Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Sarah Jane Lebrasse
Published on 2024-04-11 09:00:06
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Anwar Husnoo, has shed light on the murky issue of concrete structures that need to be demolished in the capital, on the grounds that they remain a major obstacle to water flow. The KFC building and the parking lots of Rogers and Air Mauritius are mentioned in reports published respectively by former judge Bushan Domah and Senior Magistrate Ida Dookhy-Rambarun in 2008 and 2015. In response to a question from MP Adil Ameer Meea in Parliament, Anwar Husnoo highlighted that these constructions were authorized by laws (Act of Parliament) in 1992 and that the law would need to be amended or a notice would need to be served to the companies involved to have them dismantled. Adil Ameer Meea expressed frustration at the slow pace of the procedures.
The reasons behind the delay in compelling the giants KFC, Rogers & Co Ltd, and Air Mauritius to demolish their concrete structures overlooking the Pouce Stream, one of the main water drainage routes to the sea in the City of Port Louis and which has been in place since the beginning of the colony, are starting to become clearer. The lord mayor Mamode Isoop Nujurally had been questioned several times on this issue by the press and the vendors of the Pouce Market who refuse to evacuate the site, citing a double standard. However, he was never able to provide a plausible explanation to the main stakeholders, as he could not align himself with the central government. It took Adil Ameer Meea pressuring Minister Anwar Husnoo to put an end to months of speculation, leading to a sense of urgency at the market where about fifty former street vendors have been operating since 2006.
“We need a legal opinion”
“We will need to amend the law to demolish the concrete structures,” argued Anwar Husnoo, who added that he had “sent the file to the Ministry of Land and Housing, who in turn referred it to the Attorney General for a legal opinion.” Coming back with an additional question, Adil Ameer Meea learned from the Minister that “the Attorney General has recommended serving a notice to MK, Rogers, and KFC rather than amending the law.” The MP voiced his frustration after confirming that the notices had still not been served to the three companies. “Ten years after the deadly flood of 2013, we are still at this stage! It’s backtracking,” insisted Adil Ameer Meea.
With a legal action lodged in the Supreme Court by the Pouce Stream vendors, scheduled for June 17, the authorities have a vested interest in expediting the legal procedures to strictly follow the recommendations made on December 29, 2015, by Senior Magistrate Ida Dookhy-Rambarun, who was tasked with presiding over the judicial inquiry into the causes of the deadly floods that occurred in Port Louis in 2013. A report in which she not only pointed out, among other causes of the floods, the concrete structure covering the Pouce Stream and the Pouce Canal, but also the columns supporting it.
March 26, 2008: the 4 drowning deaths…
It is easy to forget, but prior to the episode of March 30, 2013, where 11 Mauritians perished in the raging waters, another tragic event occurred on March 26, 2008, following tropical storm Lola and torrential rains, had shaken the country, mainly in the northern region. The swollen rivers were responsible for the deaths of four individuals by drowning. A Fact-Finding Committee (FFC), led by Judge Bushan Domah, assisted by Ranjitrai Vaghjee and Jacques Rosalie, was set up to shed light on this tragic episode. A series of recommendations… including the destruction of structures built on the Pouce Stream, were made.
Rivers overflowing, houses and schools flooded, damaged cars, and impassable bridges, that was the outcome of that dark Wednesday. In 48 hours, a very high rainfall of 564.8 mm was recorded in Grande Providence, 476.3 mm in Fuel, as well as 459 mm in Bel-Étang and 453.3 mm in Mont Loisir. Then came the tragedy that plunged the country into mourning. In Mon-Goût, a small village near Pamplemousses, where the rain was relentless, Laura Paul, 14, who attended the Merton College in Pamplemousses, was on her way home after school when she was swept away by the waters of the Citron River. The death toll mounted later.
Criticism abounded regarding poor weather forecasting, particularly the lack of a torrential rainfall alert that day, and the Ministry of Education’s decision to keep schools open despite the bad weather. In an attempt to defuse the controversy, the then-government appointed Judge Bushan Domah to chair the committee to make recommendations on the aftermath of this catastrophe. Among the recommendations, apart from dismantling structures acting as barriers to water drainage, were the construction of a national drainage network to channel water into pools and lakes instead of letting it flow into the ocean, the preparation of a Flood Risk Map constantly identifying high-risk areas, and better equipping the meteorological service.
Sixteen years later, many of these directives have still not been strictly implemented, with the known consequences in terms of loss of human life. On the 11th anniversary of the tragic loss of 11 people in Port Louis during the floods of March 30, 2013, a commemoration ceremony was held next to Rogers House, with the families of the victims and a gathering of politicians in attendance. Moving forward, the authorities should also consider paying tribute to all the Mauritians who have perished since 2008 in circumstances that could have been avoided.
Read the original article(French) on Le Mauricien
