In Mauritius, Navin Ramgoolam, new Prime Minister resulting from the legislative elections of November 10, announced an audit of public finances. With his cabinet due to take office today, he claims the financial figures were distorted by the former finance minister. Ramgoolam is committed to clarifying financial and monetary management which raises many questions.
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With our correspondent in Port-Louis, Abdoolah Earally
During a gathering in Port-Louis, Sunday November 17, the new prime minister announced a full investigation into the state of public finances. Navin Ramgoolam said the figures from the Ministry of Finance are “ fake » and committed to restoring the truth.
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According to his entourage, the critical points concern the difficult end of the month of the Public Treasury, as well as the national debt, whose ratio in relation to GDP has reached 79%, a level considered alarming by many economists.
The figures which will also be re-examined are unemployment, officially presented at 6.3%, and national growth of 6.5% announced for this year, while the IMF estimated it at 4.9%.
First concrete action of this inventory: Navin Ramgoolam appointed the former Minister of Finance, Rama Sithanen, to the post of governor of the Bank of Mauritius. Among other things, his mission will initially be to shed light on the controversial monetary management of the institution.
At the heart of the suspicions is the creation of a subsidiary, the Mauritius Investment Corporation, after the Covid-19 pandemic to help companies in difficulty. The fund of approximately 1.7 billion euros – or 81 billion rupees – allocated to this structure was described as ” pure and simple monetary creation » by former Financial Services Minister Sushil Kushiram. This would have led to a significant fall in the rupee and a persistent shortage of foreign currency in Mauritius.