Omar Khooleegan: “We will remove all paid parking in Port Louis main streets”

The City of Port Louis, located in the western part of Mauritius, is the country’s economic, cultural, political centre and also most populous city. It is administered by the Municipal City Council of Port Louis. The Port is named in honour of King Louis XV. According to the 2012 census, conducted by Statistics Mauritius, the population was 148,001.

Port Louis was already in use as a harbour in 1638. In 1735, under French government, it became the administrative center of Mauritius and a major re-provisioning halt for French ships during their passage between Asia and Europe, around the Cape of Good Hope. During this period of French colonization, Mauritius was known as Ile de France. The French governor at that time, Bertrand-François Mahé de Labourdonnais, contributed to the development of the city. 

Since Port Louis was relatively well-protected from strong winds during cyclones by the Moka Mountain Range, Port Louis was selected to house both the main harbour for the island. Value of the port continued during the British occupation of the island during the Napoleonic Wars (1800–15), and helped Britain control the Indian Ocean. However, port calls of ships fell drastically following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Activity in the port increased during the seven-year closure of the Suez Canal (starting in 1967). Modernisation of the port in the late 1970s has helped it maintain its role as the central point for all imports and exports from Mauritius. Port Louis is home to the biggest port facility in the Indian Ocean region and one of Africa’s major financial centers.

While Port Louis continues to be the centre of politics and administrative capital of Mauritius with the Government House and the National Assembly, business as well as the expansion of the tourism industry in the late 1990s led to its considerable development, with many shops, hotels, and restaurants being built in the Caudan Waterfront area.

The economy of the city is mostly dominated by its financial centre, port facilities, tourism and the manufacturing sector which include textiles, chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals. 

The City of Port Louis is twinned to Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Surat, Gujarat, India; Doha, Qatar; Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany; Foshan, Guangdong, China; Franceville, Gabon;  Karachi, Pakistan; La Possession and Le Port, Réunion; Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom; Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.

Local governance of Port Louis is overseen by a municipal council. The City Council of Port Louis was first established in 1830 and is currently one of five municipal councils responsible for the urban areas in Mauritius, as organized under Local Government Act 2011. Twenty-four councilors are elected democratically to administer the City. The Councilors then elect a Lord Mayor and a Deputy Lord Mayor.

The Municipal Council of Port Louis acceded to the status of City of Port Louis in 1966 when the then Governor, John Shaw Rennie, handed over the decree signed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second to the Mayor of the town, Dorsamy Moorghen.

To-day the City is celebrating its 50th anniversary. 

In this context News on Sunday met the Lord Mayor, Omar Khooleegan and asked him a few questions.

You belong to the current generation. What does it mean for you to be the first magistrate of the City of Port Louis?

It’s an honour for me to be the First Magistrate since June 2015 and I will do my best for the City.

When you realise that you are the successor to Louis Lechelle- Goolam Mamode Dawjee Atchia- Raoul Rivet - Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam - Do you feel that you bear the burden of these personalities?

Definitely we should continue the work started from the previous Lord Mayors and try to improve in new technology for the benefit of our citizens.

When you leave the seat of Lord Mayor what would be the mark or imprint left by you and your administration?

We are proud for having found a solution for hawkers in the City. Due to change in climate conditions, I am delighted to have a special team for the cleaning up of existing drains on a regular basis.  Also, we have a well motivated team to construct new drains in Port Louis. We have been able to cut down unnecessary expenses and also hope to be able to monitor overtime in various departments.

The City is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. What are the prominent realisations achieved during the past half century?

Port Louis has witnessed major rapid development, modern buildings, markets, new technology, good business environment… and this has contributed positively to the economic development of the country.

What is the main event taking place during the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the City?

There would be a change in the look of the City.  For example, after relocating hawkers, we are working on a project to remove all the paid parking spaces on the main streets in Port Louis.  We will provide sufficient parking spaces at Champ de Mars and people will be able to use the shuttle service.  This will solve the problem of traffic jam and also help to have less pollution.

One of the oldest infrastructures of the City - The Port Louis Theatre, is in ruins. Why is it left abandoned?

The Theatre was opened since 27 to 31 August 2016 for a photo exhibition.  Being the oldest Theatre in the southern hemisphere, we cannot leave it abandoned.  I am happy to inform the readers that renovation of the building and of the roof will start soon.  This is the first phase of renovation; afterwards, we will seek the help of the Government for the second phase to allow the Theatre to be in operation again.