The spokesman of the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in Parliament Dr. Arvin Boolell held a press briefing on Friday, October 8 in his office in Ollier Belle Rose where he addressed several topics in the company of MPs Fabrice David and Nitin Oochit.
Labour MP Ranjiv Woochit called on the minister of Finance and the Minister of Employment to investigate companies that received the Government Wage Assistance Scheme (GWAS) during the Covid-19 crisis but have yet laid off their staff.
As for Arvin Boolell, his intervention was axed on the Pandoras Papers. He said he was surprised by the silence of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Financial Services on the revelations made. According to him, the government prefers opacity and silence, especially after the visit of a delegation from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
For him, the government is forgetting that we are on the European Union’s blacklist and the silence of the government, for Arvin Boolell, amplifies the perception and doubts of these institutions on our financial system.
Arvin Boolell also commented on the economic situation in Mauritius, which is both serious and alarming. The latter explained that he met with economists and they are concerned about the current economic situation. “No false hopes or dreams should be sold to the public by the government,” he said.
Arvin Boolell said that Mauritius is likely to experience a recession in the days and years to come. According to him, the government should be transparent about the economy of Mauritius. “Some economists were hoping that there would be a high-level committee to bring out the truth about the real situation regarding the economy,” Boolell said. He added that the government cannot continue to operate in an irresponsible manner.
