(Published in l'express of 7th may 2025)
All attention was focused on the speech given by the Prime Minister; his speech was firm and critical, pointing the finger at the “disastrous” budgetary legacy left by the previous government.
His speech was well received , everyone applauded and even cheered…but there was a big flaw/falsehood that was being covered by the din that even his most enthusiastic cheerleaders could not smother- the falsehood that they were not aware of the disastrous state of affairs ….
How come they were not aware ! What were they doing in the opposition - twiddling their thumbs !
What is even more scandalous is that it shows a level of irresponsibility on the part of the opposition, not aware and not in tune with what most of the top economists of the country were saying then. While these economists were raising the alarm bell - including the inevitability of a Moody’s downgrade- in successive articles and interviews, the "Govt in waiting" was still stuck in the doldrums. They have no excuse …
In his article on Budget 2024-25 titled “The 24-25 Budget “Heading for disaster” , Sushil had noted that “Including BoM/MIC financing to Govt would increase the public debt to GDP ratio by an additional 15 % points, to 95% of GDP”. Yes, 95% of GDP !
He had also detailed out in very precise terms the deceptive practices used to fiddle economic statistics and highlighted on our low growth prospects -
“The expectation that the public debt ratio will be brought down by future strong GDP growth is largely unfounded. Given the weak trend in productivity gains, and minimal growth of the labor force, the potential medium-term growth rate of the Mauritian economy is around 3.5% per annum, lower than Govt’s over-optimistic 5% figure.”
He had concluded grimly that “Mauritius is pursuing a radical populist agenda for electoral gain, and blatantly flouting standards of fiscal prudence. An independent diagnosis will no doubt confirm that the country has become increasingly vulnerable to the threat of an ECONOMIC CRISIS especially in the wake of the 24-25 budget.” Many other prominent economists had also written/spoken along the same lines .
The "Govt in waiting" had failed to do their homework, they did not prepare the population as per the assessment of the economy by our top economists …”bla blas zot fort, actions nil”… Not only Goldfinger, even this Govt is finally coming out of hibernation!
Once in power they should have sent the right message (not garden parties and business as usual) that the country is embarking on the path of fiscal discipline and started the dissemination and discussion to mobilize public understanding and support for adopting difficult fiscal measures…There does not seem to be a sense of urgency from the new Govt- the focus is more on meaningless chatter and generalities and less on actual actions, practical steps for tangible results/outcomes.
The PM has declared that his government will be introducing a more rigorous, responsible and transparent management of public funds.
For that we need a good team at MoFED, starting by a full fledged Finance Minister and a more capable FS with a better vision, cohesion and direction to lead the reform program and carry out the fiscal consolidation plan and thus bring about the necessary changes…Several high calibre economists and financial specialists from the mauritian diaspora would be willing to lead our reform agenda, if only the new Govt showed genuine interest to attract them.
Why is it that NCR and Damry are protecting Padayachy’s henchmen-the acting FS, the macro-fiscal team , officers at SM and MRA and one specific adviser at MoFED- who have and will continue to fool the Nation by manipulating the figures while elsewhere , the technicians of STC and the Director and team at CWA are being taken to task. Is it because these officers are the ideal chatwas that have now offered their services to the new masters ?
And they have complied very well so far to the dictates of the New Govt in the State of the Economy document -The GDP (as at Dec 2024) figures were not fully corrected , it still carried some uncertainty. GDP overestimation was corrected by halving the addition of GBC offshore primary income to services to GDP (Rs40 bn instead of Rs80 bn in 2024), and reducing both services exports and investment by about 17% in 2024. But Statistical GDP discrepancies were still significantly high, around Rs25 bn, compared to around Rs 5 bn in earlier years, which points to sizeable unaccounted expenditures . Furthermore, there were still doubts about the statistical computation of imports for 2024, which were underestimated in the latest National Accounts by at least Rs 10 bn, on the basis of external trade data and also on BoP data.
U understand now why “on prend les mêmes on recommence “ , similar as how our dear Governor is managing that aberration called "MIC"
Transparent management they say ! Transparent à la NCR, Damry and Sithanen !
We had a preview of their transparent management on the Public Enquiries Bill.
