Latest news with #NavinRamgoolam
Mint
15-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
The Mauritius miracle is losing its sheen
The Mont Choisy Golf and Beach Estate in the north of Mauritius was once a vast swathe of sugarcane, the centuries-old basis of the island's economy. Where African slaves and Indian indentured labourers used to toil, French and South African pensioners now mull over the merits of a five-iron on the 14th hole. The estate is a symbol of a huge change since Mauritius won independence in 1968. Back then it was as poor as the average African country. A Nobel economics laureate reckoned the 'outlook for peaceful development" was 'poor", given the island's diversity (Indo- and Sino-Mauritians mix with Creoles and people of French descent) and its reliance on a single crop. Yet today it has Africa's second-highest GDP per person at around $12,000, eight times the African average, behind only tiny Seychelles. Democratic governments have worked with business to sell ever more lucrative things apart from sugar: textiles, tourism, offshore finance—and fancy villas. Property accounts for 80% of foreign direct investment, mostly by foreigners buying houses in estates that come with residency status. Locals have renamed Grand Baie, a village in the north, 'Rand Baie", thanks to the South African influx. But trouble is in the air. In November Navin Ramgoolam became prime minister for the third time, trouncing Pravind Jugnauth. The new government has pledged to fix the public finances to stop credit-rating agencies downgrading sovereign bonds to junk status, jeopardising the island's reputation as a financial hub. 'We're in a classic middle-income trap," says Sushil Khushiram, a former minister. Under Mr Jugnauth, Mauritius's record of good governance took a knock. He banned social media before the election after leaked audio recordings embarrassed some in ruling circles, including his wife. In February he was charged with money laundering (he denies the charges). 'Ah, now you're a proper African country," an official says a friend from the continent joked to him. Under the previous government handouts became the norm: cash for new mothers; phone credit for 18- to 25-year-olds; an obligation for firms to pay an extra end-of-year bonus. The ratio of public debt to GDP this year will be 90%. The budget deficit is expected to widen to 6.6% of GDP. A local investor notes that the former finance minister was educated in France and 'it was as if he was running the French state". The World Bank has noted that Mauritius's traditional exports are less competitive. Annual sugar exports are under half their peak in the 1980s (preferential access to EU countries ended in 2009). Textile firms that flourished after the government gave incentives to sugar barons to go into garment-making have moved to lower-wage countries like Madagascar. Tourism, accounting for a fifth of jobs, is still crucial but visitor numbers remain below the peak of 2018. The average tourist spends 11.5% less than before covid-19. Financial services, the biggest contributor to GDP, have been hit since India renegotiated a tax treaty that had made Mauritius a big conduit of capital to that country. Mauritians worry their country will get old before it gets rich. The median age is 38 years, a decade older than India's and nearly twice the African average. By 2050 its population will fall from 1.3m to 1.1m, reckons the UN. Yet Mauritius still has reasons for hope. Its strategic location in the Indian Ocean should help it strike new deals with the West, China and India. Its taxes remain low; its rule of law and democratic culture are strong; its civil service and business ethos are impressive. 'We have to adapt," argues Dhaneshwar Damry, a junior finance minister. Mauritius must attract fintech firms, large funds and family offices. He notes that JPMorgan Chase is setting up in Kenya. 'But why not Mauritius?" Rama Sithanen, the central-bank governor, says Mauritius is like Queen's Park Rangers, an English second-tier football team. It outperforms in the lower divisions of development, but finds it hard to make it to the very top. Sign up to the Analysing Africa, a weekly newsletter that keeps you in the loop about the world's youngest—and least understood—continent.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Tories accuse PM of funding tax cuts for Mauritians with Chagos deal
Sir Keir Starmer has defended the UK's £3.4bn deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while retaining control of a UK-US military base on Diego prime minister's questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called it a "terrible" deal and asked "why on earth" British taxpayers should be paying for tax cuts in Mauritius. Last week, Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam said the money from the Chagos deal would be used for debt repayments, as part of a Budget package that will see 80% of workers exempted from income prime minister said the UK risked jeopardising the "vital intelligence and strategic capability" on Diego Garcia without a deal. "Legal uncertainty would compromise it in very short order," he told MPs, adding "no responsible prime minister would let that happen".He said: "We have secured the base for the long term and that has been welcomed by our allies - by the US, by Nato, by Australia, New Zealand, India."It's been opposed by our adversaries - Russia, China and Iran. And in the second column we add Reform, following Putin, and the Tories following Reform."But Badenoch insisted the deal had "nothing to do with national security", adding that she had seen the security briefings when she was in government and it was "bad deal before and it's still a bad deal".Negotiations to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius began under the previous Conservative the terms of the deal agreed by Labour, the UK will lease use of the Diago Garcia base for a period of 99 UK will pay £165m in each of the first three years. From years four to 13, it will pay £120m a year. After that, payments will be indexed to Keir says this will average out at a cost of £101m a year, although this figure is disputed by the Conservatives, who say it will be much his Budget, Navin Ramgoolam announced plans to reduce Mauritius's public sector debt to 60% of GDP in the long term."These projections are inclusive of the revenue from Chagos, which will be used for debt repayment for the first three years," he said in a speech to the country's also announced that 80% of workers will not pay income tax but higher earners will pay comes as a panel of experts urged the UK to renegotiate the Chagos deal as it "fails to guarantee" the rights of the Chagossian panel, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, said it was "gravely concerned about the lack of meaningful participation of Chagossians in the processes that have led to the agreement".Philippe Sands KC, who represented Mauritius in its long-running legal battle with the UK over the Chagos islands, insisted this was not the case. "I want to really knock on the head this idea that all of the Chagossians were not involved in the various processes. That is simply not true," he told a House of Lords committee."It is true, however, that the Chagossian community is divided and I respect that division."The "quid pro quo" for the military base remaining on Diego Garcia was that Chagossians would be allowed to settle on the outer islands of the archipelago, he told said he understood the "bitterness and the hurt" of the Chagossian community in the UK, who were "forcibly deported from Diego Garcia and who wish to return and will not be able to return".But he said "most in Mauritius and Seychelles have made very they wish this deal to go ahead" - and they had been "deeply involved in consulting with successive prime ministers of Mauritius".He told peers the deal "will enhance Britain's position in the world" as a country that respects "the rule of law".It follows a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice saying the islands should be handed over to Sands, who revealed that he had become a Mauritian citizen in 2020, so he could take part in a hearing in person during the Covid pandemic, said he had not been working "pro bono" for the country's government but could not say how much he had been also paid tribute to Liz Truss, who he said had kicked off negotiations during her brief tenure in Number is disputed by Truss, who has blamed Boris Johnson for starting the process when he was PM.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Mauritius 'will use cash from Labour's Chagos Islands deal to scrap income tax for 81% of its population and help pay off its national debt'
Sir Keir Starmer 's deal to hand over the Chagos Islands will fund sweeping tax cuts in Mauritius, it has emerged. The Prime Minister last month signed an agreement to cede sovereignty of the stretegically-important Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius. The deal will see the UK lease back a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands, with Britain paying Mauritius an average of £101million a year for 99 years. Sir Keir said the 'net cost' of the agreement will be £3.4billion, after adjusting for factors including inflation. But opponents said the true cost is ten times as much. According to The Telegraph, Mauritius will use almost £500million of the payments to help clear its national debt. This will allow the east African country to abolish income tax entirely for 81 per cent of employed Mauritians and raise minimum salaries. It has also been pointed out how, under the Chagos Islands deal, UK taxpayers are now funding more than 4 per cent of the Mauritian government's total budget. It comes amid warnings that Britons face fresh tax rises when Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her next budget in the autumn. A black hole in the public finances has been left by Ms Reeves' humiliating U-turn on axing winter fuel payments for pensioners. The Chancellor is also under intense pressure from Labour MPs to splurge more by abolishing the two-child benefit cap. Navin Ramgoolam, the Mauritian PM, announced the tax changes in his own budget speech last Wednesday. He said the UK's payments from the Chagos deal for the next three years would be used to help pay off his country's national debt, which has reached 90 per cent of GDP. Mauritius is also poised to raise the minimum salary before an employee pays income tax to £8,073 a year, which will scrap income tax entirely for 44,000 people. 'As a result of the measures I have introduced, 81 per cent of employees in our country will not pay any income tax,' Mr Ramgoolam said, according to the newspaper. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'Labour have lost control. They've raised taxes on working families. Businesses are closing. People are losing their jobs. 'Labour's answer: fund a tax cut for…Mauritians. They are not on your side.' Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: 'The only people benefiting from Labour's higher taxes are the people of Mauritius. 'While causing a financial black hole in Britain, whacking up our taxes and planning further tax raids, Labour's Chagos surrender deal means families in Mauritius will see their taxes cut at our expense. 'This is an insult to hard-working British people who have once again been betrayed by Keir Starmer with millions more paying more in tax.' Dame Priti also highlighted Mauritius government documents that showed how the UK's Chagos payments are set to make up more than 4 per cent of the country's budget this financial year. The Foreign Office has been approached for comment.
Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Starmer's Chagos ‘surrender' will fund tax cuts for Mauritians
Sir Keir Starmer's Chagos ' surrender ' deal will fund tax cuts for Mauritians, it has emerged. The Mauritian government has said it will use almost £500 million in payments under the terms of the Chagos agreement to pay off its national debt. This will allow ministers to abolish income tax entirely for 81 per cent of employed Mauritians, and raise minimum salaries. Sir Keir has been criticised over the deal, which will cost the UK up to £30 billion over a 99-year period, including rent payments to use a joint US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands and creating a pot of development spending for Mauritius. Conservative and Reform MPs have said the 'surrender' of the islands, which have been owned by the UK since before Mauritius was granted independence in 1968, is unnecessary and expensive. The terms of the deal include rent payments of £165 million a year for the next three years for the Diego Garcia military base, which has been used for bombing runs by Britain and America in the Middle East. Mauritian leaders celebrated the deal as the ' decolonisation ' of the Chagos Islands, which lie at the centre of the Indian Ocean and are uninhabited except for military personnel. Navin Ramgoolam, the Mauritian prime minister, has now announced that the money paid by the UK will help Mauritius cut taxes, so that 81 per cent of people in the African island nation will not pay any income tax. It comes despite warnings that Britons face tax hikes in Rachel Reeves's Budget this autumn, which is now thought to contain a black hole tens of billions of pounds large. The Mauritian reforms were announced in a budget speech by Mr Ramgoolam on Wednesday, when he said that the UK's Chagos payments for the next three years would be used to help pay off the country's national debt, which has reached 90 per cent of GDP. He said that to reach a long-term debt level of 60 per cent, the government would adjust 'both the expenditure side and the revenue side of the budget', and raise the minimum salary before an employee pays income tax to £1,774 a year. That increase, of 28 per cent, will scrap income tax entirely for 44,000 people and reduce levies on all other earners. 'As a result of the measures I have introduced, 81 per cent of employees in our country will not pay any income tax,' he said, adding that he had also decided to cut VAT on some food products. After three years, British payments for the Chagos Islands will be used for a 'future fund' to 'create wealth for future generations,' Mr Ramgoolam said. Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said the announcement showed that Mauritius had taken the 'feeble and pathetic' Sir Keir 'for a ride'. 'The only people benefiting from Labour's higher taxes are the people of Mauritius,' she said. 'While causing a financial black hole in Britain, whacking up our taxes and planning further tax raids, Labour's Chagos surrender deal means families in Mauritius will see their taxes cut at our expense. 'This is an insult to hard-working British people who have once again been betrayed by Keir Starmer with millions more paying more in tax.'
TimesLIVE
06-06-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Mauritius aims to halve budget deficit next fiscal year
Mauritius aims to halve its budget deficit to 4.9% of GDP in the fiscal year that starts in July, its prime minister said on Thursday, adding urgent changes were needed to improve the health of public finances. Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, elected in November, accused 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-bn Mauritius rupees (R102.6bn) in the upcoming fiscal year, from a revised 252-bn (R98.1bn) rupees in 2024/25. Revenue was projected to increase to 224-bn rupees from 182-bn rupees. The government's borrowing requirement is seen falling to about 40-bn rupees in 2025-26 from 76-bn 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. He and the ex-central bank governor have been charged with fraud over alleged embezzlement at a state-owned company. They have denied 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.
