This is not the time for budgetary largesse or freebies at public expense to all and sundry the country can ill-afford from strapped public finances
By Mrinal Roy
The economic fundamentals of the country are deteriorating. The political situation is in disarray. Inflation is in double digits. The purchasing power of people is continuously eroding. The current escalating prices of groceries and essential existential needs due to the unchecked depreciation of the Rupee is having dire consequences on the livelihoods of people and in particular some 47.8% of the country’s employees earning up to Rs 15,000 per month and those struggling to make both ends meet from their basic pension.
Public debt, which was already on the rise even before the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, stood at a whopping Rs 421.977 billion i.e., 94.3% of GDP in September 2021. It was slightly lower at Rs 413.726 in December 2021. The trade deficit, which was Rs 133.081 billion in 2021, is forecast to reach a new peak of some Rs 160 billion in 2022 and exceed 30% of GDP this year.
An endless array of costly botched decisions have added to the woes of the country. Rs 4.7 billion had to be paid from public funds to settle the liability towards Betamax following the Privy council ruling against government. There are also legitimate interrogations about the cost effectiveness of the costly Safe City project, the cost overruns on the Bagatelle Dam or the Cote d’Or National sports Complex projects, the emergency government procurement tenders to source medicines and equipment to fight the Covid pandemic from a nondescript array of suppliers, the absence of transparency and accountability of major government expenditures and disbursements from Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC )funds as well as the wastage of public funds annually highlighted by the Audit report, etc. These have cost billions of Rupees of public funds which could have been put to more productive use for the common good. It is an indictment of the government decision-making process and governance.
Writing on the wall
The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. The current economic model is not sustainable. Independent commentators have been raising concern about the vulnerability, fragility and short-sightedness of an economic model so heavily dependent on tourism and high-end real estate development as well as the patent lack of competitiveness and level of value addition of the key sectors of the economy. The policy framework and the style of governance have further undermined the country’s prospects. * Read More… Become a Subscriber
Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 15 April 2022
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