Mauritius aims to halve budget deficit next fiscal year
PORT LOUIS, June 5 (Reuters) - Mauritius aims to halve its budget deficit to 4.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year that starts in July, its prime minister said on Thursday, adding that urgent changes were needed to improve the health of public finances.
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, elected in November, accuses the previous government of falsifying the country's GDP, budget deficit and debt figures for years.
He kept the finance ministry portfolio for himself to keep a close watch over the Indian Ocean archipelago's economy.
"Our commitment is to bring the budget deficit, the borrowing requirement and debt to sustainable levels within the next three years," Ramgoolam said in a budget speech.
Budget documents showed overall spending was expected to rise to 261 billion Mauritius rupees ($5.8 billion) in the upcoming fiscal year, from a revised 252 billion rupees in 2024/25.
Revenue was projected to increase to 224 billion rupees from 182 billion rupees.
The government's borrowing requirement is seen falling to about 40 billion rupees in 2025-26 from 76 billion rupees in the current fiscal year.
The former finance minister has not responded to the prime minister's allegation that key economic indicators were misstated.
Both he and the ex-central bank governor have been charged with fraud over alleged embezzlement at a state-owned company. They deny wrongdoing and are out on bail.
Mauritius markets itself as a link between Africa and Asia and has shifted its focus from sugar, textiles and tourism towards financial services, business outsourcing and luxury real estate in recent years.
Its economy grew 4.7% in 2024, and its statistics office forecasts growth of 3.3% this year.
($1 = 45.2200 Mauritius rupees)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
More than a dozen ICE officers are trapped in sweltering shipping container with the migrants they deported
More than a dozen ICE officers alongside a group of eight migrants that had been placed on a deportation flight originally bound for South Sudan are now being held in a converted shipping container on a US naval base in Djibouti in the stifling heat, in horrendous conditions. The men and their guards are dealing with baking hot temperatures, smoke from nearby burn pits and the looming threat of rocket attacks, the Trump administration said. Neither the officers or migrants can leave container until the matter has been resolved by the courts, which could take weeks. Officials outlined grim conditions in court documents filed before a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to swiftly remove migrants to countries they didn't come from. Authorities landed the flight at the base in Djibouti, about 1,000 miles from South Sudan, more than two weeks ago after US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston found the Trump administration had violated his order by swiftly sending eight migrants from countries including Cuba and Vietnam to the east African nation. The judge said that men, which include murderers and sexual abusers from Myanmar, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Mexico and South Sudan must have a real chance to raise fears about dangers they could face in South Sudan. All eight were accused of being convicted criminals by the Trump administration and deported in late May after their respective origin countries all rejected them being returned. The men's lawyers have still not been able to talk to them, said Robyn Barnard, senior director of refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, whose stated mission is to ensure the United States is a global leader on human rights. 'This Massachusetts District judge is putting the lives of our ICE law enforcement in danger by stranding them in Djibouti without proper resources, lack of medical care, and terrorists who hate Americans running rampant,' DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. 'Our @ICEgov officers were only supposed to transport for removal 8 convicted criminals with final deportation orders who were so monstrous and barbaric that no other country would take them. This is reprehensible and, quite frankly, pathological.' On Friday, Barnard spoke at a hearing of Democratic members of Congress and said some family members of the men had been able to speak with them on Thursday. The migrants have been previously convicted of serious crimes in the US, and President Donald Trump's administration has said that it was unable to return them quickly to their home countries. The Justice Department has also appealed to the Supreme Court to immediately intervene and allow swift deportations to third countries to resume. The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Republican administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally. The legal fight became another flashpoint as the administration rails against judges whose rulings have slowed the president's policies. The Trump administration said the converted conference room in the shipping container is the only viable place to house the men on the base in Djibouti, where outdoor daily temperatures rise above 100F, according to the declaration from an ICE official. Nearby burn pits are used to dispose of trash and human waste, and the smog cloud makes it hard to breathe, sickening both ICE officers guarding the men and the detainees, the documents state. The stench is so bad and the air so polluted that some officers now sleep with face masks on. Officers and detainees became sick within 72 hours of landing in Djibouti. So far, thirteen ICE officials have fallen ill and are suffering from respiratory infections, together with the extreme heat and cramped living conditions. The ICE officials are experiencing 'coughing, difficulty breathing, fever, and achy joints,' the court documents state. They don't have access to all the medication they need to protect against infection, and the ICE officers were unable to complete anti-malarial treatment before landing, an ICE official said. 'It is unknown how long the medical supply will last,' Mellissa B. Harper, acting executive deputy associate director of enforcement and removal operations, said in the declaration. The group also lacks protective gear in case of a rocket attack from terrorist groups in Yemen, a risk outlined by the Department of Defense, the documents state. Along with the deportees, the ICE agents are forced to stay in the makeshift detention center with just six beds between the entire group. The detainees are also facing uncomfortable conditions only being able to shower once every other day while being subjected to 'pat-downs and searches' every time they need to use the restroom, some 40 yards away from the container in where they're being held. 'The conference room in which the aliens are housed is not equipped nor suitable for detention of any length, let alone for the detention of high-risk individuals,' Harper wrote. 'Notably, the room has none of the security apparatus necessary for the detention of criminal aliens. If an altercation were to occur, there is no other location on site available to separate the aliens, which further compromises the officers' safety.'
Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Unite union had ‘pervasive fraud environment', leaked report says
One of Britain's biggest trade unions had a 'pervasive fraud environment', a leaked auditors' report has concluded. Global tax advisory firm BDO found there had been a culture at Unite that 'did not challenge the appropriateness of transactions' and failed to ensure appropriate financial reporting. The review, which took four years, concluded that 'dominant personalities and a weak control environment facilitated opportunities to commit fraud' at the union. The audit was ordered by general secretary Sharon Graham shortly after she entered her role in 2021 amid questions about accounting and spending on building a hotel and conference centre in Birmingham. Its findings were presented to the union's executive council on Friday. Unite said the probe uncovered a £53.8 million 'impairment' related to the difference between the original valuation of the Birmingham project used to calculate the 'book value' by the auditors at the time, and the real value. 'This process has quite frankly been an ugly one' The BDO report also said there had been 'unusual relationships' between former senior staff and Unite's customers and suppliers, according to the BBC which obtained a copy of the 35-page document ahead of its publication. In response, Ms Graham, who has pledged to strengthen internal governance practices, said: 'On behalf of Unite's 1.2 million-plus members, I promised on my election that I would uncover the truth about historic alleged corruption related to the Birmingham hotel project. 'This process has quite frankly been an ugly one, where I have endured attacks and smears from those with much to lose, but they have not deterred me. 'The re-audit is in its final stages and as we move to completion, I will ensure steps are taken so that this can never happen again and we have already started the process of getting our money back. 'Over the last three years of my leadership, I have refocused our union on to the jobs, pay and conditions of our members and we have secured a union that is financially strong and able to fight for workers.'
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
State Dept says current US visas from travel ban countries will not be revoked
The State Department instructed U.S. embassies and consulates on Friday not to revoke visas previously issued to people from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries now under President Donald Trump's new travel ban, which goes into effect next week. In a cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic missions, the department said 'no action should be taken for issued visas which have already left the consular section' and that 'no visas issued prior to the effective date should be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.' However, visa applicants from affected countries whose applications have been approved but have not yet received their visas will be denied, according to the cable, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting on Monday. Still, the cable, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, suggests there should be no issue for current visa holders from the affected countries entering the United States after the restrictions take effect on June 9 at midnight ET. During Trump's first term, a hastily written executive order ordering the denial of entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries created chaos at numerous airports and other ports of entry, prompting successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy. The new proclamation, which Trump signed on Wednesday, appears designed to beat any court challenge by focusing on the visa application process. Rubio's cable says the only people who should be denied entry into the U.S. are those currently outside the United States who do not have a valid visa on the effective date. Despite Rubio's cable, physically entering the United States at a port of entry is not controlled by the State Department. It is up to the Department of Homeland Security and the discretion of individual Customs and Border Patrol agents to determine if a visa holder is admitted or turned away. The visa ban applies to people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Other visa restrictions will apply to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some exceptions apply only for specific countries, like Afghanistan. Others are for most of the countries on the list, or are more general and unclear, like the policies for foreign visitors planning to come to the U.S. for the 2026 Word Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, two of the events Trump has said he is excited to host. Rubio's cable said criteria for the exemptions under a national security waiver would be issued soon.
