Tengur on the 2024-25 Budget: “Absence of flagship projects to resize the economy”

“In the absence of flagship projects to give a new dimension to the economy, it is rather a continuity budget that the minister proposed for more than two hours in Parliament.” This is how the president of the Association for the protection of the environment and consumers (Apec) summarizes the 2024-25 Budget.

According to Suttyhudeo Tengur, “this budget mainly includes increases or adjustments in ministerial expenditure, the basic pension and other social benefits, minimum income and a whole host of aid to different social strata”.

However, the Apec president asserts that “there was an electoral aspect of this budget with the reduction in the price of gas – from Rs. 240 to Rs. 190 per cylinder, subsidies for flour and support for bakers for maintaining the price of homemade bread at Rs. 2.60 per unit”. “Social benefits increase from July by Rs 500. Allowances for pregnant women, the minimum wage which increases to Rs 20,000. And certainly, to please the vast majority of Mauritians, there has not yet been a generalized increase in “rum topettes or cigarettes” as is generally the case.

“The minister listed a whole string of measures to support the country's different productive sectors, starting with agriculture to reach the manufacturing sector, including the need to digitalize SMEs.

But even if the temptation was strong for the regime to indulge in great electoral generosity, this was not obvious, because the minister preferred to place this budget under the theme 'inclusivity and sustainable development'. In short, the government has won its bet on this 5th Budget,” concluded Suttyhudeo Tengur.