The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, held, yesterday afternoon in Port Louis, consecutive Policy Dialogue meetings with the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, and the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano, respectively. The aim was to discuss proposals related to the Financial Services and Environment sectors in view of the forthcoming Budget 2024/25.
In a statement, Minister Bholah highlighted that discussions focussed on the ease of doing business and the necessity to streamline registration procedures to ensure that clients use Mauritius as a gateway to invest in Africa. He stressed on the need to remain compliant vis-à-vis organisations such as the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, while remaining competitive.
Minister Bholah underscored the imperative to remain competitive so as to service clients who want to invest on the African continent. The need for qualified professionals in the sector and relevant training to be provided to them were also on the agenda, he stated.
Moreover, the Financial Services Minister reminded that the Financial Services sector is a pillar of the Mauritian economy, thus the need to further strengthen it.
Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change
For his part, Minister Ramano observed that one of the subjects discussed during the policy dialogue pertains to the need to have adequate personnel in order to effectively tackle issues related to climate change. According to him, additional necessary infrastructural works also need to be carried out to effectively mitigate the impact of climate change on our coastline.
Speaking about the circular economy, the Environment Minister stressed the need to address solid waste management issues as the Mare Chicose Landfill and the Waste Disposal site are to-date saturated. As far as waste sorting and waste recovery are concerned, he underlined the importance of successfully implementing such initiatives to preserve the environment.
The facilities put at the disposal of the Climate Change Department as well as mitigation measures being considered by our country were also on the agenda, he added.
