Agribusiness Minister and Attorney General Maneesh Gobin, National Infrastructure and Community Development Minister Bobby Hurreeram and Gender Equality Minister Kalpana Koonjoo of the MSM were at a press conference yesterday to comment on the 2022-2023 Budget.
The Minister of Agribusiness focused mainly on agricultural production and food security. He listed the benefits that consumers will enjoy, considering the many challenges the country is facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the war between Ukraine and Russia, and rising food prices.
For Maneesh Gobin, the 2022-23 Budget is “the best budget that could be presented under such circumstances”.
Bobby Hureeram said the same thing. Indeed, the Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development did not mince words about Rama Sithanen. “He claims to be a great teacher, but we can not forget that it was he who ”pulls in the mouth of unfortunate children, pulls subsidies for the SC and HSC examinations. He added that Sithanen is in no position to criticize the budget that has come to relieve the population in these difficult times.
The Minister of National Infrastructures also commented on the Flood Management Programme. No country is safe from floods. There is no such thing as zero risk,” he added.
Bobby Hurreeram thanked the Prime Minister for his unwavering support for the completion of the drainage works, which will further improve the quality of life of Mauritians. He also appealed to the population to collaborate to complete the work and added that despite the criticism from both sides and in the face of climate change, the government will continue to concretize the work of drains and protect the population from floods.
The Minister of National Infrastructures also spoke about the Road Decongestion Programme. Pointing out that in 2021, there were about 600,000 vehicles on our roads, he recalled that several infrastructure projects have been completed and others are underway to solve the road problems, including Ebene, Phoenix Highway M1.
Speaking about the 2022-2023 budget, Bobby Hurreeram argued that the opposition was caught off guard. They did not expect such a budget and wanted to destabilize the country and blame the government, as if the government is responsible for all the problems we face in the country,” he said.
For her part, the Minister of Gender Equality, Kalpana Koonjoo described the 2022-2023 budget as very humane. “It is a historic budget. With a Prime Minister like Pravind Jugnauth at the head of the government, this budget has taken into consideration all segments of the population despite the demagoguery of the opposition and others. Several measures announced in the budget are part of our electoral manifesto and this in the interest of the people,” she added.
In addition, she dwelt on the many measures announced in favor of women and children, including the ‘baby bonus’, the ‘sustainable allowances’, the encouragement and support for women in the field of entrepreneurship, and the creation of ‘shelters’ for women, especially in Rivière du Poste.
In the same vein, Kalpana Koonjoo indicated that the government has corrected an injustice concerning widows, especially a section of the population who will now benefit from a pension under this government.
