Public meeting |21 June 2023

President welcomes call for a Beau Vallon beach management team

The head of state has welcomed a proposal to have a management team for the Beau Vallon beach and regatta site, which will involve the participation of the district’s residents.

President Wavel Ramkalawan made the comment yesterday during the public meeting in the northern district, where a resident called on the return of the Beach Control Committee which was formed in January 2020 and disbanded with the change in administration in October that same year.

The resident said this committee’s initial aims were to address the various issues in the area, namely waste and noise pollution, stray dogs, drug trafficking and other illicit activities as well and stray dogs and rodent infestation and it was a good idea which should be relooked into.

The president, who welcomed the idea, called on the member of the National Assembly for the district and the district administrator to initiate the conversation with other members of the district who would like to join the team.

“And together with the various ministries, I am sure we can get something going,” he said.

There was also a question related to the construction of a fish market for Beau Vallon, to which the minister responsible for fisheries, Designated Minister Jean-François Ferrari said they have been unable to identify a spot for such a project.

“However we are discussing how to get investors to develop a fish shop, where the persons will buy from fishermen and process it and then sell fresh fish. Maybe this should be our new direction,” said Mr Ferrari.

He also invited anyone with ideas of any possible locations for a market to contact his office.

There was also a question related to the Animators’ scheme, which stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic and resumed recently. A former animator who claimed she re-applied over a year ago has not been contacted since to confirm whether she had qualified. The principal secretary for local government, Kevin Perine, explained the procedure to become an animator has changed, becoming more rigorous as the applicants have to provide all the necessary personal documents and prove their qualification as well as be vetted by a committee.

A sport-related question referred to an abandoned playing field in a place called ‘Dan Gala’ in Le Niole, which according to a resident was last cleaned and maintained in 2020, depriving children of a proper place to practice their sport, thus resorting to playing on public roads which was dangerous.

President Ramkalawan urged the district authority to resolve the matter promptly stating this was unacceptable.

One student proposed that students at university level, who were receiving only an allowance, should also receive bus cards, while there was also proposal for the Beau Vallon health centre to be operational 24/7. All these were welcomed by the head of state who said they should be given due consideration.

A police officer called for a review of the Police Forces Act and the Penal Code to address new crimes and ensure the police were given due respect.

President Ramkalawan said already some work were being done to modernise the Police Forces Act, with the help of foreign entities.

Another concern raised was over noise pollution caused by construction companies throughout the day on Sundays to which President Ramkalawan reminded those present that there was a regulation preventing such work on Sundays and asked that the police reinforce its inspection around the island to prevent the ongoing disturbance.

Other issues were proposal for better bus service, bus stops, recreational activities and housing, among others.

The meeting at Beau Vallon lasted nearly four hours.

Today’s meeting is at Anse Aux Pins.

Patsy Canaya