Mauritius has sworn in Renganaden Padayachy as its new finance minister, local media reported on Tuesday, days after incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth secured another a five-year term.
Padayachy takes the post from Jugnauth, who also held the post alongside his prime minister post. Padayachy had told Reuters ahead of his swearing in he was due to take up the post.
He is part of the new government sworn into office on Tuesday in a ceremony broadcast on local radio and television stations.
On Friday, the Electoral Commission declared that Jugnauth’s ruling Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) had won 38 of the 62 seats up for grabs while its rivals, the Labour Party and the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), garnered 13 and 9 seats respectively.
Padayachy, 48, worked as chief economist at the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry before he was appointed in January 2018 as first deputy governor of the Bank of Mauritius and chairman of the Financial Services Commission.
Padayachy, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in France, has expressed concern about income inequality.
“We will continue to shape the economy by devising policies to build resilience and also to ensure that economic growth is felt by one and all,” Padayachy told Reuters by phone.
Mauritius expects its economy, which is dependent on tourism and financial services, to expand by 4.1% next year, up from a forecast 3.8% this year. Analysts expected economic diversification to proceed regardless of who won the election.
- PORT LOUIS (Reuters)
