CARES, CLAIM, EcoSud, Federation of Public Sector and Other Unions, Forever

Blue, FreeArt, General Workers Federation, Kensington Social Group,

Mouvement Civique Plaine Lauzun, Mouvement Civique Pointe-aux-Sables,
RAFAL, Rassemblement des Citoyens pour la Patrie, Rezistans ek Alternativ,
Sitwayen Animal, Small Planters Association.
Email: contact@aknl.net Website: www.aknl.net

Aret Kokin Nu Laplaz

c/o Mother Courage Centre, CARES
Bois Cheri Road, Moka
contact@aknl.net
The Hon Pravind Kumar JUGNAUTH
Prime Minister,
Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications
and National Development Unit,
Minister of Finance and Economic Development
New Treasury Building,
Intendance Street,
Port Louis

Saturday 9 December 2017

Honourable Prime Minister,

RE: The Rights of the Mauritian Public regarding Beaches

Your Government came to power on the promise that Nous mettrons un terme la braderie des Pas
Gomtriques et des terres de ltat et traduirons en justice ceux qui ont abus du systme. Nous
adopterons une politique de dveloppement qui soit responsable et cologiquement durable. It has
been three years since the December 2014 election. The time now has come to give back to the public
what has been and is still being stolen. The Pas Gomtriques and their beaches do not belong to
politicians and civil servants. They belong to the People of Mauritius. In view of the situation, it would
be greatly appreciated if the Aret Kokin Nu Laplaz [AKNL] civil society coalition could have an urgent
meeting with you at your earliest convenience please.

1. Undo the deproclamations of Pomponette and Saint Felix public beaches

The new Minister of Housing and Lands, Honourable Mahen Jhugroo, informed the National Assembly
on 5th December last that he cannot take action regarding the deproclamation of Pomponette public
beach by ex-Minister Soodhun because there is an ongoing court case at the Supreme Court against
that deproclamation. Is the new Minister not aware that he has the powers to solve the court issue
once and for all? It is precisely because simple citizens do not have the powers that he possesses, that
members of the AKNL were forced to go to the Supreme Court. Honourable Minister Jhugroo can in
an instant make the Supreme Court case disappear. He just needs to reproclaim Pomponette as public
beach.

Indeed, it would be totally illogical and contradictory for him not to do so, as the new Minister has
strongly professed in the media that he wants to give Mauritian more access to public beaches. If
Honourable Minister Jhugroo wants the public to truly believe that he means business, he should start
then by giving the public back the 915 metres of white sand sea frontage at Pomponette that ex-
minister Soodhun deproclaimed.
Otherwise, the unfortunate impression would be that Honourable Jhugroo has no real desire to give
the beach back, and that his nice statements are only meant to drive the publics attention away.

We thus strongly hope that the new Minister of Housing and Lands will dissociate himself totally from
his predecessor. In a lame attempt to placate public opinion, ex-Minister Soodhun proclaimed as
public 477 metres of beach in a different section of Pomponette. Not only 477 metres barely represent
half of the 915 metres of sea frontage stolen from the public, but that beach portion is totally
unsuitable as it consists of gabions, coarse sand, a hard coral bed on the sea floor and a very shallow
lagoon. It is a classic case of donner un oeuf pour voler un boeuf.

Honourable Prime Minister, we draw your urgent attention as well to the nearby beach of Saint Felix
which is completely overcrowded with people every week-end. Whereas the public uses the full
stretch of white sand sea frontage there, which measures about 1,200 metres, the Beach Authority
records only 391 metres as public beach. This discrepancy is made most odd by the fact that back in
2003, Saint Felix public beachs sea frontage was officially 990 metres. A Central Criminal Investigation
Department [CCID] investigation should be opened on how 990 metres of public beach were reduced
to 391 metres, when and by who. But more importantly, the entire stretch of about 1,200 metres of
sea frontage has to be proclaimed public. Every week-end, the public uses the entire stretch of beach,
not just a mere 391 metres.

2. Pomponette beach grabbed by hotel developers Midas Acropolis Co Ltd and Clear Ocean
Hotel and Resort Ltd

It would be greatly appreciated if the public could be informed please on what has happened to the
CCID investigation on the Midas Acropolis hotel project on Pomponette public beach in the Saint Felix
region. This investigation was among the 60 cases of State Land abuses presented to the media and
to the public by ex-Minister Soodhun in early 2015. Subsequently, here is what was announced in
LExpress on 25 September 2015:

La dcision est tombe cette semaine. Ltat compte rcuprer les 31,4 arpents de Pas
gomtriques de St-Flix octroys par le gouvernement de Navin Ramgoolam la socit
Midas Acropolis en 2006. Le dossier a dj t envoy au State Law Office pour un avis lgal.

Plusieurs points ont t avancs lissue dune enqute interne au ministre du Logement
et des terres pour justifier cette dcision. Midas Acropolis ne dtient quune reservation
letter pour ce lot et une partie de la plage publique devra tre privatise pour lui permettre
daller de lavant avec son projet de construction dun htel cinq toiles.

It is therefore quite shocking that subsequently ex-Minister Soodhun not only decided in August 2016
to deproclaim the WHOLE of Pomponette public beach in favour of Clear Ocean Hotel and Resort Ltd
[COHRL], but that COHRL is now using the EIA licenses that Midas Acropolis had obtained under the
Ramgoolam Government. Have the petits copains de lancien regime been replaced by those of
ex-Minister Soodhun ?

3. Give proper consideration to the rights of the Mauritian public!

It appears that the advisors at the Ministry of Housing & Lands who had been nominated by ex-
minister Soodhun and who are still in post are providing some very wrong and misleading advice to
the new minister. Indeed, Honourable Minister Jhugroo made a series of incorrect statements in the
National Assembly on 5th December, such as:

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 I can assure you that prior to deproclaiming any part of a public beach, due consideration is
given to all aspects False, Soodhun did not consult at all with the public before
deproclaiming Pomponette. There are never any consultations with the public before a public
beach is deproclaimed, whether in part of in full. The Minister acts like a Monarch.
It is not envisaged at this stage to bring any amendment to the existing legislation regarding
public beaches Why? Are we to understand that the Government prefers to keep total
arbitrary powers over the use of beaches and to maintain total opacity on how leases are
granted and beaches deproclaimed?
As per the Beach Authority Act, the Minister of Housing & lands is mandated to proclaim
public beaches, and as such also to deproclaim False, the act only states that the Minister
has the power to proclaim. The words and as such also to deproclaim do not appear
anywhere in the Beach Authority Act or any other legislation. Nowhere in the law is it stated
that the Minister has the power to deproclaim. It is a pure invention that the Minister has
presented to the National Assembly.
I have ordered officers of the ministry to identify uncommitted plots of land on Pas
Geometriques which are suitable to be proclaimed as public beaches Is the Minister not
aware that nearly all quality beaches that have not yet been proclaimed public on Pas
Geometriques have already been either leased or reserved for hotels, Smart Cities and luxury
villas? Just to list a few, there are at least 5 hotels and 1 Smart City planned in Bel Ombre and
Saint Felix, 8 hotels at Les Salines Riviere Noire, 2 hotels and 2 Smart Cities planned in La
Cambuse / Le Chaland, and a series of hotel projects at Melville, Bain de Rosnay, Pointe des
Lascars, Anse La Raie, etc. What is there left to proclaim as quality public beaches among
uncommitted Pas Geometriques??? The new Minister should publish the list most urgently
for all Mauritians to see and comment.

The announcement from Honourable Minister Jhugroo of proclaiming new public beaches only from
uncommitted Pas Geometriques is totally unacceptable. The Government saw fit, and rightfully so, to
take back State Land leases that had been granted under the Ramgoolam regime to Mr Gooljaury, Mrs
Soornack and other petits copains et grandes copines. Pandit Sungkur was forced to accept that his
restaurant on the public beach of Trou-aux-Biches was illegal. This goes to show that when
Government really means business, it can cancel leases and give back to the public what belongs to
all Mauritians.

Indeed, it is high time to stop adding hotels on the coast. Hotels, luxury villa estates and associated
golf courses already occupy about 90 km of the coastline of Mauritius. In contrast public beaches
occupy just 45 kms, half less.

To make matters worse, these 45 kms of public beaches officially includes portions of the coast that
are cliffs, marshy areas and rocky terrain, and not white sand beaches. Ex: Le Souffleur and Pont
Naturel public beaches in the South are nothing more than 300 metres of pure rocky cliffs! Whereas
hotels and Smart Cities in contrast are granted prime white sand beaches.

In Bel Ombre for instance, there is the nice beach of Beau Champ, sandwiched between So Sofitel
hotel and Outrigger hotel. It is enjoyed by locals and by people from all across Mauritius alike. Without
any consultation with the public, Beau Champ beach has been leased to hotel developers. Similarly,
at La Cambuse, Scouts and nature lovers regularly go camping on the nice wild beach next to the public
beach. Sea turtles are seen regularly in the lagoon in front and sometimes come nest on the beach.
However, the whole area has been leased to Omnicane for its Smart City. The message therefore from
Government is that such places are not for Mauritians. It is for tourists and wealthy expats.

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 4. Stop violating the planning laws to please hotel and Smart City developers!

The Ramgoolam regime and ex-minister Soodhun granted State land leases to beach hotels in total
violation of the planning legislation. The Planning and Development Act 2004 states explicitly that
The National Development Strategy shall prevail over any other planning instrument. The National
Development Strategy, from which derives the various Outline Planning Schemes for each District and
Municipality, states clearly at page 119-121 that hotel development must be confined to strictly
defined Tourism Zones (Northern, Eastern, South-Western, Mahebourg) and that the portion of coast
from Blue Bay to Baie du Cap is declared South Coast Heritage Zone where no hotels can be built: It
is proposed that within the South Coast Heritage Zone, the existing coastline is preserved and that only
limited tourism development should be permitted in and around existing centres.

How can hotel projects therefore be authorised in Pomponette and in Bel Ombre? How can Smart
Cities and hotels be approved at La Cambuse? Are we to understand that the Government considers
hotel and Smart City developers to be above the law while the Mauritian public has to abide by the
Outline Planning Schemes of his or her locality?

Are we celebrating next year the 50th Anniversary of our independence or the year when Mauritians
became second-class citizens in their own country?

It is up to you to give the answer, Honourable Prime Minister.

On the eve of our 50th Anniversary, your Government, elected by the People and funded by the
People, needs to urgently recognise that:

A. State lands belong to all Mauritians, and not to politicians and civil servants
B. Mauritians enjoy and use their beaches a lot, even when there are not officially proclaimed
yet as public.
C. the Mauritian public must be consulted by Government prior to a lease being granted on
State Land, be it coastal or inland.
D. the Mauritian public must be given proper and effective administrative and legal avenues
to contest a decision by Government to grant a State Land lease, be it coastal or inland
E. all State land beaches currently used by the public must be proclaimed public beaches and
any lease granted to a developer has to be cancelled immediately
F. Government does not have the right to deproclaim any public beach and all such
deproclamations made since 2010 are to be reversed immediately.
G. A National Tourism Audit Commission needs to be set up to assess how much local
communities are benefiting from hotels operating in their area and to assess also if hotel
workers are benefiting from decent employment conditions.

In view of the situation, it would be greatly appreciated if the Aret Kokin Nu Laplaz [AKNL] civil society
coalition could have an urgent meeting with you at your earliest convenience please.

Yours sincerely,

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