Ministry of Finance (Mauritius)

Ministry of Finance
Ministère des Finances
Agency overview
Formed1968
JurisdictionGovernment of Mauritius
HeadquartersPort Louis, Mauritius
Ministers responsible
Agency executive
  • Bibi Fatwma Abdool Raman Ahmed, Permanent Secretary
Websitehttp://mof.govmu.org

The Ministry of Finance 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 time being the Deputy Prime Minister or any other senior member of the cabinet. It was created along with the cabinet on 7 July 1968, and since then it has been 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 Navin Ramgoolam who is also the Prime Minister, took office as from 22 November 2024.

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 MinisterMinister of FinanceRs 1,800,000US $60,000
Vice Prime MinisterMinister of FinanceRs 1,740,000US $58, 000
Cabinet MinisterRs 1,740,000US $58, 000

List of finance ministers

Portrait Name Term of office Portfolio name Party Prime minister Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam26 September1961 15 August1967 5 years, 323 days FinancePTrS. Ramgoolam[3]
Guy Forget15 August1967 12 March1968 210 days PTr[3]
Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo12 March1968 15 June1982 14 years, 95 days PTr[3]
Paul Bérenger15 June1982 22 March1983 280 days MMMA. Jugnauth[4]
Anerood Jugnauth28 March1983 30 March1983 2 days MMM[5]
MSM
Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo30 March1983 18 August1990 7 years, 141 days MSM[6]
Sir Anerood Jugnauth18 August1990 15 September1991 1 year, 28 days MSM[7][8]
Rama Sithanen15 September1991 27 December1995 4 years, 103 days MSM[9]
Rundheersing Bheenick 30 December1995 6 August1996 220 days PTrN. Ramgoolam[10]
Vasant Bunwaree27 November1996 17 September2000 3 years, 295 days PTr[9]
Paul Bérenger17 September2000 30 September2003 3 years, 13 days MMMA. Jugnauth[11]
Pravind Jugnauth30 September2003 23 December2003 1 year, 278 days MSMBérenger[12][13]
23 December2003 5 July2005 Finance and Economic Development
Rama Sithanen7 July2005 13 September2008 4 years, 308 days PTrN. Ramgoolam[9]
13 September2008 11 May2010 Finance and Economic Empowerment
Pravind Jugnauth11 May2010 26 July2011 1 year, 76 days Finance and Economic DevelopmentMSM[13]
Vasant BunwareeActing26 July2011 7 August2011 12 days PTr[14]
Xavier-Luc Duval7 August2011 6 June2014 2 years, 315 days PMSD[13]
Navin Ramgoolam6 June2014 13 December2014 190 days PTr[13]
Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo15 December2014 14 March2016 1 year, 90 days MSMA. Jugnauth[15]
Sir Anerood Jugnauth14 March2016 24 May2016 71 days MSM[15]
Pravind Jugnauth25 May2016 12 November2019 3 years, 171 days MSM[16]
P. Jugnauth
Renganaden Padayachy12 November2019 12 November2024 5 years Finance, Economic Planning and DevelopmentMSM[17]
Navin Ramgoolam22 November2024 Incumbent 1 year, 75 days FinancePTrN. Ramgoolam[18]

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. ^ abcGuide to Government Ministers: The British Empire and Successor States 1900-1972
  4. ^"Il y a 35 ans, le 5 mars 1983: Bérenger Premier ministre suppléant pour la première fois". lexpress.mu (in French). L'Express. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  5. ^Paxton, J., ed. (1983). The Statesman's Year-Book 1983-84. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. xxix.
  6. ^"Mauritian government collapses after vote on becoming republic". upi.com. UPI. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  7. ^"Ministère des Finances: le maigre bilan de Lutchmeenaraidoo". lexpress.mu (in French). L'Express. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  8. ^Hunter, B., ed. (1991). The Statesman's Year-Book 1991-92. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 861.
  9. ^ abc"Elected members of Legislative Election 2005". mauritiusassembly.govmu.org. Mauritius National Assembly. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  10. ^Hunter, B., ed. (1996). The Statesman's Year-Book 1996-97. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 887–888.
  11. ^"New government sworn in". thenewhumanitarian.org. The New Humanitarian. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  12. ^"Dans la presse du… 1er Octobre 2003: Paul Bérenger devient Premier ministre". lexpress.mu (in French). L'Express. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  13. ^ abcd"Elected members of Legislative Election 2010". mauritiusassembly.govmu.org. Mauritius National Assembly. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  14. ^"Cinq Travaillistes et Xavier Duval se partagent les ministères laissés libres par le MSM". lexpress.mu (in French). L'Express. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  15. ^ ab"Elected members of Legislative Election 2014". mauritiusassembly.govmu.org. Mauritius National Assembly. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  16. ^"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)
  17. ^"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)
  18. ^"24 ministres + 10 «junior ministers»". lexpress.mu (in French). L'Express. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
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