Mauritius: The District Council of Black River

The District Council of Black River area is located in the western part of country. It has a population of about 63,137 inhabitants and 20,600 households. The Council was set up on 1st October 1989 and is the youngest of all the local authorities of the country. The District Council of Black River’s mission statement is as followed ‘the committed to forging partnerships with all stakeholders in creating a unique, modern local authority that delivers efficient, premium services, whilst preserving its distinct cultural and ancestral heritage’. The council has a citizen charter which has been put in place in 2015.

The District Council of Black River consists of 14 members who represent 13 villages which include the villages of Richelieu, Petite Rivière, Albion, Gros Cailloux, Bambous, Cascavelle, Flic en Flac, Tamarin, Grande Rivière Noire, Case Noyale, Chamarel, La Gaulette and Le Morne.

Four of the councillors are female and the remaining 10 is male. The District Council of Black River has 6 committees, 2 of which is chaired by women. The chairperson is a male councillor. 21 % of the employees of the council is female and the remaining 79% is male. The Council has implemented a Gender Action Plan and actively works to integrate women in its team.

The activities of the Council are financed mainly from the grant of the Government and partly from the Council’s own sources of revenue. The amount of the grant in aid received for the period January 2016 till June 2016 and from July 2016 till June 2017 is Rs 88,662,677 and Rs 216,261,000 respectively which represents 85% of the revenue.

The Council also has an HIV and AIDS Policy. It also has a Sexual Harassment policy and actively work to make the workplace a safe milieu.

The District Council of Black River is working to provide all households with basic sanitation facilities through empowerment and a culture of entrepreneurship. It regularly organises meetings with Women Council members in connection with entrepreneurship and services/facility offered by Council. The Council has been supporting women entrepreneurs in the region and are in regular contact with the for organising market fairs and small business fairs with the aim of getting more visibility for the work being done by the women in the region.

The Council aims to decrease cases of domestic violence through awareness campaigns. Its gender focal person actively works on field.

The Council has made a lot of improvement for street lighting, road marking and names and overall infrastructural jobs.

Click here to read more about the District Council of Black River.