Summary of today's news, barges should return to service again, new drama at sea between Anjouan and Mayotte and a brand new Technopole inaugurated with great fanfare.
Barge traffic must resumeth morning.
Three out of four barges should be circulating today according to the department's inter-union association. An agreement was reached yesterday between the unions and the president of the departmental council. It will be submitted in a little over an hour to the agents at a General Assembly to decide on the continuation of the strike.
Negotiations have made progress on several points: notably the question of the quota of 1,607 hours of work per year for a civil servant. The department wanted to eliminate Mahorean public holidays to achieve this; this would instead require an extension of working hours by almost 20 minutes per day according to Flash Info. Progress has also been made on the management strategy, the increase in meal vouchers and even on health and safety measures for employees.
We will see if it is enough to definitively end the movement after this gesture of goodwill.
A new drama at sea between Anjouan and Mayotte
Smugglers intentionally scuttled a kwassa.
This was announced last night by the International Organization for Migration. The boat sank during the night from Friday to Saturday. At least 25 people died, including women and children, according to the accounts of the 5 survivors rescued by fishermen on Saturday morning. One of them testifies on the Comoros Info website: the smugglers were apparently drunk at the time of the incident, one of them unscrewed the cap at the back of the boat allowing the water to rush in.
The thirty passengers would have paid more than 300 euros for this 70 km crossing between Anjouan and Mayotte, one of the deadliest in the world.
Between August and September, 20 people died in two shipwrecks. Comorian authorities estimate that more than 20,000 migrants have died at sea since the introduction of a compulsory visa with Mayotte in 1995, the famous Balladur visa.
Yesterday, you experienced the first inauguration of the technopole in Dembéni in Mayotte
Innovation is the word we find most often in the press this morning. This concept took shape yesterday with the inauguration of this site dedicated to supporting businesses and research. In the Journal de Mayotte, elected officials do not lack praise for this structure which must guarantee the future and prosperity of Mayotte. Companies can set up there, rent the premises for events or at least be supported in their projects. Alongside them, researchers work on information sciences, marine biology and the agri-food industry. This information and images of the site can be found in the local press, the place must also welcome from today the 14e Indian Ocean Islands Economic Forum, the largest meeting of entrepreneurs in the region, as you can read on our website.
An anonymous letter to denounce the situation at the Mayotte hospital center…
The Journal de Mayotte received this letter, the author presents himself as a health professional from the CHM who wants to denounce the treatment of non-Mahorais nurses. The letter mentions failing human resources, interns and nurses left to their own devices, and poor care of newborns. But also “uninhibited racism” towards nurses who do not come from Mayotte.
This anonymous professional says he hears his colleagues laughing and talking about “mzungu” next to him. Comorian patients are also victims of racism according to him. The letter speaks of calls for help that went unanswered. The management of the CHM and the ARS was contacted by the JDM. They did not wish to comment on this content, which according to them “the source is not verified and is therefore not credible”.
