PORT LOUIS (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)
(Reporting by Villen Anganan; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning and Ed Osmond)
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