Representatives of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) made proposals to the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, on Friday afternoon, in the context of the Pre-budget Consultations 2023-2024.
In a statement following the consultative meeting, the President of the MCCI, Mrs Namita Jagarnath Hardowar, elaborated on the current challenges facing operators including inflation rate, climatic change, the impacts due to the increase in electricity tariff, and the lack of manpower.
“Discussions,” Mrs Hardowar emphasised, “focused on the promotion of business facilitation to enhance the ease of doing business.” The need for a strategic policy for qualitative as well as quantitative human capital development was highlighted by the President of the MCCI. She further pointed out that the aging population and the decrease in birth rate were among pthe riorities to be considered in the Budget 2023-2024.
“Other proposals pertained to improving the competitiveness of the port so as to develop it as a distribution hub,” she indicated. “The greening of the economy and the digitalisation of the public and private services are measures to be taken into consideration in the budget,” she added.
Before, representatives of the Mauritius Export Association (MEXA) met with the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, this afternoon, at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, in Port Louis.
In a statement after the meeting, the Chairperson of MEXA, Mr Arif Currimjee, said that they made several proposals to the Finance Minister to accelerate the transformation of the industrial sector into a more complex, diversified and diversified and value-adding ecosystem.
He expressed satisfaction regarding the export turnover for 2022-2023, estimated at around Rs 50 billion, which he attributed to the positive measures implemented in the last financial year. “The proposals put forth for this financial year are a continuity of the proposals made in the last budget,” he stated.
“One key measure,” he highlighted, “is the implementation of the Carbon Neutral Industrial Sector Renewable Energy (CNIS RE) Scheme aiming to provide a viable option for industrial companies to invest in renewable energy power generation, especially solar and wind, for their own consumption.” “Some 200 megawatts of solar energy can be produced,” he pointed out, while adding that this measure required huge funding. Mr Currimjee emphasised that proposal for financial support had been made to the Finance Minister to ensure carbon neutrality in the industrial sector by 2030.
He further said that proposals regarding the Mauritian industry’s visibility on the international market were put forward. “The collaboration of the MEXA and the Economic Development Board is necessary to devise a new strategy to invite business investors to come to Mauritius, to visit enterprises and invest in the country,” he stressed.
