Mauritius 

Key facts

POPULATION (Census 2000): 1,179,137
AREA: 1969 sq km
CAPITAL: Port Louis
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION TO GDP: 
CURRENCY: Mauritian rupee (MUR)
HEAD OF STATE: President Sir Anerood Jugnauth
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: parliamentary republic
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM: unicameral
STATE STRUCTURE: unitary
LANGUAGES: English (official) Mauritian Creole, French, Bhojpuri (recognised).
NATIONAL ELECTIONS:
legislative last: 2010; turnout: 78%; next: 2015
presidential last: 2008;  indirect; next: 2013
LOCAL ELECTIONS: last: 2005, turnout: 40.5%; next: 2011 

Summary

Mauritius is a constitutional republic with three tiers of government: central, local and village. There is no constitutional provision for local government other than the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. Local government in Mauritius is governed by the Local Government Act 1989 (Act No. 48 of 1989) and the, as yet, unimplemented Local Government Act 2003 (Act No. 32 of 2003). The Ministry of Local Government and Outer Islands (MLGOI) is responsible for overseeing local authorities. Local government in Mauritius has two tiers. The first tier comprises urban councils, known as municipalities, and rural authorities (called district councils), while the second tier relates only to those district councils which oversee 124 village councils. Municipal and district councils are empowered to raise revenues via various fees. The main source of local government income is the central government grant. Municipal and district councils have the following statutory duties: roads, environment and public sanitation, culture, leisure and sport and education. Village councils are not responsible for roads but otherwise overlap in several areas of service delivery.

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Additional information since publication:

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