Mauritius Budget 2016-2017

Brief analysis

The Honourable Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mr. Pravind Jugnauth delivered his first budget speech after the 2014 elections. The budget was presented in a difficult domestic and international economic context with economic growth slowing down to 3.4 percent and unemployment rate standing at 7.6 percent, reflecting the mismatch between market demands and the skills available.

The 2016/2017 budget contains various measures to boost the economy in the midst of major challenges facing Mauritius. The Minister has widely consulted with the key stakeholders and the budget proposal reflects some of their recommendations. There is clearly a greater sense of urgency to address the challenges as well as commitment to steer Mauritius back to a high performance economy.

We welcome the new direction to open the economy for international investors, improvement in efficiency in public sector, minimal changes to tax measures as well as incentives for increased investment and programmes to alleviate poverty. Whether these measures will be sufficient to lift the country to the “new normal” growth rate from 3 percent to 3.5 percent will depend upon the ability of the government to implement the various initiatives as well as the private sector playing a key role in the new era of development.