IMF SPECIAL DATA DISSEMINATION STANDARD PLUS –ADHERENCE OF MAURITIUS (4.40 p.m.)

Madam Speaker, with your permission, I would like to make a statement on the adherence of Mauritius to the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus, the SDDS Plus, as from today. Madam Speaker, as the House is aware, the independence of institutions, such as Statistics Mauritius and the Bank of Mauritius, were grossly undermined before November 2024. Pressure was exerted on the Statistics Mauritius and the Bank of Mauritius to dress up official statistics, thereby giving a false impression of progress and weakening their independence at the same time. We pledged when we took office to reverse this. We have done so. These institutions now work with restored autonomy and professionalism, and the credibility of our national statistics has been rebuilt. But we are not stopping there. We are making further strides in our endeavour to secure the highest standards of transparency and accountability in the production and dissemination of statistics. Today, Madam Speaker, I am glad to announce to the House, and to Mauritians in general, that Mauritius is adhering to the SDDS Plus, which is the highest tier IMF data dissemination standards, which is the most advanced and demanding of all international data standards. I would here like to add that, as a result of my Government’s efforts, Mauritius subscribed to the first level of international standards, the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) in September 2000. It was under my Government that Mauritius graduated to the SDDS in February 2012. Madam Speaker, we wanted to send a powerful signal to the world that Mauritius strictly adheres to the principles of transparency and accountability with respect to the production and dissemination of data. In 2013, during an IMF Technical Assistance mission, we, through the then Statistics Board, seized the opportunity to request the IMF’s assistance in identifying the new requirements of SDDS Plus and the steps needed towards meeting them. Unfortunately, this was followed by, I must say, inaction for the following 10 years – 10 lost years! Last year, I decided to revive this important endeavour. I set up a Steering Committee under my Office to speed up its implementation. Today, Madam Speaker, I am glad to announce that we have reached the highest level, which is the SDDS Plus.

Bravo! Bravo!

The adherence to SDDS Plus means that we are now agreeing to publish more data, faster, and with tighter guarantees on quality, integrity and openness, especially for government finance, the financial system, and external exposures. In practice, the SDDS Plus requires Mauritius to meet detailed IMF benchmarks on the coverage, the frequency and timeliness of a set of core and additional datasets that are considered essential to monitor vulnerabilities and risks in modern economies. This is, Madam Speaker, a demanding standard, but meeting it sends a powerful message to investors, to rating agencies, and also to international partners that they can rely on our statistics when taking decisions about Mauritius. This graduation is, therefore, not just symbolic; it has concrete implications for our economy. The strategic benefits for Mauritius are multi-fold – (a) Reinforced International Credibility. This is especially valuable for safeguarding Mauritius’ reputation and increasing global scrutiny of international financial centres. (b) Stronger Investment and Rating Agency Confidence. For a small open economy reliant on capital flows, this credibility premium is strategically important and for Moody’s, it will be credit positive. (c) Enhanced Financial Stability Oversight. For Mauritius, where financial services represent quite a high percentage of our GDP, as we know, at one point it was even 15%. But this now is a significant share of GDP. Therefore, this risk monitoring capacity is critical. (d) Alignment with Financial Centre Ambitions. It would serve, Madam Speaker, as a reputational anchor consistent with global financial stability standards. (e) Institutional and Governance Strengthening. These improvements will have lasting benefits well beyond compliance. (f) Efficient Access to International Markets. For a small open economy like us, adherence will facilitate access to markets for both sovereign and the private sector at a lower borrowing cost. Madam Speaker, for all these reasons, SDDS Plus is not merely a statistical benchmark, it is a strategic instrument for Mauritius. I would like to reiterate that our adherence will, inter alia, reinforce credibility as a transparent international financial centre, strengthen financial stability oversight, enhance investor confidence and support long-term economic resilience. In a global environment of heightened scrutiny and interconnected risks, SDDS Plus will provide Mauritius with a strong institutional signal of commitment to the highest standards of macro-financial transparency. Madam Speaker, I would like to highlight here that the graduation to SDDS Plus is indeed a major achievement. Only 31 countries in the world have met this standard, most of which are OECD or High-Income countries. Furthermore, I should add that Mauritius is the only, only African country to adhere to the SDDS Plus. Through this achievement, we now stand alongside advanced countries, particularly in terms of transparency, credibility and integrity of our official statistics. Let me also highlight that adherence to the SDDS Plus will make it extremely difficult for any government to try to manipulate data. Let me end by thanking the IMF for their generous and dedicated support. They responded quickly to field several missions to assist us. In particular, the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC), it was a mission which, Madam Speaker, did a full audit of our overall statistical system and framework, and this was instrumental for us to reach the SDDS Plus. I also wish to thank all those who have worked diligently to achieve our goal, including officials from my Office, the Ministry of Finance, Statistics Mauritius and the Bank of Mauritius. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Bravo PM!

Thank you, hon. Prime Minister. Do you mind, all of you, if we have a short break? Okay, let us go for tea! At 4.48 p.m., the Sitting was suspended. On resuming at 5.17 p.m., with Madam Speaker in the Chair.

You may be seated!