For the leader of the opposition, it is a « political budget » and not an « economic budget ». Xavier-Luc Duval gave, at mid-day, the kick-off of the debates on the budget.
He began by lamenting the fact that he did not have enough time to study the budget. But, for him, the budget presented by the Minister of Finance « will allow the government to amass a lot of money in the Mauritius Investment Company and in special funds ».
He strongly denounced the « waste and incompetence of the government ». He deplored the « electoral tone » of this Budget which « is just a smoke and mirrors exercise » for the population, which is already suffering from the difficulties and uncertainty from this pandemic.
Xavier-Luc Duval believes that the government, through the Minister of Finance, has built up « a treasure chest ». This is what will allow it in the run-up of the next legislative elections to increase the various pensions, including old age pensions.
The PMSD leader also contests some of the figures mentioned in the 2021-2022 Budget. He disagreed with the unemployment rate figure. It does not reflect reality. For Xavier-Luc Duval, it should be around 16% and not 9.2%. For him, this proves that the government wants to « hide many things ».
The Budget is, in his opinion, « full of false figures and unspoken words ».
He said that the budget was « full of false figures and omissions » and XLD argued that « none of the issues relating to the future of our country have been addressed or considered in this budget. It proposes Rs 65 billion for projects that will have no impact on revenues to pay our debts. The opposition rejects this Budget as inadequate for the difficult life we are enduring now ».
Manesh Gobin : « We are restarting the economy »
This is what the Minister of Agro-Industry and Attorney General said in his speech on the budget. Maneesh Gobin denied allegations of a « political budget », insisting that various pensions have not been increased. « Everything has been maintained as it is, » he said. For Maneesh Gobin, this budget aims to restart the economy. This is through public spending. It should be noted that the Attorney General did not say a single word about the Privy Council’s ruling in the Betamax case.
Reza Uteem : « Billions of rupees will be spent on stupid decisions »
The Privy Council judgment in the Betamax case was commented on at length in the National Assembly on Monday, at least by the opposition MPs. Reza Uteem, MMM’s Economic Affairs Officer, lamented the fact that billions of rupees will have to be paid out by the state for what he called a « stupid decision » by the government. He was referring to the public debt which, he said, had reached a critical level. He said that in addition to the repayment of these bonds, the government will have to compensate Betamax to the tune of Rs 4.5 billion following the Privy Council’s judgment. Reza Uteem said the decision to terminate the contract was « stupid ».
Shakeel Mohamed predicts over 150,000 unemployed
The Labour MP of No. 3, like the Leader of the Opposition, disputed some of the figures mentioned in the 2021-2022 Budget. Referring to unemployment, which is estimated at 9.2%, he said that this does not reflect reality, going so far as to talk about « manipulation of figures ».
For him, there will be a staggering rise in unemployment. He predicts that the 150,000 mark will be passed quickly. He maintains that the Budget does not mention the challenges facing the country. For him, the government has chosen to sweeten the pill in view of the next elections. Like Xavier-Luc Duval, Shakeel Mohamed also criticized the government, which, according to him, is only thinking about the next legislative elections instead of tackling the country’s problems.
Shakeel Mohamed obviously mentioned the Privy Council’s judgment in the Betamax case. He denounced the « disgusting and revanchist » policy of the government and asked all ministers to apologize to the population for a bad decision for which all Mauritians will have to pay.
