Minister of Finance & Economic Development of Mauritius
Coat of arms of Mauritius
Incumbent
Renganaden Padayachy
since 12 November 2019
AppointerPresident of the Republic
Term lengthFive years or earlier, renewable
Formation12 March 1968
WebsiteMinistry 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.

Cabinet importance

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.

History

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]

Salary

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

OfficeSalary Yearly
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 MinisterRs 1,740,000
US $58, 000

Previous office holders

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.

# Name Took office Left office Party Prime Minister
British Mauritius
1Seewoosagur Ramgoolam[3]26 September 196115 August 1967Mauritius Labour Party
2Guy Forget[3]15 August 196712 March 1968Mauritius Labour Party
Independent Mauritius
1Veerasamy Ringadoo[3]12 March 196830 June 1982Mauritian Labour PartySeewoosagur Ramgoolam
2Paul Bérenger30 June 198213 April 1983Mauritian Militant MovementSir Anerood Jugnauth
3Vishnu LutchmeenaraidooApril 198315 September 1991Militant Socialist MovementSir Anerood Jugnauth
Republic of Mauritius
4Rama Sithanen15 September 199120 December 1995Militant Socialist MovementSir Anerood Jugnauth
5Vasant Bunwaree20 December 199517 September 2000Mauritian Labour PartyNavin Ramgoolam
6Paul Bérenger17 September 200030 September 2003Mauritian Militant MovementSir Anerood Jugnauth
7Pravind Jugnauth30 September 20035 July 2005Militant Socialist MovementPaul Bérenger
8Rama Sithanen5 July 200511 May 2010Mauritian Labour PartyNavin Ramgoolam
9Pravind Jugnauth11 May 201026 July 2011Militant Socialist MovementNavin Ramgoolam
10Xavier Luc Duval26 July 20116 June 2014Mauritian Social Democrat PartyNavin Ramgoolam
11Navin Ramgoolam6 June 201417 December 2014Mauritian Labour PartyNavin Ramgoolam
12 Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo 17 December 2014 14 March 2015 Militant Socialist Movement Anerood Jugnauth
13 Anerood Jugnauth 14 March 2015 24 May 2016 Militant Socialist Movement Anerood Jugnauth
14 Pravind Jugnauth[4] 25 May 2016 12 November 2019 Militant Socialist Movement Anerood Jugnauth, then Himself
15 Renganaden Padayachy[5] 12 November 2019 Incumbent Militant Socialist Movement Pravind Jugnauth

See also

References

  1. ↑ Seblin, Michaella. "Nous voulons diriger le pays". 5Plus. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Servansingh, Rajiv (23 January 2015). "A propos the Second Economic Miracle". Mauritius Times. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Guide to Government Ministers: The British Empire and Successor States 1900-1972
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". mof.govmu.org. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". mof.govmu.org:80. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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