Pre-budget consultations: Emphasis laid on stronger public-private partnership

The importance of a stronger public-private partnership was at the fore of discussions during pre-budget consultations meetings held today in Port Louis between the Junior Minister of Finance, Mr Dhaneshwar Damry, and representatives of the private sector.

In a statement following the meeting, Junior Minister Damry highlighted that Government and the private sector agree that additional investment is needed to create jobs and drive growth. He indicated that both parties acknowledged that Government’s fiscal space is limited due to the current war in the Middle East.

According to him, proposal was made for Government to facilitate investment through public-private partnerships in four connectivity catalysts, namely the port, the airport, digital connectivity and financial connectivity. The setting-up of appropriate schemes and a conducive environment to ease investment in major national sectors were also discussed, he added.

The representative of the Outsourcing and Telecommunications Association of Mauritius, Mr Shateeaum Sewpaul, observed that several macro-level propositions were made during the meeting, such as investment in connectivity and re-skilling. The need to attract young talents and for appropriate platforms to export services were also discussed.

As for the President of Business Mauritius, Mr Arnaud Lagesse, he outlined the imperative of working in a smarter way so as to attract more tourists and investors to Mauritius, given the current global crisis. He stated that the priorities lie around port and airport opportunities, food security and artificial intelligence, while emphasising that growth must be strengthened through public-private partnerships.

For his part, the President of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Patrice Marie, underscored that dialogue between Government and the private sector is essential so as to devise solutions in times of crisis. The increase in freight, the shortage of foreign currency on the local market, support to Small and Medium Enterprises, easing of export and licencing processes were also discussed, he said.

The President of the Association Professionnelle des Transitaires de l'île Maurice, Mr Kevin Carpenen, for his part, pointed out the need for a stronger cooperation with Government. He also apprised the Junior Minister of problems the Association faces in terms of logistics and in obtaining approvals and permits in time from various Governmental departments. He thus proposed, amongst others, the creation of a Single Window Integrated Facility.

The imperative to review the fixed price contracts, the lack of local manpower, the process of recruiting foreign labour and the need to empower Mauritians to enable them to join the construction sector was outlined by the President of the Building and Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Mr Ravi Gutty. He also evoked the creation of a Construction Price Control Fund for a defined period of time as far as imported raw materials are concerned, in addition to a Construction Innovation Fund for providing incentives to enterprises who wish to invest in digitalisation as well as in research and development.

02 May 2026

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Topics: Finance