Parliament: The budget will not help the country to overcome the crisis, said Paul Bérenger

----------------------------------------------------------The opposition leader, Paul Berenger, has not been happy to the budget presented by Finance Minister Xavier Luc Duval. At the kick-off budget debates this Tuesday, November 8, he drew a bleak picture of the economic situation.

Paul Berenger has not made ​​a gift budget of Xavier-Luc Duval. At the kick-off budget debates this Tuesday, November 8, he has repeatedly stated that the Finance Minister has not taken advantage of the flexibility available to it to rectify the economic situation. " The main objective of this budget, as announced by the Minister of Finance, was to revive the economy, we note however that this was a failure , "he said. According to Paul Berenger, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is currently estimated at 4.2% planned to increase to 4%. It goes even further by suggesting that by next year, these numbers could drop to 3.8%. The opposition leader took the opportunity to launch a picnic to the Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Rundheersing Bheenick, who said that the percentage of GDP is projected to increase to 6%. In terms of employment, the leader of the Opposition also made ​​unflattering figures. He said that unemployment will continue to increase, and that it will be young people under 25 who will be most affected. " 35% of our unemployed are under 25 years , "he said. Paul Berenger also said to expect a mass dismissal in several sectors of the economy. The leader of the MMM also criticized the Minister of Finance, which he was not able to provide figures on the rate Investment in Mauritius. He also lamented the fact that the finance minister has presented no data on the current account budget. According to Paul Berenger, these are numbers that can actually give an indication of the country's economic health. The tax on SMS has also not escaped the opposition leader who believes that this is unfair to the young. " This tax is totally contradictory to the vision of making ICT a pillar of the economy , "he argued. Regarding the ads made ​​by the Minister of Finance to boost the sector of Small and Medium Enterprises, Paul Bérenger argued that it is skeptical. Although the rate of interest to the loan for SMEs was revised from 14% to 8.5%, it continues to make reservations, explaining that this interest rate is still very hard to key players this sector. " It will also monitor the actions of banks that have agreed to offer such rates as banks are not charities , "he stressed. " With regard to the Development Bank, I believe that even if it was converted into a bank for SMEs, the finance minister would also have submitted a support Mechanism, as was the case in South Africa " , he said.Paul Berenger has also complained that Xavier Luc Duval has not uttered a word on infrastructure, including the Harbour Bridge, or light rail projects and Jin Fei Neo Town. But Paul Berenger was less critical of the increased funds to help the sick to have surgery abroad, which increased from Rs 200,000 to Rs 500,000. " I welcome this measure because it helps fund has not been seen since 1999 , "he said. Second measure welcomed by Paul Bérenger: the installation of submarine optical cable linking Mauritius to Rodrigues. However, for Rodrigues, the leader of the Opposition said is unfortunate that the Minister of Finance has no plans to solve the water problem.