Fishermen Challenge Government Policies, Longterm and Shortterm
03.06.2017
After fishermen of four villages Grand Sable, Ville Noir, Bambous Virieux and Anse Jonchee held a meeting on 30 May at Bambous Vireux to finalize the demands they had prepared in two previous meetings on 14 May, they sent their demands to the Minister of Finance in the context of the coming Budget. He had previously ignored their petition, signed by 113 fishermen and fisherwomen from these and other villages. This mobilization has been co-ordinated by LALIT members from the Curepipe-South region over the past weeks.
Here is the letter and the list of demands:
The Prime Minister as Minister of Finance
Treasury Building, Port Louis
Dear Sir,
We, 113 fisherpeople of Ville Noire, Anse Jonchee, Bambous Virieux, Grand Sable left a petition for your consideration at your office in two batches: one on the 16th of May, and the other on the 24th of May this year. We requested that in the context of the coming budget, you come and meet us to see the urgent problems we are confronted with as fisherpeople in this region, and to find a long term economic plan so that employment in the fishing sector be secured. We have received no reply from you yet.
In the meantime, we, fisherpeople of the coastal region between Mahebourg and Flacq have met in three meetings, independently of the fishermen’s union, to develop proposals in the context of the coming budget. We present you with these proposals that we are mobilising on the basis of. We have noted that the government have emphasized the need to develop the fishing and “ocean” sector and that you have declared that the coming budget will address the needs of the poorest people. If this is so, it is important in the light of the coming budget that fisherpeople’s demands be heard.
Yours sincerely,
Signed (31 May, 2017) by four representatives of the petition signatories from different villages.
Copy to the Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping and the press.
Demand Peser dan kad bidze 2017-2018
Inisye par peser Ville Noire, Anse Jonchée, Bambous Virieux, Grand Sable, Quatre Soeurs.
Nu peser artizanal anrezistre lor lakot ant Mahebourg ek Flacq, nu viv lor seki lamer donn nu. Peser artizanal, nu ena enn rol dan lekonomi: par nu travay, nu nuri popilasyon. Me asterla, ena plizyer fakter ki pe antrav sa travay, enn travay dir, ki nu fer e ena sertin fakter ladan riske mem menas nu sirvi antan ki peser dan lavenir
Etan done:
*Kan ena buku lapli, larivyer devers labu dan lamer. Lamer ruz fer li inposib pu lapes dan lagon. Nu gayn alokasyon peser zis kan lamer move. Pena provizyon pu lezot fakter ki anpes nu lapes kuma lamer ruz. Nu fer resortir ki planter kann, mem pri disik finn bese buku, gayn sibsid pu ki zot pa fer lapert. Sekter disik gayn tu kalite fasilite mem sa sekter-la nepli kontribiye buku dan lekonomi. Pu peser, nu pa gayn mem fasilite mem si nu kontribiye dan lekonomi e ki anmemtan losean li enn sekter ki ena lavenir.
*Proze akwakiltir ki finn kumanse ant Mahebourg ek Flacq pe diminye lespas dan lagon kot nu lapes. Nu pa kapav koste plis ki 100 met avek plas kot fer akwakiltir. Savedir sak fwa ki guvernman donn permi konpayni akwakiltir, se peser ki pe perdi lespas kot nu ti abitye lapes, e suvan, li plas kot nu ti plis gayn pwason.
*Proze lotel, imobilye, IRS, PDS, RES lor lakot pe anserkle nu. Savedir par divan kot nu reste, ena konpayni akwakiltir ki pe pran lagon, e lor later deryer kot nu reste uswa/ek akote nu rezyon, ena lotel ek nuvo proze vila pu milyarder. Sa pu ogmant aktivite kuma bato ek lwazir dan lagon ki pu zenn lapes. Purtan proze vila, li pa enn aktivite ni prodiktif, ni li kree anplwa lor gran lesel. Enn fwa finn servi later pu betonn li, mont vila, e vann li, pena okenn prodiksyon posib. Kan ti kapav servi later pu aktivite pu devlopman prodiksyon alimanter (inklir plantasyon manze ek lapes) ki kree anplwa dan nu rezyon.
*Guvernman pe ankuraz nu aste bato pu al andeor lagon pu lapes. Lontan, nu ti pe kapav gayn loan DBM pu aste bato lor 3% lintere san garanti. Aster, pe dimann nu garanti lavaler Rs.300,000 pu gayn lorn pu aste bato pu al andeor lagon. Laplipar ant nu finn zenerasyon apre zenerasyon res lor later piblik. Nu pena kontra lakaz, ni peslip, ni okenn garanti ki nu kapav prezante pu gayn lorn.
*Nu res dan enn landrwa kot apart lapes ek plantasyon, pena buku anplwa. Buku lizinn finn ferme Mahebourg ek Flacq e tablisman Beau Champs nepli pran dimunn pu travay permanan. Dimunn pe bizin sorti depi isi al travay lizinn Port Louis. Pena ase prodiksyon lor lakot. Se prodiksyon ki amenn devlopman.
Nu fer 5 demand swivan dan kad bidze 2017-2018:
1 Nuvo sistem lasirans pu peser artizanal parey kuma ena pu planter kann ki zis enn sekter lapes kontrole par peser finn byin devlope, pu finanse anparti par:
(i) enn nuvo tax ki mete lor konpayni akwakiltir ekzistan ki finn diminye lespas lapes dan lagon;
(ii) nuvo tax lor gro bato lapes ki tir laysenns pu lapes dan sa 2.3 milyon kilomet kare lamer ki form parti Repiblik.
Sa pu inplik ki sanz Fishermen Welfare Fund pu ki li vinn Fishermen Welfare and Insurance Fund ki gayn mem konsiderasyon ek stati ki Sugar Insurance Fund Board (SIFB). Sa fon-la bizin osi fer provizyon pu enn sistem pansyon vyeyes ek pansyon maladi inklir seki plis ki 14 zur.
2 Nu okuran ki finn met enn nuvo sistem dibut dan Rodrig pu devlopman peser ek planter manze. Savedir pu peser laba, ena sistem stokaz prodwi marinn e ena enn sistem pu peser kapav sirviv. Pu planter alimanter Rodrig, ena pri garanti ek fixe pu manze ki zot plante ek rekolte. Nu byin dakor avek sa 2 sistem la, me bizin tulede sistem – savedir pri garanti, stokaz ek fasilite pu e peser e planter. Bizin sa sistem konbine pa zis dan Rodrig, me dan Repiblik antye pu ki peser ek planter Rodrig osi byin ki Moris, Agalega ek St Brandon benefisye. Se sa ki pu plis ankuraz prodiksyon alimanter sorti dan lamer ek later.
3 Bizin stop tu nuvo permi akwakiltir ziska finn byin etidye ki lefe akwakiltir ena lor ekosistem lagon sirtu etan done ki ena proze akwakiltir kot ena pwason “karnivor” ki si li sape, li manz lezot pwason indizenn dan lagon. Ena osi lefet ki li atir rekin kuma lexperyans Lareinyon pe montre ki konstitiye enn danze pu tu aktivite dan lagon. Bizin osi stop permi pu betonn later agrikol kan kapav servi later-la pu prodiksyon alimanter (inklir plantasyon manze, elvaz osi byin ki lapes) ki kapav kree anplwa partu osi byin ki dan nu rezyon.
4. Donn lorn san garanti lor ti lintere kuma DBM ti pe fer lontan pu peser artizanal kapav lapes andeor lagon. Sipoze ena enn Fishermen's Investment Trust ki ed peser gayn akse a bato lapes, me Minis Lapes mem finn deklare ki sa Fishermen's Investment Trust anpann.
5 Larg anrezistreman pu zenn peser artizanal kapav rant dan metye lapes. Laplipar ant nu pe rant dan laz e pena ase zenn peser dan sak vilaz pu fer larelev. Sistem permi bizin desantralize e li bizin vinn transparan – setadir bizin rann piblik lor sayt Minister Lapes tu aplikasyon avek dat aplikasyon e rann piblik kisannla dan sak landrwa finn gayn permi. E natirelman, bizin ena enn sistem lapel kumsa ena enn sistem anrezistreman kot ena plis demokrasi ek lazistis.
Baze lor reinyon peser ki ti fer Village Hall Bambous Virieux le 14 Me, ek Village Hall Ville Noire le 14 Me, 2017 e finalize 30 Me, 2017 dan reinyon peser Village Hall Bambous Virieux par peser Bambous Virieux, Anse Jonchee, Vieux Grand Port ek Ville Noire.
