Mauritius Times - 65th Year No. 3576 Friday, May 15, 2020

Aug 28, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

Mauritius Times editorial examines two bills debated in the National Assembly since Wednesday 13 May: the Covid-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the Quarantine Bill (No. II of 2020). It argues that while public health containment and the staged reopening of economic and social life are necessary, the measures raise major concerns over insufficient stakeholder consultation and risks to human rights. Key worries include sweeping effects on the Bank of Mauritius, drastic curtailment of Workers’ Rights, and police powers to enter premises and arrest without a warrant.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Editorial

Health security and human rights

Consultation gaps and public apprehensions

Concerns: Bank of Mauritius measures

Concerns: Workers’ Rights and job losses

Concerns: Quarantine Bill police powers and warrantless actions

Human rights obligations and international image

| 65th Year--No. 3576 Friday, May 15, 2020 [www.mauritiustimes.com](www.mauritiustimes.com) [facebook.com/mauritius.times](facebook.com/mauritius.times) 16 Pages-ePaper
MAURITIUS TIMES | | | --- | --- | | One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -Plato | | |
Interview : Me Dev Ramano

“L'ennemi commun, c'est ce trio que sont |

History Is On Our Side | | la 'pandémie, la crise économique et sociale'”
+ Voir Pages 8-9-10 | } Our history has its worth in the present crisis. It can inspire us to continue
the struggle. Our ancestors have left us a rich tapestry of struggles and howto fight back whenever our rights are trampled upon. It is comforting to see the young generation taking over the struggle and creatively engaging the whole population to preserve our liberties"
By Sada Reddi + See Page 3 | | | | |
State-owned enterprises Agora

Cleaning up the Quarantine Bill
By S. Callikan + See Page 7 Where is director's liability for corporate misfeasance?
By Aditya Narayan + See Page 5
Matters of the Moment

Covid-19 & Quarantine Bills:
Legal Overkill
By Mrinal Roy + See Page 4 | | Ensuring health security AND Protecting human rights S ince Wednesday 13 May two important bills are being debated in the National Assembly. They are the Covid-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the Quarantine Bill (No. II of 2020) . Both these bills have proved to be necessary in the context of the ongoing Covid- 19 pandemic caused by a very highly infectious coronavirus, and which has swept the world with such rapidity that it has overwhelmed the health systems of even the most developed countries. This is why countries have had to adopt the lockdown strategy which, combined with the sanitary measures recommended by WHO and other competent authorities, is meant to control the spread of the disease. Unfortunately, knowledge about it and its treatment and prevention is still evolving, which means that there is much that is unknown and this leads to uncertainties about overall management of the situation, including the serious social and economic impacts it is causing. Hence the need for legislation to support more effectively the health containment measures that have been put in place, as well as to ensure the resumption of economic and other social activities that had come to a virtual standstill. That means that there will be more movement of people and goods using both public and private means of transport, and this calls for setting the legal parameters within which this opening up in stages will operate. These bills bring fundamental amendments to a broad swathe of existing legislations. There doesn’t seem to have been any prior consultations with the several stakeholders whose constituencies will be affected by the new provisions. Understandably, therefore, many apprehensionshave been expressed across the board from members of the Opposition, civil society organizations, observers and analysts about various aspects of the bills. Some of the main fears concern the provisions related to the Bank of Mauritius, Workers’ Rights, and the Quarantine. Those about the BOM are so sweeping, coming as they do in the wake of the Air Mauritius and SBM debacles, that they raise genuine fears about the functioning and fate of this most important institution in the country, since it appears that the State is appropriating to itself the right to extract from the BOM’s reserves without any limit whatsoever. A different order of concerns applies to Workers’ Rights, which are being equally drastically curtailed, such that the workers are at great risk of losing their jobs through being made redundant, but also their other benefits and acquired rights which have been so arduously fought for. The irony is that at a time when even the Finance Minister has estimated that nearly 100,000 jobs are likely to be lost,

FAQs

Which two bills are being debated, and why are they considered necessary?

The Covid-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the Quarantine Bill (No. II of 2020) are debated. They are presented as necessary for managing an ongoing, highly infectious pandemic and supporting containment while restarting economic and social activities.

What does the editorial say about consultation with stakeholders?

It states there doesn’t seem to have been prior consultations with stakeholders whose constituencies would be affected, which helps explain widespread apprehensions expressed by opposition, civil society, observers, and analysts.

What are the main risks highlighted in the Quarantine and related measures?

The editorial flags Clause 11 on police powers, including entering premises and arresting without a warrant. It argues this could be coercive or repressive in a way that conflicts with obligations under international human rights law.

Aug 28, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob