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Minister of Finance & Economic Development of Mauritius | |
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since 12 November 2019 | |
Appointer | President of the Republic |
Term length | Five years or earlier, renewable |
Formation | 12 March 1968 |
Website | Ministry of Finance & Economic Development |
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Mauritius is a ministerial department found in the Cabinet of the government of the republic. It is considered as the most executive and important ministry in the cabinet after the Prime Minister's Office. The minister of finance is the most desirable position in the cabinet of the country except of the prime minister. Most of the times being the Deputy Prime Minister or any other senior member of the cabinet. Created along with the cabinet on 7 July 1968, since then it is found in the cabinet.
There are other departments falling under the aegis of the office such as economic development or empowerment. The department is not to be confused with the minister of economic planning as the minister of finance is the sole person in charge of the yearly budget for governmental and parliamentary works. The incumbent minister is Renganaden Padayachy who took office as from 12 November 2019.
The ministry of finance in the country is a very important department. It controls all the economic activities of the country as well as determines major price index of all the staples and all other commodities subsidies and taxes. It also determines the price of petrol and gas.
The Central Bank of Mauritius falls under the department and is accountable to the minister. Often considered as the post of the most eligible future prime minister, the minister of finance plays a rather important role in a government as it may decide if the economics policies brought forward by the political party in power are good or rather futile. This may result in a change in people's vote which may oust a government to a new party for a better economic management.
Many Finance ministers have shaped the economy and brought about significant economic changes and benefits to the country working under the lead and guidance of their prime ministers. Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo was one of these Finance ministers from 1983 to 1991 in the cabinet of Anerood Jugnauth where he introduced ideas and policies developed by Jugnauth. [1]
In some other cases like in 2000 to 2003, then finance minister Paul Bérenger who was also deputy prime minister, brought some of his own economic ideas and development which resulted in a constructive economic sector known as the BPO. Berenger became prime minister in 2003 and appointed Pravind Jugnauth as the head of finance and his deputy. Pravind Jugnauth also held the office with his own ideas and initiatives without the need to constantly seek the lead of Bérenger. This led to conflict between them and the eventual dissolution of their coalition after they lost the 2005 general election to Navin Ramgoolam.
In 2005 when Navin Ramgoolam came to power, he formed a new cabinet and appointed Rama Sithanen as namesake minister. Sithanen introduced a series of economic policies and implementations such as free public transport to students and senior citizen and also the removal of Subsidies on O level and A level examinations in High School.
In 2010, after retaining power for the second successive mandate Navin Ramgoolam formed a new government in alliance with the Militant Socialist Movement. The leader of the MSM, Pravind Jugnauth was re-appointed as Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. He also implemented his own policies and economic changes as per his party's program within the coalition. This led to tension, compounded by the Medpoint scandal that led to the split of their alliance.
In December 2014, Ramgoolam lost the general election. Anerood Jugnauth, who defeated him, formed a coalition government and brought back Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo in the hope of creating a Second Economic Miracle. [2]
The salary of the minister of finance is the same as a cabinet member unless, the office holder is also appointed as deputy prime minister or vice prime minister. The salary is as follows
Office | Salary Yearly |
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Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Finance | Rs 1,800,000 US $60,000 |
Vice Prime Minister Minister of Finance | Rs 1,740,000 US $58, 000 |
Cabinet Minister | Rs 1,740,000 US $58, 000 |
The person holding the office of Finance for the longest run remains Rama Sithanen who held the office for a run of 9 years. The person to hold the office for a shortest run is Vasant Bunwaree who held the office for 3 years.
The known and sometimes formally documented history of Mauritius begins with its possible discovery by Austronesians under the Austronesian expansion from pre-Han Taiwan, circa 1500 to 1000 BC, and then by Arabs,, followed by Portuguese and its appearance on European maps in the early 16th century. Mauritius was successively colonized by the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, and became independent on 12 March 1968.
Politics of Mauritius takes place in a framework of a parliamentary democracy. The separation of powers is among the three branches of the Government of Mauritius, namely the legislative, the executive and the Judiciary, is embedded in the Constitution of Mauritius. Being a Westminster system of government, Mauritius's unicameral house of parliament officially, the National Assembly, is supreme. It elects the President and the Prime Minister. While the President is voted by a single majority of votes in the house, the Prime Minister is the MP who supports a majority in the house. The President is the Head of State while the prime minister has full executive power and is the Head of Government who is assisted by a council of Ministers. Mauritius has a multi-party system. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Mauritius a "full democracy" in 2022.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. A central figure of Mauritian politics in the 1980s and 1990s, he was Leader of the Opposition from 1976 to 1982. He served four consecutive terms as prime minister from 1982 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2003. He was then elected as President from 2003 to 2012. Following his party's victory in the 2014 general elections, he served his sixth and final term as prime minister, becoming the nation's longest serving prime minister with more than 18 years of tenure, overtaking Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who held the office for 14 years.
Paul Raymond Bérenger is a Mauritian politician who was Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005. He has been Leader of the Opposition on several occasions – from 1983 to 1987, 1997 to 2000, 2005 to 2006, 2007 to 2013, October 2013 to 15 September 2014, and again from December 2014 to December 2016 when he was replaced by Xavier-Luc Duval. Following his party's defeat in the 2014 general elections, he became Leader of the Opposition for the sixth time, making him the longest ever to serve in this constitutional position. He was also deputy prime minister from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2000 to 2003, and he was a cabinet minister in the government of Anerood Jugnauth in 1982 and 1991. Bérenger, a Christian of Franco-Mauritian descent, has been the only non-Hindu prime minister of Mauritius, or, more particularly, the only prime minister who has not belonged to the Jugnauth or Ramgoolam families.
Since 1967, Mauritius has experienced 12 free and fair democratic general elections to choose a government.
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Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, is a Mauritian politician who twice served as the Prime Minister of Mauritius and leader of the Labour Party (Mauritius). He was Leader of the Opposition from 1991 to 1995. He served as Prime Minister for the first time from December 1995 until September 2000, and then became Leader of the Opposition again from October 2000 to 4 July 2005. On 5 July 2005, he became prime minister for a second term after his coalition, "Alliance Sociale" won the general elections. He was re-elected Prime Minister in 2005, serving till 2014, when he was defeated.
The Militant Socialist Movement is a centre-left political party in Mauritius. It is the single largest political party in the National Assembly of Mauritius, having won 42 of the 69 seats in the 2019 general elections. It also holds the largest number of seats in all city/town councils through the country with 60 councillors out of 120. The party tends to be more popular amongst Indo-Mauritians.
The prime minister of Mauritius is the head of government of Mauritius. He presides over the Cabinet of Ministers, which advises the president of the country and is collectively responsible to the National Assembly for any advice given and for all action done by or under the authority of any minister in the execution of his office.
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is a Mauritian politician serving as the prime minister of Mauritius since January 2017. Jugnauth has been the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party since April 2003. He has held a number of ministerial portfolios and also been Leader of the Opposition.
Charles Gaëtan Xavier Luc Duval is a Mauritian politician who is the present Leader of the Opposition and was also Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius in the cabinet of Sir Anerood Jugnauth from December 2014 to December 2016. He was also Minister of Tourism & External Communications and serves as 1st Member of Parliament elected from Constituency No 18 Belle Rose & Quatres Bornes. He is the leader of the Mauritian Social Democrat Party (PMSD). His party has 4 MPs at parliament and he succeeded Arvin Boolell as Leader of Opposition on 4 March 2021.
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The Militant Socialist Movement/Mauritian Militant Movement (MSM/MMM) is coalition party that formed the government of the Republic of Mauritius from September 2000 to July 2005. The coalition has been reformed in April 2012 after an electoral agreement between the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) and Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) was made with Sir Anerood Jugnauth as leader. The agreements remain the same, 30 seats for the MMM and 30 seats for the MSM. It has also been conveyed that SAJ would be prime minister for 3 years and Paul Berenger would take over for the rest of the parliamentary term if the coalition wins the next general elections. It has also been agreed that Pravind Jugnauth who is leader of the MSM will not be in the Front Bench of the coalition in an eventual government of the MSM/MMM. This is because he has been provisionally charged with using office for gratification by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. He will therefore seat as a back-bencher until he is dismissed from all accusations.
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