Budget 2016/2017: When citizens get involved

The suspense is ongoing. The pre-budget consultations are nearly over, but proposals from members of the public continue to flood social networks. Never has a national budget exercise derived so much interest or motivated so many citizens to get involved.

“Boost”, “relaunch”, “miracle”… Whatever the term used to describe the need to rekindle the economy, the fact remains that the next budget needs to provide the necessary spark to get the economy rolling. Newly appointed Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth, at the helm of the country’s finances for barely two months, has presented the Budget on three occasions in the past (2004, 2005 and 2010).

However, contrary to previous budgets, the current exercise is taking place in a particular socioeconomic and political context, and the Finance Minister must have surely grasped the issues at stake, given the many challenges being faced and the expectations of the population at large. While the date of the Budget presentation is yet to be announced, about 25,000 citizens are expressing themselves and their concerns on the official page of Mauritius Finance on Facebook. The page administrators have already consolidated all the proposals contributed by members of the public into a 144-page document which technicians are dissecting, in order to retrieve materials for further analysis. (The document is available on the Facebook page).

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"21670","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-36413 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"238","height":"235","alt":"mauritiusfinance"}}]]A quick glance at this document reveals the main worries of the population. Our citizens are not interested in Smart Cities or overhyped projects, but are more concerned about improvement in public transport, job creation at all levels, and most important of all, the easing of procedural burdens when dealing with public services. On this latter issue, numerous constructive criticisms have been made on the civil service. Entrepreneurship is also high on citizens’ agenda.

Netizens who are active on MauritiusFinance page have also proposed interesting ideas on how to boost sectors such as agriculture, ICT, Ocean Economy, Education and Renewable Energy.

Wide participation from civil society has also fostered interesting debates on various socioeconomic issues, which each citizen bringing his ideas, inspired from personal experiences. Most of those active online are of the view that a Budget exercise should not be routine, as we have been used to so far, but should be constantly innovated and more geared towards strategic orientation and long term planning, taking into consideration the real aspirations of the population. Citizens want clear and realisable objectives and measures that benefit the population as a whole.

Tax issues The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) has been ranked 13th globally in the Ease of Doing Business survey. Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth has expressed his wish that the MRA soon joins the Top Ten in terms of service delivery in tax collection. On their part, citizens on MauritiusFinance page have highlighted a number of cases where tax administration should be reviewed for greater equality and fairness, especially when it comes to tax allowances. Taxation is one of the most commented upon issue on the online blog.

Our readers speak out

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"21671","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-full wp-image-36414 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"350","height":"279","alt":"plastic-trash-bottles"}}]]Plastic nuisance “The government has rightly banned traditional plastic and imposed the usage of biodegradable plastic only, in order to protect our environment. However, the campaign was limited to replacing one type of plastic with another, with no focus on educating the population of refraining to dump plastic bags and products everywhere. Before, we used to dump polluting plastic. Today we are dumping biodegradable plastic. It should be noted that biodegradable plastic does not decompose overnight. So, today, biodegradable or not, plastic is still clogging our drains and rivers and is being littered on our roadsides, our beaches, other public places and in nature. There is a whole education and awareness program to be done. On the other hand, our consumption of products in plastic bottles is increasing exponentially. Our waste comprises of a large volume of plastic bottles, as not all such bottles are recycled. Given the trend, it is time that bottlers are forced to take responsibility. New legislations should compel them to participate massively in the collection and recycling of plastic bottles, and why not impose a plastic tax on these bottles to fund the recycling activities.” Zohra G

Mauritius in flowers “The country is in dire need of thorough embellishment. It is a pity that most of our roadsides are covered with poorly maintained thick vegetation causing eyesore to locals and tourists alike. Why not plant flowers by the roadsides? Why not launch a ‘Fleurir Maurice’ campaign, as was done in the 80s, to encourage people and enterprises to plant flowers, embellish their yards and their property frontage? We could launch national and regional contests with attractive prizes to motivate people. In the same context, we could launch campaigns to plant trees and flowers on beaches, public spaces, roadsides, etc and tackle the issue of bare land causing nuisances with high weeds. Such a national exercise will not only improve the image and make the environment more beautiful but will also produce positive energy vibes for better living. Alongside, a number of jobs will be created.” Deeya R

Social aid targeting “Using targeting system in the allocation of social aid is a very controversial issue. There are two schools of thoughts: On the one hand, there are those who feel that universal pension is a must as anyone who has worked in Mauritius has also contributed throughout his/her career to the National Pensions Fund. Whether one is rich or poor, he or she equally deserves an old age pension upon retirement. On the other hand, there are those who argue that rich people, those who earn high income should not be eligible for old age pension and other social benefits. If they are excluded, then the funds saved can be reallocated to needy persons.

Politicians try to avoid the question, as it is politically risky for any government to resort to targeting. However, with an ageing population and a drain on resources, sooner or later government will have to tackle this issue. But how to proceed? Mauritian citizens are not prepared to see a brutal change in the way pensions are paid. Government should rather proceed step by step. The first step is to set up a voluntary renunciation scheme, encouraging the haves to voluntarily waive their rights to a pension in favour of the have-nots. The saved pensions can then be reused in poverty alleviation programmes. A sponsorship system could also be set up whereby rich retirees are encouraged to sponsor a poor family with their donated pension. Gradually, Mauritians will get used to the notion that targeting is necessary and it will be easier for a government to push for reforms.” Manoj P

Renovation

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"21672","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-36416","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"500","height":"234","alt":"economie"}}]] “Mauritius is set to become a vast construction site, with many approved projects waiting to kick off. Among them, Smart Cities, shopping malls, hotels, residential complexes under the Property Development Scheme, etc. However, we must not forget old buildings which need a ‘relooking’. Government should provide incentives to encourage building owners across towns and villages to renovate their properties. This will boost employment at lower levels for a number of tradesmen and small contractors: masons, cleaners, landscaping specialists, plumbers, painting contractors, aluminium openings suppliers, etc. The Budget must come up with a ‘Renovation and Modernisation Scheme’.”  Twahir K

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"21673","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-36415 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"250","height":"188","alt":"public-transport"}}]]Cashless society “The Finance Minister recently announced that the government will not proceed with the project of issuing new bank notes, thus saving the country at least Rs 600 million representing the cost of the whole exercise. This is a right decision indeed as Mauritius should not embark on such costly projects since we have got other priorities. The trend nowadays is more towards cashless society, starting with public transport using smart card payment system. We already have the necessary technology to switch to modern efficient cashless payment methods. In Mauritius, apart from credit card payments, we already have such things as ‘Orange Money’, ‘Juice’, ‘Moov’, etc. We need to be able to adopt other international systems such as ‘Paypal’. If we become more technology driven, we will already eliminate the use of hard cash and notes.” Mariam D

Beggars “Mauritius is widely known as a remarkable economic success in this part of the world. Even if we have pockets of poverty, the magnitude and extent are nowhere comparable to the kind of poverty we see in other countries. However, for quite some time now, we can note the proliferation of street beggars, including children, in many parts of the country, but more often on the motorway in Caudan, Port Louis and the Plac D’Armes area. While it is understood that the precarious situation of deprived families push them into begging, this should be discouraged, as it might harm our image, especially when tourists are very much present in these areas. It is surprising, not to say alarming, that the authorities remain totally indifferent to this issue. Why don’t social services intervene to find out why these people are begging on the streets and how to solve their problems? Today there are less than a dozen beggars. If left unchecked, there would be hundreds tomorrow. It is time the authorities and NGOs start taking this matter seriously.” Gavin L