Unlocking the Budget Figures

This last budget of this government needs to be put in its proper context; it is its fourth budget that had as precursor the 2006/07 Budget which promised to usher in a new socio-economic model centred on global competitiveness to return the economy to higher growth paths and full employment.  This involves a transition from the obsolete and counterproductive preference-based development model to an environment of fully liberalized trade where no activities, be it for export or for import, are shielded from international competition.

The Budget’s tricky tricks

After the lukewarm reception that the Budget obtained from the majority in the National Assembly compared to last year’s hurrahs and thumping that accompanied the more juicier bits, it needed something quite original to cheer up spirits. To some extent, this was provided by the PM’s intervention. He tried to put on a brave face given the rough road ahead; but he did distance himself somewhat from the dole outs of the Additional Stimulus Package to big business without meaningful conditionalities, aware that despite all his efforts this budget cannot win support among Labour’s rank and file and the public that is increasingly disenchanted with  the TINA ( There Is No Alternative) policies.

Amendments in the Finance Bill

The sessions of the National assembly were drawing to a close and we got quite a glimpse of our dear representatives fumbling for answers when questioned closely about their deliverables and ultimately delivering so little. We were getting quite exhausted with persistent requests, that were not entertained, for commission of enquiries ( given the crisis, we cannot expect Government to be allocating scarce funds for all kinds of enquiries, do we !!)  ;

The Upturn : restrained,fragile and patchy

One year after the financial conflagration that devastated Wall Street and burned financial institutions around the globe with a credit binge that brought us the credit crunch, the world economy seems to be shifting gears. It has gone from reverse to neutral. US President Barack Obama caught the mood at the Group-20 Pittsburgh Summit last month saying “because of the bold and coordinated action that we took millions of jobs have been saved or created, the decline in output has been stopped…”.

Titbits: Labour Market Flexibility, Depreciation of the rupee, Inflation and The pitfalls of a passive approach

Labour Market Flexibility

You must have caught sight of the “Artworks” produced at strategic places by the temporary workers recruited under the Tourism Fund. These workers are under a one year contract and have been recruited to supplement the work already being done by others. The TINAwallahs have rushed in to claim that it is our flexible labour laws which have helped to create jobs, even in a recession. They had first of all, without much of evidence, but with lot of conviction in their neoliberal economic order, questioned the efficiency of the welfare state labour market institutions. They had pushed for the hire and fire employment laws but with a logic that lacks sufficient basis.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): the mess

(Published in L'Express)

From the new Finance Bill, we can read that “companies shall in every year, set up a CSR Fund equivalent to 2% of its book profit derived from the preceding year to implement(a) an approved programme by the Company;(b) implement an approved programme under the National Empowerment Foundation; or(c) an approved NGO.” Elections beckoning, most of our representatives from the 20 constituencies of the country are toiling hard to come up with their list of priority social projects and they know very well how to “weave, it neatly and effectively with Government social policies for greater impact on the targeted areas and groups”that will be benefiting from the huge CSR fund. 

Economic Parnership Agreement (EPA) with EU

The confident certainty of some of the interviewees and interventions on the advantages and opportunities that will accrue to Mauritius following the economic partnership agreement between eastern and southern Africa and EU surprised many. We just have to jump on this frenetic trade treadmill – the EPA-EU partnership -that they cannot shut off, it will lead us to the goldmine heralding a new business ebullience. But there are quite some skeptics; they are not all convinced ; free of the  intellectual straitjackets that hobble so many of our bureaucrats and elite, they do more than just skim the surface and distribute their comments all around as if these are the conclusive evidence of  some meaningful research.