”

Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth has delivered a speech on Tuesday 4th July 2017 on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 during the 29th Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Mauritian Prime Minister has praised the solidarity of African countries with Mauritius at the United Nations concerning the Chagos Archipelagos. “As a continent, it is important that Africa’s voice is heard and heeded in the international fora. For that to happen, Africa should speak with one voice and act as a unified entity. In this context, I am particularly overwhelmed by the great solidarity and unity demonstrated by AU Member States at the United Nations on a crucial matter to Mauritius, namely the request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. Indeed, the draft resolution which was tabled by the Republic of Congo on behalf of AU Member States at the UN was adopted by a resounding majority. This is a historic achievement for the African Union and Mauritius is most thankful and proud of the solidarity of AU Member States,” he explained.

The Prime Minister has invited Member States to remain engaged on the side of Mauritius when proceedings relating to the matter will start shortly at the International Court of Justice. “In this regard, I would like to call upon AU Member States as well as the African Union as an international organisation, to participate actively in these proceedings. As we continue the struggle to complete the decolonisation of Mauritius, we count on the continued support of the African Union and all its Member States,” he pointed out.

A strong and dynamic Africa

Concerning Agenda 2063, Pravind Jugnauth stated that Mauritius firmly believes that our socio-economic development and prosperity is intrinsically linked to a strong and dynamic Africa. From this perspective, Mauritius has initiated a process of synergizing its national development plan with that of Agenda 2063. “When the present Government was voted to power in 2014, an ambitious roadmap entitled Mauritius Vision 2030 was elaborated for our national development plan with the ambition of putting my country in the league of high income economies whilst keeping people at the centre of development. Agenda 2063 has therefore been mainstreamed within our national development plan and adequate budgetary provisions have been made for its implementation in Mauritius,” he indicated.

According to Pravind Jugnauth, Agenda 2063 has put the welfare of the African people at its core. “My Government fully subscribes to this objective and is therefore taking bold measures to improve the well-being of our citizens through a number of initiatives that would uplift the vulnerable groups of our society. It is our belief that, poverty eradication will remain unattainable unless we adopt a holistic approach to tackle the problem. From this perspective I would wish to share our experiences and some thoughts on the implementation of certain key elements of the Plan which we construe as essential for ensuring the prosperity of our people,” he said.

Education and Innovation

The Prime Minister is of the opinion that Africa’s development requires people who are not only strong, but also educated and innovative. “There is consensus that education is paramount to poverty alleviation and gender and youth emancipation. In this regard, it is important that we concert our efforts at developing a strong educational sector in Africa that would build the capacity of Africans to transition into a knowledge-based society,” he pointed out.

Pravind Jugnauth drew the attention of all participants at the Summit that in Mauritius, successive Governments have allocated significant funds to provide free education for all. “As we transition into a knowledge-based society, my country is undergoing a process of further reforming its educational sector that will respond more effectively to our developmental goals,” he added.

The development of free trade is, to his views, the second element to achieve a prosperous continent. “Agenda 2063 is benchmarked on a fully integrated continent. This goal can only be achieved through the promotion of free movement of the African people and free trade. Mauritius has already waived entry visa for African countries and I would appeal that we should not be deterred by the challenges of free movement and free trade,” he stated. 

Efficient infrastructure

Pravind Jugnauth stated that the development of trade and improvement in the living conditions of our people is very much dependent on efficient infrastructure. “In fact, the poor state of infrastructure in most of our countries is thwarting our economic development and raising the cost of living of our people. For instance, as an Island State of Africa, integration with mainland Africa is impeded by the lack of connectivity. Through the African Union, many huge infrastructural projects have been devised, but not implemented due to lack of funding. I wish, therefore, to plead that we devise an African Strategy on how to fill the huge investments gap which is impeding the development of infrastructure. This can be done through the pooling of resources and harmonising the actions of African financial institutions and other stakeholders so that African States can have easy access to funds necessary to accompany their national and trans-national infrastructure development,” he suggested.