The sister island is facing an unprecedented crisis. The first victims of the financial difficulties of Mauritius are the most modest employees. Aid of 1,000 rupees (€21.78) has been paid by the state for a few days to the 265,000 employees and workers whose income does not exceed 50,000 RS per year.
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The economy of Mauritius bends, but for the moment does not break. Times are tough and the worst of the economic storm is yet to come. To cushion this shock a little, the government of the sister island has been paying aid of 1,000 RS for the past few days to private sector employees and self-employed workers whose income is less than 50,000 Rs per month (€1,088.84). .
These allowances are directly credited to bank accounts since Friday, July 29, 2022.
This drop of water in the inflation of the prices of basic necessities concerns 265,000 Mauritians (nes).
This punctual help is a boost considered sympathetic, but insufficient Naim Hussany, employee at the municipality of Port-Louis, whose monthly salary is 23,000 RS (500 €) explains to Défimédia: “If you buy a bag of powdered milk, two bottles of oil and a few cans, a sum of Rs 1,000 will not be enough”.
The increase in prices is mainly due to international inflation. In addition to the price of oil and raw materials, there is the cost of renting containers. With the Covid, many metal boxes have never been repatriated to exporting countries. In 2020, the average price of a classic container was $1,500 or €1,460, today this same service is billed at $10,000 or €9,742, as Sud-Ouest wrote on July 9, 2022.
These increases are paid by consumers regardless of location and currency. However, the impact is not identical depending on the country and its economic power.
Will this help extend over time? This question deserves to be asked at a time when international tensions are spreading. The possibility of seeing the conflict generalize is now possible.
Clearly, Mauritius, like all the countries in the area, risks being permanently impacted.