PwC’s has published their Budget Brief. Mr Anthony Leung Shing, Country Senior Partner, PwC Mauritius wrote in the introduction:
The Budget continues to rely on Special Funds as a significant source of financing. During the pandemic, over Rs55bn were transferred to these Special Funds for the funding COVID-19 projects and other support schemes. However, implementation delays have resulted in underspending and Rs31bn remains available.
Whilst the Budget contains a myriad of measures, it remains principally socialist in nature. The Government announced an array of socially geared projects such as the upgrading of sports complex, community centres, health facilities, etc as well as the introduction of various income support allowances. Further, the pension allowance will increase by a further Rs1,000 and over Rs65bn will be spent on social benefits in the coming year; this represents an increase of 16% compared to last year and of 38% since 2021. The burden of the welfare state keeps increasing. Overall, given the current inflationary environment, some of the measures may be necessary to curtail the loss in purchasing power of the population but the emerging handout culture is worrying as social objectives triumph over economic priorities, and we eat into our future.
Here is the PwC report:
