Shipwreck off St. Brandon: are we heading towards another environmental disaster?
It has been more than ten days since the "Yu Feng", a Taiwanese fishing boat, sank on the reefs of the South Island, near St. Brandon. Concerns are growing, especially since Mauritian authorities are still unable to carry out an underwater inspection of the wreck due to bad weather. Semi-floating booms have been installed by the NCG around the boat as it is currently leaning on its side.
The fishermen's union explained that it would be almost impossible to remove the wreck from the reefs because of the ongoing bad weather in this area of the Indian Ocean. The risks of leakage are also very much present. In fact, the Incident Command Post in St-Brandon indicates that the Taiwanese vessel has already started to leak. Worse still, blackish traces are visible on the white sand signaling a spillage.
Another concern is the amount of bait still present on the "Yu Feng". While a good amount of bait was thrown overboard at the beginning of the sinking, the cargo still on board could cause further damage. As the fishing boat has been without power for 10 days, these tons of baits that are gradually decomposing could quickly become toxic. A real danger for the marine environment.
Experts have already sounded the alarm on the need to preserve the marine ecosystem in the Casualty Zone. The silence and the lack of action of the authorities are being deplored.
Inflation: Repo rate rises to 4.5
The repo rate is on the rise for the fifth time this year. It is now at 4.5%. The decision was announced by the monetary policy committee this week. A move that is part of its policy to fight inflation. At the Bank of Mauritius, it is explained that despite the increases in the repo rate this year, which have had a direct impact on household and corporate debt, the BoM has put in place various measures to relieve the population and the business community.
Among them: banks will be allowed to be flexible in restructuring their customers' loan facilities. BoM is also engaging with commercial banks to introduce a series of measures targeting households and SMEs, with the aim of easing their debts.
In addition, the BoM expects growth of more than 7% for this year and 5% for 2023. Inflation for 2023 will be 5-6%. It should be noted that the repo rate was 1.85% at the beginning of the year. It rose to 2% in March; 2.25% in June; 3% in September; 4% in November.
Corruption: Mauritius third best in Africa
Mauritius is the third least corrupt country in Africa. This is the result of the Global Corruption Index 2022, published by the Swiss company Global Risk Profile. The Seychelles is considered the least corrupt country in Africa, followed by Cape Verde. Global Risk Profile takes into account 42 variables to establish its ranking. Data provided by the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Justice Project Organisation, the Economist Intelligence Unit, the World Economic Forum and the Financial Action Task Force were used to carry out this study.
At the global level, Mauritius ranks 47th. The Seychelles is in 40th place, Cape Verde 44th. The top five least corrupt African countries are Botswana (50th) and South Africa (51st). The top three places are held by Scandinavian countries, namely Norway, Finland and Sweden.
