BUDGET 2026/27 — In a memorandum submitted to Finance: APEC advocates the restoration of household purchasing power

The 2026/27 budget will have to restore the purchasing power of households, revive growth and guarantee the sustainability of public finances. This is what Suttyhudeo Tengur, president of the Association for the Protection of Environment and Consumers (APEC), argues in a memorandum submitted to the Ministry of Finance as part of the preparation of the next budget.

In a constrained economic context, the main challenge will be to reconcile budgetary discipline and economic dynamism, he said. The APEC brief proposes making budgetary consolidation “the central pillar of economic strategy”, with clear objectives: gradually reduce public debt to 70% of GDP, contain the deficit below 4% and achieve a primary surplus. However, this rigor cannot be based solely on reducing spending.

Increased revenue mobilization is considered essential, notably through better tax compliance, reducing leakages and modernizing the administration. New sources of income, from the digital economy or environmental taxation, could also be explored, without increasing the burden on the most vulnerable households.

At the same time, emphasis must be placed on the need to redirect public spending towards high-impact investments, particularly in infrastructure, renewable energy and digital transformation. The objective is clear: favor productive sectors in order to stimulate sustainable growth. However, the document points to a major deficit: the lack of execution of public policies. Several key initiatives from the previous budget, such as the blue economy or artificial intelligence, remain “at an embryonic stage”. Likewise, employment policies struggle to produce concrete results, due to a persistent gap between training and market needs.

This weakness in implementation has direct consequences: it limits expected revenues and increases recourse to debt. To remedy this, it is proposed to strengthen monitoring mechanisms, with clear deadlines, regular evaluations and a central unit responsible for piloting the execution of projects. The document also emphasizes the urgency of "rethinking the Mauritian economic model”. The objective is to move from an economy driven by consumption and supported by debt to a model focused on production, productivity and exports. With this in mind, several levers are identified: improvement of the business climate, digitalization of public services, simplification of administrative procedures and strengthening of the private sector, in particular SMEs.

The external sector and the energy issue are also at the heart of the priorities