Comoros | Réunion and Mayotte Politics | Society Mayotte issue to split or join Comoros, France
The 185,000 inhabitants of Mayotte in a 2008 referendum voted strongly in favour of integrating their Comoran island deeper into France, becoming an ordinary department and getting full citizen rights. The French parliament recently approved of the "départementalisation" of Mayotte.
If these politics are continued as Mayotte becomes an integrated part of France, the historic split between Comoros and France will only deepen, French and Comoran politicians agree. And currently, no major policy shifts are planned for. However, there are voices proposing a shift in policies that could rather lead to deepening French-Comoran ties and further regional cooperation efforts. French parliamentarians Daniel Goldberg, Loïc Bouvard and Bernard Lesterlin propose to change the balance of French funds going towards Comoros in a way that could reduce migration and therefore the costs of fighting it. "We want to promote a shared regional economic development between the four islands [Mayotte and Comoros] as the only possibility of a harmonic balance in the archipelago," the three MPs said, adding that the "territorial logic" would force such a policy to be implemented. They present concrete development proposals. These include direct air services between the triangle France, Comoros and Mayotte on equal terms - currently, only France-Mayotte routes are treated as domestic flights. "Similarly, a joint plan to develop tourism, especially eco-tourism around the marine park of Moheli and Mayotte, would enhance existing assets." Comoros is the least developed tourist destination in the region. Further, the three MPs say, Comoros and Mayotte should be treated as one entity when it comes to food security policies and the management of agricultural resources. Regarding social issues, possibilities of a shared labour market should be considered. Finally, "access to water, health care, education and waste management should be the subject of extensive cooperation," they hold. With such a plan, the "imbalances" in the Comoran archipelago would be addressed, removing root causes for both irregular immigration and territorial conflicts between France and Comoros, the three MPs hold. Regarding the current high costs to fight immigration, the concept would even be cost-effective. By staff writers © afrol News - Create an e-mail alert for Comoros news - Create an e-mail alert for Réunion and Mayotte news - Create an e-mail alert for Politics news - Create an e-mail alert for Society news |
E-mail this to a friend | Printable version |
about afrol News | news | countries | archive | services | feed back | español
© afrol
News. Reproducing or buying afrol News' articles.You can contact us at mail@afrol.com