( 5 minutes read)
· Mauritius Finance Minister Renganaden Padayachy presented the Mauritius Budget for 2020-21 yesterday (June 4) and announced food self-sufficiency will be a major plank of the government policy
· He said the budget allocation was done to chase the dream of country becoming food sufficient
· For this purpose, there will be a Land Bank for agricultural cultivation. He also noted that Mauritian contractors will be favored for contracts upto Rs 300 M. The emphasis will be on Mauritian expertise
Mauritius Finance Minister Renganaden Padayachy presented the Mauritius Budget for 2020-21 yesterday (June 4) and announced food self-sufficiency will be a major plank of the government policy. He said the budget allocation was done to chase the dream of the country becoming food sufficient. For this purpose, there will be a Land Bank for agricultural cultivation. He also noted that Mauritian contractors will be favored for contracts upto Rs 300 M. The emphasis will be on Mauritian expertise.
The other area that received importance was tourism. In order to revive the tourism sector, the government is opting for a partnership with Liverpool. This arrangement will become functional from September 2020. This is in order to attract more tourists to Mauritius after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government will ensure that sugar cane planters will now receiv Rs 25,000 per tonne on the production of the first 60 tonnes of sugar.
The insurance that the planters paid to the Sugar Insurance Fund Board will be canceled for the production of the first 60 tonnes. Tax on
imported sugar is increased from 80% to 100%.
The subsidy on the purchase of potato seeds and onions which is currently Rs 5,000 will now be increased to Rs 25,000. In addition to
this, the DBM will grant loans with 0.5% interest to companies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The allowance that fishermen
receive in the context of bad weather goes from Rs 365 to 425. Emphasis will also be placed on the blue economy. An inland aquaculture scheme will be implemented with incentives, including 8 years tax holiday and exemption from VAT on equipment.
The Minister of Finance announced the implementation of a Data Driven Economy project at Coté d’Or. The objective of this project is to
promote creativity and artificial intelligence. This project also aims to provide support and assistance to startups for digital
transformation. To this end, the Mauritius Investment Corporation will inject money for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products and
equipment through public and private partnerships. In addition, the Human Tissue Act will be enacted.
The contribution to the National Pension Fund will no longer exist. Those who receive more than Rs 50,000 will continue 1.5% of their
wages and their employer 3%. For those who earn more than Rs 50,000, the employee will pay 3% while the employer will pay 6%.
