A Policy Dialogue meeting in view of the preparation of the 2022-2023 Budget was held, on Thursday afternoon. The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, met the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security and Mr Maneesh Gobin and the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun.
In a statement after the meeting, Minister Gobin emphasised that to ensure food security, there is a need to adopt a multidisciplinary approach. He stressed that this year, the country has been facing the unprecedented combined impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.
He recalled that the country relies on imports for many products including fertilisers that are in turn used for food production locally. We should therefore reconsider our import strategy and tap into our capacity to produce our own fertilisers locally, he pointed out.
Mr Maneesh Gobin spoke about the need to opt for alternative fertilisers, and said that he proposed for the elaboration of Special Schemes for local production of fertilisers. He underlined the relevance of the Zero Budget Natural Farming scheme to boost local production of alternatives.
The Minister also pointed out that he discussed with the finance minister his intent to promote the production of superfood for both local consumption and exportation.
Another topic brought forth during the meeting was the review of the Cargo Capacity Scheme following the spike in freight prices and the need for collaboration among different concerned Ministries to this end.
The Attorney General also informed that he requested for funding for the major digitalisation reform regarding providing free access to an electronic revised edition of all Acts, including regulations that will be published on the web portal of the Attorney-General’s Office, as well as enabling the online application for Certificate of Character.
Measures geared towards boosting the development of the financial sector
In a statement after the meeting, Minister Seeruttun said that he discussed with the Finance Minister a series of measures geared towards boosting the development of the financial sector and enabling the concretisation of all its potentials.
He recalled that following the exit of the country from the European Union Black List, and the Financial Action Task Force Grey List, the Ministry is now working to reposition Mauritius on the international landscape as an attractive investment destination.
He stressed that the positive image of Mauritius is a key element to attract more investment in the financial sector.
In addition, the Minister pointed out that his Ministry is implementing the Blueprint for the financial sector with the aim of doubling its contribution to the GDP of the country over the next ten years.
Furthermore, Mr Seeruttun spoke about the need to have more skilled human resources to enable the growth of the sector. He indicated that the Ministry has carried out a survey to identify skills gap in the sector and added that he proposed during the meeting the need to continue with training initiatives.
We are also considering to devise schemes to attract the diaspora and foreign workers, he said.
