Several parliamentarians spoke in Parliament yesterday on The Social Contribution and Social Benefits Bill. When the Minister of Transport and Light Rail, Alan Ganoo, moved the adjournment of parliamentary business for next Tuesday.
Dr. Renganaden Padayachy: “This bill reflects the philosophy of economic and social justice advocated by the Prime Minister
During his intervention on the “Social Contribution and Social Benefits Bill”, yesterday in the National Assembly, the Grand Argentinian justified the positive measures of the bill, which will be implemented in the coming months.
He said that this bill, which reflects the philosophy of economic and social justice advocated by the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, comes to establish the proper legislative framework of the new system of contributions and social benefits. “The presentation of this law comes in the wake of the announcement of the establishment of the Generalized Social Contribution (CSG) during the Budget Speech 2020-2021. A major reform that this government, with courage and humanism, is determined to carry out,” he added.
Regarding social benefits, the Minister of Finance will say that there are plans to:
- The payment from July 1, 2023, and at retirement age of a supplementary benefit of up to 4,500 rupees per month;
- The payment of a year-end bonus as part of the retirement benefit.
- Payment of workers’ compensation from September 1, 2020 to a private sector employee on the same basis as MFN.
He added: “The maximum compensation payable to an injured employee is indeed increased from Rs. 15,920 to Rs. 40,000 per month. That’s great, and I’ll get to that in a few minutes.
- Finally, we will allow the payment of workers’ compensation to all self-employed contributors, which will have the direct and immediate effect of improving the social protection of more than 200,000 Mauritians.
Regarding the self-employed, Dr. Renganaden Padayachy maintained that “we apply the same logic of progressiveness. For more equity, we are revising the rates of the monthly social contribution to be paid by income bracket”.
Thus, the rates and amounts of contribution for the self-employed will be established as follows
- Rs. 150 when the net monthly income of the self-employed is less than or equal to Rs. 10,000.
- 1.5% of 90% of his or her monthly net income or Rs. 150, whichever is higher, when the net monthly income of the self-employed person in question is between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 50,000; and
- 3% of 90% of the monthly net income for those with a monthly net income above Rs. 50,000.
Xavier Luc Duval asks the government to put on hold
Responding to the finance ministers, the leader of the opposition, Xavier Luc Duval, considers it disrespectful that Renganaden Padayachy is presenting a bill on pension reform while the Generalized Social Contribution is being challenged in the Supreme Court. he said he regrets that the minister did not refer in his speech to the objections and other apprehensions made by experts and actuaries.
“How much exactly are we going to pay to the future generation? In section 75, there is a section that will decide in the future what benefits will be payable based on accessibility and sustainability,” said the Leader of the Opposition, Xavier Luc Duval. He thus asks the government to put this bill on hold while waiting for the court’s verdict.
Paul Bérenger: “A massive scam is being committed”
Speaking on the bill, the leader of the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), Paul Bérenger, said that no one had said that the old age pension would be frozen at Rs 9000 per month. It was promised that by the end of the government’s mandate the old age pension would be Rs 13,500 per month. “We now know that this unfortunate Rs 9000 per month is not hit by the annual salary compensation and the same fate has been reserved for the pensions of widows, orphans and the disabled and tomorrow we can foresee that the salary compensation will not be hit by the MMM’s Generalized Social Contribution. If this is not the case, tell us”, said Paul Berenger. “Nowhere it is said that in the law, the pension age would be increased to 65 years for all and what is provided in section 21 does not change that. This section provides that in six sectors ploughmen, artisans of the sugar industry, transport, the tea industry, construction, and workers in salt mines.
He said that the government says that we will contribute less with the new system. That is a lie. He explained that the government said that the small wage earners who were contributing 3% will now contribute 1.5%. “You have to compare like with like. This comparison does not apply at all. Before the employees contributed the 3% to their pension funds through the National Pension Fund. Everyone had an account in the NPF and benefited from what they had contributed. Now it’s like Income Tax. He contributes 1.5% but it disappears. He has no more control”, said the MMM leader. Everyone knows that from 2023/2024, there will be a hole of about Rs 5 billion every year, the difference between the contributions and the amount to be paid. Talking about the Self-employed, they have been trapped with the Rs 10,000 offered in March 2021 as an incentive. 266,758 unfortunate Self-employed who did not pay have been trapped and will have to contribute. It was also said that there will be a flat contribution of Rs 150 for the self-employed.
