## Appendix I. Officials met during the Mission ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [Appendix I. Officials met during the Mission](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/tar/2025/english/tarea2025102-source-pdf.pdf) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/tar/2025/english/tarea2025102-source-pdf.pdf.md) - [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/tar/2025/english/tarea2025102-source-pdf.pdf.json) --- ### Background - Mission undertaken under a two-year project funded by the Government of Japan through the Japan Administered Account for Selected IMF Activities (JSA). - Mission dates: September 4 to 12, 2025. - Agencies compiling assessed datasets: Ministry of Finance (MOF), Bank of Mauritius (BOM), and Statistics Mauritius (SM). - Key public debt statistics: - Public debt estimated at 86 percent of GDP at the end of the 2024/25 fiscal year (end of June 2025). - Consolidated gross public debt was 64 percent of GDP at the end of December 2019. - Mauritius subscribes to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and submits quarterly debt data to the Joint IMF-World Bank Quarterly Public Sector Debt statistics database (QPSD). - Quarterly debt data are disseminated via the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) of the SDDS and via the QPSD. - Objective of the mission: - Assess PSDS compilation and dissemination against the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) for Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS) 2024. - Identify priority actions to enhance public debt data transparency. ### Summary findings — General assessment - PSDS of Mauritius are broadly accurate and timely but need improvements to align with GFSM 2014 and PSDSG 2013 and to broaden scope of reporting. - High public debt levels have translated into a high risk of sovereign stress according to IMF’s latest debt sustainability analysis of June 2025. ### Prerequisites of quality (legal, institutional, resources, quality awareness) - Legal environment: - Responsibilities identified in the Public Debt Management Act 2008 (PDMA 2008). - PDMA 2008 requires MOF to prepare a report within a month of the end of every quarter on outstanding stock of public sector debt and government-guaranteed debt; public entities required to submit debt data to the MOF within 15 days of the end of the quarter. - Recommendation: strengthen legislative framework—recognize PSDS as official statistics, clarify definition of public debt with references to international standards, and establish roles/segregation of responsibilities of the public debt management unit (PDMU) within the legal framework. - Institutional environment: - PDMU has eight staff; limited staff presents continuity risk and barrier to development/expansion of PSDS. - Recommendation: formalize data sharing and data quality assurance with BOM and SM via MoUs or similar; periodically consult users on relevance and usefulness of PSDS reports. ### Assurances of integrity and ethical standards - Professionalism and ethics: - PDMU staff demonstrate professionalism; recruitment on merit and access to training. - Code of Ethics for Public Officers and MOF Charter emphasize quality service, accountability, and integrity. - Staff are required to sign the code of conduct at recruitment and are reminded annually. - Need for more statistical training and promotion of good statistical practices within PDMU. - Transparency and disclosure gaps: - MOF data files do not meet disclosure requirements: missing terms and conditions, compiling agency, and prerelease access arrangements. - Recommendation: disclose compilation/dissemination terms, introduce an advance release calendar, and add compiling-agency information and contact details to data files. ### Methodological soundness — scope, valuation, classification - Coverage and instruments: - PSDS compiled using residency, maturity (original and residual), and currency concepts; include loans, debt securities, and IMF SDR allocations. - Coverage excludes other accounts payable (OAPs), pension liabilities, and many other contingent liabilities; public sector banks excluded (except Development Bank of Mauritius). - Financial statements show: - As of end of June 2024, outstanding accounts payables of around Rs 3.5 billion (approx. 0.5 percent of GDP). - As of end of June 2024, pension liabilities of Rs 150 billion (approx. 22 percent of GDP). - Recommendation: expand PSDS tables/reports to include OAPs and public sector liabilities related to deposits, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes with initial focus on OAPs and pension liabilities; include contingent liabilities as supplementary information. - Valuation and exchange-rate practice: - PSDS reported at face value; international preference is nominal value. - Foreign currency debt currently converted using the sell rate on the reporting date. - Priority recommendations: - Use the midpoint between the buying and selling rate when converting foreign currency debt stocks into Mauritian rupees. - Report public debt using a nominal valuation alongside existing face-value reporting and publish market value of traded debt securities as a memorandum item. ### Accuracy and reliability — source data, validation, and reconciliations - Source data and systems: - Compilers have access to timely and reliable data for instruments currently included; CS Meridian used to manage public debt data; BOM provides debt securities issuance files. - Gaps: OAPs, pension liabilities, deposit liabilities, financial leases and potential PPP-related liabilities not captured in quarterly PSDS. - Statistical techniques and quality assurance: - Missing data imputed by carrying forward the last available observation; published data marked provisional then replaced with final data. - No established policy for correction of errors or routine revision studies. - Recommendation: introduce an error correction policy; undertake regular revision studies. - Stock-flow reconciliation: - Lack of published stock-flow reconciliation hampers assessment of consistency between stocks and flows. - Recommendation: compile and publish quarterly stock-flow reconciliation tables showing transactions and other changes (e.g., exchange rate movements) as a quality-assurance and transparency measure. ### Serviceability — periodicity, timeliness, consistency, revisions - Periodicity and timeliness: - Quarterly PSDS are published within a month of the end of the quarter; quarterly time series available back to 2008. - This timeliness exceeds the SDDS requirement of dissemination within three months of the end of the quarter. - MOF may consider publishing monthly public debt totals given availability of monthly source data. - Consistency and revisions: - PSDS are internally consistent and largely consistent across publications, though some differences between MOF and SM data observed from 2019/20 onwards. - Revisions are identified as preliminary/revised/final but not systematically categorized or quantified. - Recommendations: - Routinely assess consistency of PSDS with other macroeconomic statistics and transparently explain differences. - Present revisions transparently, categorize revisions by type, publish a revision policy, and maintain access to historic publications. ### Accessibility — data, metadata, user support - Dissemination practice: - MOF publishes 19 debt tables quarterly and long quarterly time series back to 2008; data disseminated via NSDP and QPSD. - Shortcomings: limited metadata, lack of commentary and graphical presentations, advance release calendar not on MOF website for upcoming central government releases. - Recommendations: - Provide structured, comprehensive metadata explaining sources, coverage, compilation methods, concepts and divergences from international standards. - Publish graphical presentations, commentaries and an advance release calendar (minimum 6 months) with fixed time-of-day releases. - Promote and raise awareness of user support channels and bespoke data services. ### Priority recommendations (selected) - Establish the PSDS as “official statistics” and subject them to the oversight and safeguards of the Statistics Act in addition to PDMA 2008. - Clarify in the legislative framework the definition of public debt, with appropriate references to international statistical guidance which includes debt instruments not currently reported by the MOF. - Expand coverage within the most comprehensive PSDS tables/reports to include OAPs and public sector liabilities related to deposits, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes with initial focus on OAPs and pension liabilities. - Compile and publish stock-flow reconciliation tables as an additional quality assurance measure and to provide transparency on the drivers of changes in public sector debt. - Provide more comprehensive and accessible metadata in a structured format within, or alongside, the PSDS reports to explain data sources, coverage, compilation methods, concepts and definitions, highlighting any divergencies from the international statistical standards. - Operational recommendations (selected entries from mission table): - 0.1 Legal and institutional environment — Rating: LO. Recommendation: Establish PSDS as official statistics; clarify definition of public debt. - 0.2 Resources — Rating: LO. Observation: debt management unit consists of 8 staff; segregation diluted. Recommendation: Review staffing levels of the debt management unit. - 0.3 Relevance — Rating: LO. Observation: no structured user consultation process. Recommendation: Establish mechanism for periodic user needs assessment. - 1.1 Professionalism — Rating: O. Observation: staff demonstrate high professionalism and access to training. - 1.2 Transparency — Rating: LNO. Observation: MoF data files do not meet disclosure requirements. Recommendations: Transparently lay out compilation/dissemination terms and include compiling agency and contact details with metadata. ### Consistency with other macroeconomic statistics and user feedback - Consistency: - Broad alignment with external sector statistics; some differences with monetary and financial statistics, government finance statistics and national accounts, often due to different valuations or coverages. - Recommendation: routinely assess PSDS against other macroeconomic statistics and transparently explain reasons for any differences. - Users’ survey (selected results): - Institution types of respondents who regularly used PSDS: 6 Financial institution, 3 Foreign government, 4 International / regional institution, 4 Research or academic institution, 7 Public sector, 5 Other. - Primary uses reported: 22 Short-term analysis and decision-making, 19 Long-term policy development, 20 Econometric modeling and forecasting, 14 Academic or economic research, 18 International comparisons, 14 General information. - Main sources for PSDS: 19 Official national debt bulletins and press releases, 28 Government or Central Bank websites, 22 International organization publications (e.g., IMF, World Bank), 7 Media reports, 8 Academic or research institutes, 9 Private sector summaries and analyses, 0 Other. - Overall quality rating: 5 Very good, 18 Good, 6 Neutral, 0 Poor, 0 Very poor. - Coverage satisfaction: 27 Yes, 2 No. Level of detail satisfaction: 22 Yes, 7 No. Frequency satisfaction: 27 Yes, 2 No. Timeliness satisfaction: 26 Yes, 3 No. - Awareness of advance release calendar: 18 Yes, 11 No. - Consistency across domains: 22 Consistent, 7 Differences (unexplained). - Perception that official statistics are unbiased and accurate: 25 Yes, 4 No. ### Authorities’ response (selected commitments) - Response dated: November 18, 2025. - Government agrees with recommendations and will: - Review the Statistics Act to formally designate PSDS as official statistics and place them under the Act’s oversight. - Clarify the definition of public sector debt in the Public Debt Management Act and consider segregating front, middle and back office responsibilities within the Public Debt Management Unit. - Formalize information-sharing arrangements (e.g., MOU) between the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Mauritius and Statistics Mauritius. - Expand PSDS coverage gradually to include other accounts payable (OAP) and public sector liabilities related to deposits, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes, with initial focus on OAPs and pension liabilities. - Use the midpoint between the selling and buying exchange rate for converting foreign-currency debt into Mauritian rupees. - Report public debt at nominal valuation alongside existing face value measure and publish market value of outstanding debt securities as a memorandum item. - Prepare and publish stock–flow reconciliation tables to explain movements in public debt. - Present revisions clearly in future publications, categorized by type (methodological, source data, reclassification) and include explanations for major changes. - Make previous debt statistics publications accessible for comparison. - Publish an annual debt bulletin with concise analysis and graphical presentations. - Continue updating and publishing metadata alongside PSDS tables and publish an advance release calendar; promote user query channels. *IMF | Technical Report – Mauritius Data Quality Assessment for Public Sector Debt Statistics (content unit).* ### Appendix I. Officials met during the Mission ........................................................................... ### Appendix I. Officials met during the Mission ### Background - Mission undertaken under a two-year project to strengthen public sector debt statistics in select African countries, funded by the Government of Japan through the Japan Administered Account for Selected IMF Activities (JSA). - Mission dates: September 4 to 12, 2025. - Agencies compiling assessed datasets: Ministry of Finance (MOF), Bank of Mauritius (BOM), and Statistics Mauritius (SM). - Key public debt statistics: - Public debt estimated at 86 percent of GDP at the end of the 2024/25 fiscal year (end of June 2025). - Consolidated gross public debt was 64 percent of GDP at the end of December 2019. - Mauritius subscribes to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and submits quarterly debt data to the Joint IMF-World Bank Quarterly Public Sector Debt statistics database (QPSD). - Quarterly debt data are disseminated via the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) of the SDDS and via the QPSD. The MOF publishes a range of detailed quarterly public sector debt tables on their website. The BOM shares information in their monthly statistical bulletin; SM compiles and disseminates a quarterly debt of budgetary central government report. - Objective of the mission: - Identify key strengths and areas for improvement in PSDS compilation and dissemination against the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) for Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS) 2024. - Identify priority actions to enhance public debt data transparency. ### Summary Findings - General assessment: - PSDS of Mauritius are broadly accurate and timely but need improvements to align with GFSM 2014 and PSDSG 2013 and to broaden scope of reporting. - High public debt levels have translated into a high risk of sovereign stress according to IMF’s latest debt sustainability analysis of June 2025. - Prerequisites of quality (legal, institutional, resources, quality awareness): - Legal environment: - Responsibilities identified in the Public Debt Management Act 2008 (PDMA 2008). - PDMA 2008 requires MOF to prepare a report within a month of the end of every quarter on outstanding stock of public sector debt and government-guaranteed debt; public entities required to submit debt data to the MOF within 15 days of the end of the quarter. - Recommendation: strengthen legislative framework—recognize PSDS as official statistics, clarify definition of public debt with references to international standards, and establish roles/segregation of responsibilities of the public debt management unit (PDMU) within the legal framework. - Institutional environment: - PDMU has eight staff; limited staff presents continuity risk and barrier to development/expansion of PSDS. - Recommendation: formalize data sharing and data quality assurance with BOM and SM via MoUs or similar; periodically consult users on relevance and usefulness of PSDS reports. - Assurances of integrity: - PDMU staff demonstrate professionalism; recruitment on merit and access to training. - Code of Ethics for Public Officers and MOF Charter emphasize quality service, accountability, and integrity. - Need for more statistical training and promotion of good statistical practices within PDMU. - Transparency and disclosure need improvement: recommend disclosure of terms and conditions for compiling public debt tables, introduction of an advanced release calendar, and adding compiling-agency information to data files. - Methodological soundness: - PSDS compiled in line with recognized statistical concepts (residency, maturity, currency); cover loans, debt securities, and IMF SDR allocations; sector coverage guided by a published list of public sector entities. - Coverage gaps: other accounts payable (OAPs), pension liabilities, and other material contingent liabilities not fully covered; contingent liabilities reporting limited to loan guarantees by central government. - Valuation: PSDS reported at face value; international preference is nominal value. Recommendation: maintain face-value reporting but add tables showing nominal value and supplementary market value for traded debt securities; ensure foreign currency debt converted using the midpoint between the sell and buy rate on the reference date. - Accuracy and reliability: - Source data are timely, comprehensive, and sound; imputations and validations are appropriately conducted. - Lack of stock-flow reconciliation hampers full quality assurance and transparency on PSDS drivers. - Recommendation: produce and publish quarterly stock-flow reconciliation tables showing transactions and other changes (e.g., exchange rate movements). - Challenge: expand data sources to include OAPs, pension liabilities, and debts of public sector banks; many public entities file financial statements with significant delays—explore alternative data sources and improvements to timeliness/quality of financial statements. - Serviceability: - Quarterly PSDS published within a month of quarter end; internally consistent and broadly consistent with other publications though some differences between MOF and SM data observed from 2019/20 onwards. - No routine assessment of consistency with related macroeconomic statistics—recommend establishing such assessments and transparently explaining differences. - Current practice overwrites previous publications, preventing access to historical reports—recommend maintaining a comprehensive archive of previous PSDS publications and clearly presenting revisions since the preceding edition, categorized by type with explanations for atypical changes. - Accessibility: - MOF publishes 19 debt tables quarterly, with long quarterly time series back to 2008. - Dissemination via NSDP and QPSD facilitates cross-country comparability. - Less informed users may find interpretation difficult—recommend expanding reports with commentary on drivers, graphical presentations, and more comprehensive structured metadata explaining sources, coverage, methods, concepts, and divergences from international standards. - Recommendation: establish and promote a user support service to respond to queries and provide bespoke tables or additional breakdowns. ### Priority Recommendations - Establish the PSDS as “official statistics” and subject them to the oversight and safeguards of the Statistics Act in addition to PDMA 2008. - Clarify in the legislative framework the definition of public debt, with appropriate references to international statistical guidance which includes debt instruments not currently reported by the MOF. - Expand coverage within the most comprehensive PSDS tables/reports to include OAPs and public sector liabilities related to deposits, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes with initial focus on OAPs and pension liabilities. - Compile and publish stock-flow reconciliation tables as an additional quality assurance measure and to provide transparency on the drivers of changes in public sector debt. - Provide more comprehensive and accessible metadata in a structured format within, or alongside, the PSDS reports to explain data sources, coverage, compilation methods, concepts and definitions, highlighting any divergencies from the international statistical standards. - Operational recommendations noted in Table 1 (selected entries): - 0.1 Legal and institutional environment — Rating: LO. Recommendation: Establish PSDS as official statistics; clarify definition of public debt. - 0.2 Resources — Rating: LO. Observation: debt management unit consists of 8 staff; segregation diluted. Recommendation: Review staffing levels of the debt management unit. - 0.3 Relevance — Rating: LO. Observation: no structured user consultation process. Recommendation: Establish mechanism for periodic user needs assessment. - 1.1 Professionalism — Rating: O. Observation: staff demonstrate high professionalism and access to training. - 1.2 Transparency — Rating: LNO. Observation: MoF data files do not meet disclosure requirements; missing terms and conditions, compiling agency, and prerelease access arrangements. Recommendations: Transparently lay out compilation/dissemination terms and include compiling agency and contact details with metadata. *IMF | Technical Report – Mauritius Data Quality Assessment for Public Sector Debt Statistics* ### 1.3 Ethical standards ### 1.3 Ethical standards ### Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct - The Code of Ethics for Public Officers establishes the expected conduct of government officials as well as the penalties for misconduct. - The Code emphasizes core values of integrity, impartiality, respect and professionalism. - Staff are well aware of the requirements. ### Methodological soundness - In accordance with the international statistical standards, only actual outstanding liabilities on the reporting date are recognized as public debt with information provided by recognized concepts of residency, maturity (original and residual), and currency. - Scope (coverage) - The compiled and disseminated PSDS includes debts of all public sector entities (except public sector banks) but is limited to liabilities in the form of loans, debt securities, and SDRs. - As a result, significant other debt liabilities (in particular with regard to pensions) are excluded. - Priority recommendation: Expand coverage, within the most comprehensive PSDS tables/reports, to include OAPs and public sector liabilities related to deposits, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes with initial focus on OAPs and pension liabilities. - Supplementary recommendation: Include information on explicit and implicit contingent liabilities as supplementary information. - Classification / sectorization - A public sector institutional table (PSIT), developed in accordance with the concepts of the GFSM 2014, is maintained and published by Statistics Mauritius. - The PSIT guides the PSDS sectoral coverage of both general government and the public sector. - Debt instruments are categorized in line with the international statistical standards (although not all debt instruments are included within the reported PSDS). - Time of debt recording, valuation, and consolidation - Debt stocks are reported on a gross and consolidated basis, in line with the international statistical standards. - The PSDS are reported using the face value, rather than the preferred nominal valuation advocated in the PSDSG 2013. - Debt servicing transactions are recorded on a cash basis. - Foreign currency debt is converted into domestic currency using the sell rate on the reporting date, and not the midpoint rate recommended in the international statistical standards. - Priority recommendations: - Use the midpoint between the buying and selling rate when converting foreign currency debt stocks into Mauritian rupees. - Report public debt using a nominal valuation, alongside the existing debt at face value used for national purposes. ### Accuracy and reliability - Source data - PSDS compilers have access to timely and reliable data for the instruments and coverage currently included in the debt reports. - Additional data to achieve full instrument and sector coverage will need to be sourced. - Recommendation: Explore the establishment of additional data collections to source information on liabilities not currently covered in the PSDS, such as OAPs and pension liabilities. - Assessment of source data - Current data sources are reliable, and subject to appropriate checks. - There is a need to broaden the range of data sources to further increase PSDS coverage but initial indications are that there are not currently suitable timely, comprehensive and robust data sources for this expansion. - Recommendation: Improve the timeliness and quality of financial statements for public sector entities to provide a sound annual data source for expansion of the PSDS instrument coverage. - Statistical techniques - Appropriate steps are taken to impute missing source data and replace preliminary data with final data. - Statistical techniques in use are basic; additional techniques may need to be considered when expanding the sector and instrument coverage. - There is a need to establish an error correction policy to appropriately deal with any data source or compilation errors. - Recommendation: Introduce a policy for the correction of errors. - Assessment and Validation of Statistical Outputs - Debt stocks are subject to appropriate checks and validation, but the lack of published stock-flow tables hampers an assessment of the consistency between stock and flow data. - Recommendation: Compile and publish stock flow reconciliation tables as both an additional quality assurance measure and to provide transparency on the drivers of changes in public sector debt. - Revision studies - There is limited evidence of regular assessment of revisions. - Previously published data does not appear to be systematically studied to draw insights into data sources, methodological soundness or process effectiveness. - Recommendation: Undertake regular revision studies to refine preliminary data for subsequent periods and identify any persistent reporting biases. ### Serviceability - Periodicity and timeliness - Quarterly PSDS is disseminated in a very timely manner, with reports published one month after the end of the quarter. - Consistency - Disseminated PSDS are consistent within publications and largely consistent between publications, although some differences between data published by the MOF and SM are observable. - PSDS are not routinely checked against other macroeconomic statistics. - Recommendation: Routinely assess the consistency of public debt data with related measures in other macroeconomic statistics and transparently explain to users the reasons for any differences. - Revision policy and practice - Although data for recent periods are subject to revision, these revisions are not explicitly presented or categorized (other than in ad hoc footnotes to tables). - There is no information provided on typical revision cycles, the revision policy of the MOF, or any revision studies. - Recommendations: - Report revisions transparently within PSDS publications, categorizing revisions by type, and explaining unusual revisions. - Maintain access to historic/previous debt publications to allow users to directly compare the latest PSDS reports with those previously published. ### Accessibility - Data accessibility - PSDS are compiled and presented in a manner that facilitates interpretation and meaningful comparisons, with a long quarterly time series of PSDS available in Excel format. - Lack of commentary and graphical presentations may be a barrier to less informed users. - Users would benefit from more clarity around publication practices. - Recommendations: - Publish an advance release calendar which clearly highlights the planned publication dates and time of release for all upcoming debt statistics publications in the next 6 months (minimum). - Publish graphical presentations of the debt data, as well as commentaries and analysis, to make the PSDS more accessible to less expert users. - Metadata accessibility - The data is presented following the international statistical standards. - There is no guidance on any divergences from the statistical standards and the available metadata is very limited. - Recommendation: To better contribute to fiscal transparency more metadata and supporting materials should be developed to meet the different information needs of all users. - Assistance to users - A contact form is available on the MOF website and PSDS tables have been expanded over time to address requests for additional data. - More promotion is needed of how users can receive support. - Recommendation: Promote and raise awareness on where users can address queries, receive assistance and request more information. ### Detailed assessment — Prerequisites of Quality (Legal, Institutional, Resources) - Legal and institutional environment - PDMA 2008 requires the MOF to prepare a report, within a month of the end of every quarter, on the outstanding stock of public sector debt and government-guaranteed debt. - PDMA 2008 (section 10(4)) requires public entities to submit debt data to the MOF within 15 days of the end of every quarter. - Observations and recommendations: - The legislative framework could be strengthened to clarify: the relevance of the Statistics Act to public debt reporting; the definition of public debt and coverage of reporting; and responsibilities within the MOF for public debt management and reporting. - It is recommended to establish the PSDS as official statistics, subject to the expectations, oversight, and protections of the Statistics Act. - Clarify in PDMA 2008 (or related legislation) the definition of public sector debt to cover liabilities beyond loans, debt securities and SDRs, including pensions, deposits and accounts payable. - Clarify roles and responsibilities for public debt management and reporting and consider legal support for a debt management office with segregated front, middle and back office functions. - Institutional cooperation - Staff in the MOF, BOM and SM work closely together and data is shared freely; arrangements are informal and should be formalized. - Recommendation: Establish memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the three institutions specifying timing, content and format for regular data exchanges and expectations around data quality and timeliness. - Resources - The debt management unit has just eight staff responsible for both debt management and reporting functions, with the back office consisting of five staff. - Existing work pressures cause staff to be shared across the front, middle and back office, which is not good practice. - Recommendations: - Increase staff resources to support expanded reporting, metadata, analysis and interpretation. - Improve succession planning, handover periods, and maintain a comprehensive procedures manual to guide staff on data collection, validation, classification and reporting of PSDS. - IT and technical systems - CS Meridian is used to manage public debt data; loans and guarantees are entered directly while debt securities are uploaded from the BOM’s CSD system. - Data is backed up daily and a disaster recovery procedure is in place. - Recommendation: Improve integration and automation between CS Meridian and its data sources, and consider a common server (physical or cloud-based) for shared electronic documents instead of email/local laptop storage. - Skills and training - Staff mainly have qualifications and expertise in economics and accounting. - Recommendation: Provide additional focus on statistical compilation and dissemination skills through structured training programs and recruitment processes. - Relevance and user engagement - PSDS reports are developed principally to meet requirements of senior officials in the MOF and international reporting obligations (SDDS, DRS, QPSD). - Recommendation: Implement structured processes for regular consultation and solicitation of user feedback and monitor the extent to which PSDS reports meet user needs. ### Assurances of integrity - Professionalism - Staff involved in PSDS production are highly professional and supported by structured internal processes and procedures. - The Public Service Commission oversees recruitment of civil servants; opportunities for formal and on-the-job training are available. - Management demonstrates ambition to align with SDDS+ requirements. - Recommendation: Support PDMU staff in applying compilation and dissemination principles of official statistics, including appropriate measures, methods and statistical techniques. - Transparency - Compilation and release of PSDS is mandated under PDMA 2008, but this mandate and institutional arrangements are not clearly stated in published PSDS files. - PDMA 2008 requires MOF reporting within one month of the end of every quarter and public entities to submit data within 15 days, yet these terms are not explicitly presented in PSDS publications. *IMF | Technical Report – Mauritius Data Quality Assessment for Public Sector Debt Statistics* ### 29. In line with international statistical practice for transparency further disclosure is required ### 29. In line with international statistical practice for transparency further disclosure is required ### Transparency and Disclosure - Further disclosure required within published PSDS: - All main debt data files should indicate the compiling agency and provide contact details for users. - Information should be provided on individuals or functions of government which have access to the PSDS prior to public release. - Advance notice to users of changes in methodology or source data should be provided. ### Ethical Standards - Framework: - The Code of Ethics for Public Officers establishes expected conduct and penalties for misconduct. - Core values emphasized: integrity, impartiality, respect and professionalism. - Staff are required to sign the code of conduct at recruitment and are reminded annually. - The MOF Customer Charter emphasizes quality service, accountability and integrity. - Strengths: - The staff involved in debt reporting are highly professional and have a clear understanding of their obligations and core mandate. - Ethical standards are well established and upheld. - Training, formal and on the job, are provided to staff to maintain and strengthen their expertise. - Documentation and procedures are in place that support staff to maintain consistent quality standards in debt reporting. - Recommendations for Improvements: - Transparently lay out in debt publications/tables the terms and conditions under which PSDS are compiled and disseminated, including specific references to the PDMA 2008 and Statistics Act. - Include information indicating the compiling agency and contact details, along with other supporting metadata, in the published data files. - Provide advance notice of material changes in methodology or data sources. ### Methodological Soundness — Concepts and Definitions - Recognition: - Only actual outstanding liabilities are recognized as public debt within the PSDS of Mauritius, in line with international statistical standards. - Supplementary information identifies public sector loans in receipt of guarantees by the budgetary central government. - Breakdowns and concepts: - Published PSDS includes breakdowns by residency, maturity (original and remaining), and currency. - Residency is based on residence of the creditor; external debt is where the creditor is not based within the economic territory of Mauritius. - For debt securities, residency is compiled by the BOM. ### Methodological Soundness — Scope - Sector coverage: - PSDS published for the entire public sector, excluding debts of the BOM and other public sector banks (rationale: different nature of deposit-taking institutions). - Recommendation: include liabilities of public sector banks in a supplementary table for full transparency. - Instrument coverage: - Current PSDS limited to loans, debt securities, and liabilities related to IMF allocations of SDRs. - Important additional instruments to capture: OAPs, pensions, and deposits. - Financial statements (budgetary central government) indicate: - As of end of June 2024, outstanding accounts payables of around Rs 3.5 billion (approx. 0.5 percent of GDP). - As of end of June 2024, pension liabilities of Rs 150 billion (approx. 22 percent of GDP). - These amounts are material; public sector totals will be higher because financial statements do not include OAPs and pension liabilities of subsectors outside the budgetary central government. - Recommendation: provide supplementary PSDS reports and associated metadata to report more comprehensive instruments alongside national debt tables. - Contingent liabilities: - Debt reports include central government loan guarantees but not other contingent liabilities. - Under macroeconomic statistical standards contingent liabilities should be excluded from main debt statistics but reported as memorandum items for fiscal risk analysis. - PSDSG 2013 (Table 5.12) recommends inclusion of contingent liabilities related to guarantees, legal claims, indemnities, and net obligations for future social security benefits. ### Coverage and Accounting Basis (figure summary points) - Valuation and recording: - Both loans and debt securities are valued at face value (i.e., value of outstanding principal) and debt service amounts are recorded on a cash basis. - Consolidation and arrears: - Public sector banks not covered, with the exception of the Development Bank of Mauritius. - Mauritius has no debt arrears, while expenditure arrears are not covered as accounts payable are not recognized in the PSDS coverage. - PPPs / finance leases: - As at August 2025, the Mauritian government has not entered into any PPP arrangements, but financial statements indicate the presence of some financial leases. ### Methodological Soundness — Classification, Valuation, and Consolidation - Classification/Sectorization: - Statistics Mauritius compiles (with MOF) and publishes a Public Sector Institutional Table (PSIT) identifying all public sector units by subsector, compiled in accordance with GFSM 2014, reviewed and updated annually. - Time of recording and valuation: - PSDS reported using face valuation (outstanding principal for loans and redemption value for debt securities) rather than nominal valuation. - Recommended practice (PSDSG 2013): record debt at nominal value with interest accruing continuously added to debt stock. - CS Meridian (debt management system) facilitates nominal valuation; recommendation to use this functionality and publish market value of debt securities. - Recommendation: compile and disseminate PSDS at nominal value and market value alongside face value used for national purposes. - Consolidation: - PSDS are appropriately consolidated at public sector level through exclusion of lending between public units and holdings of government debt securities by public units (excluding two social security funds). - More transparency recommended: explicitly show intra-public sector loans and consolidated items (sample format referenced in Appendix III, Table A1). - Exchange rate valuation: - Currently foreign currency debts reported at the sell rate on reference date; international standards recommend using midpoint exchange rate (midpoint between buy and sell rate). - Transactions in foreign currency debt servicing should preferably be recorded at actual transaction rates (current practice in Mauritius). - Strengths: - Complete coverage of public sector (excluding public sector banks) in disseminated reports. - Appropriate application of statistical methods related to consolidation and gross debt reporting. - Good alignment with international statistical standards on public debt definition and concepts such as residency, original maturity and remaining maturity. - Recommendations for Improvements: - Use the midpoint between the buying and selling rate when converting foreign currency debt stocks into Mauritian rupees. - Expand coverage in comprehensive PSDS tables/reports to include OAPs and public sector liabilities related to deposits, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes with initial focus on OAPs and pension liabilities. - Report public debt using a nominal valuation alongside the existing debt at face value used for national purposes. - Include information on explicit and implicit contingent liabilities as supplementary information. - Transparently show all intra-public sector debt which is subject to consolidation. - Publish the market value of outstanding debt securities as a memorandum item. - Expand coverage of PSDS reports to include debts of all public financial corporations, including the BOM and other public sector banks. ### Accuracy and Reliability — Source Data and Assessment - Data systems and sources: - Compilers have access to timely and reliable data for included instruments and coverage: issuances, payments and redemptions of debt securities. - PDMU uses Excel and CS Meridian and has access to the Treasury’s Accounting System. - CS Meridian holds loan contract details, tracks disbursements and payments, and contains government debt security details uploaded from BOM issuance files. - Supplementary data is available from BOM and Statistics Mauritius. - Gaps: - Debt reports omit other debt instruments such as OAPs, pension liabilities, and deposit liabilities. - Financial statements of government entities should be studied for other gaps: finance leases and standardized guarantee schemes. - New data requirements: - Timely and reliable data sources needed for public sector-wide OAPs, pension liabilities, financial leases and potential PPP-related liabilities. - To compile contingent liabilities as recommended, additional data is required. - For comprehensive debt reporting, quarterly data sources are needed; with current availability it may be necessary to begin by establishing annual data sources. - Assessment of source data: - Existing sources are reliable, well understood, checked for internal consistency and cross-checked. - Room to broaden range of data sources to increase rigor when expanding instrument and sector coverage. - Financial statements required for full public sector coverage are not available in a timely manner: many public sector entities file statements late and some require revisions before final audit. - Statistical techniques: - Compilation procedures are sound and statistical techniques adequate for current sources and coverage. - Draft compilation documentation under preparation is sufficiently detailed to support sound, consistent and accurate PSDS. - Missing data is usually imputed by carrying forward the last available observation and checked against other information. - Published data are initially marked provisional and subsequently replaced with final data. - Valuation changes recommended (nominal, market value) are achievable with existing data. - Error correction and revisions: - No established policy for correction of errors in the published debt reports. - Mission recommended: materially impactful errors should be promptly corrected and users notified; non-material errors should be transparently corrected in next regular publication. - Debt stocks are subject to appropriate checks and validation, but lack of stock-flow reconciliation hampers validation and transparency. - Recommendation: compile and publish quarterly reconciliations showing flows driving changes in debt levels (sample in Appendix III, Table A2) and consider publishing a GFS Statement of Operations for the full public sector. - Revision studies: limited evidence of regular assessment of revisions; recommendation to periodically conduct revision studies and embed them in the compilation procedures manual. - Strengths: - PSDS compilers have a strong understanding of key source data and follow sound procedures to maintain data quality. - Provisional data is clearly labelled and subsequently replaced with final data. - Recommendations for Improvements: - Improve timeliness and quality of financial statements for public sector entities to support annual expansion of PSDS instrument coverage. - Explore establishment of additional data collections for liabilities not currently covered (e.g., OAPs and pension liabilities). - Compile and publish stock-flow reconciliation tables quarterly as a quality assurance and transparency measure. - Introduce a policy for correction of errors. - Undertake regular revision studies to refine preliminary data and identify persistent reporting biases. ### Serviceability — Periodicity, Timeliness, and Consistency - Periodicity and timeliness: - Quarterly PSDS are published within a month of the end of the quarter. - Quarterly debt time series is available back to 2008. - This timeliness exceeds SDDS requirement of dissemination within three months of the end of the quarter. - The MOF may consider publishing monthly public debt totals; most source data are provided monthly within 15 days of the end of the month and the debt management unit is well placed to report monthly totals with some additional steps. - Consistency: - Good level of consistency between public debt publications; disseminated PSDS are consistent within publications and largely consistent between publications. - Some differences between public debt data published by the MOF and SM are observable for the period 2019/20 onwards. *Source: IMF Technical Report – Mauritius Data Quality Assessment for Public Sector Debt Statistics (content unit).* ### 53. Broad consistency between PSDS and other macroeconomic statistics was found, but ### tarea2025102-source-pdf - 53. Broad consistency between PSDS and other macroeconomic statistics was found, but ### Consistency with other macroeconomic statistics - Broad alignment found between PSDS and external sector statistics. - Some differences identified with aggregates in: - monetary and financial statistics, - government finance statistics, - national accounts. - Many apparent discrepancies traced to different valuations or coverages. - Lack of detailed metadata hampers users in concluding reasons for differences. - Recommendation (from mission): routinely assess PSDS against other macroeconomic statistics and transparently explain reasons for any differences. ### Revision policy and practice - Current presentation: - PSDS tables identify whether data for a period are preliminary, revised, or final. - Magnitude of revisions is not explicitly shown (except in ad hoc footnotes). - Users are not informed whether revisions are due to routine source-data revisions, corrections to previous errors, methodological changes, coverage changes, audit adjustments, replacement of imputations with actual data, or other reasons. - Practices needing improvement: - No publicly available revision policy or information on typical revision cycles. - PSDS publications are currently overwritten with the latest version (historic publications are not maintained on the MOF website). - Recommendations: - Present explicitly and categorize revisions between publications. - Produce and publish a revision policy and information on expected revisions due to timing of data provision and regular processes (e.g., audits). - Maintain access to historic/previous PSDS publications on the MOF website to support independent revision analysis. ### Accessibility — data and metadata - Data accessibility findings: - PSDS compiled and presented to facilitate interpretation and meaningful comparisons; various relevant breakdowns and details are available. - PSDS disseminated through the NSDP and the QPSD are fully aligned with international presentations; QPSD supports bespoke presentations and downloadability. - Historical quarterly time series extend back to 2008. - PSDS disseminated through 19 separate tables aligned with international classifications. - Shortcomings: - Lack of graphical presentations and commentary limits accessibility for less expert users. - Upcoming quarterly central government debt releases are announced on Mauritius’ NSDP but not on the MOF website. - Metadata on the MOF website is very limited and should be considerably expanded. - No metadata documenting degree of alignment with international standards or deviations (e.g., on instrument coverage, sector coverage, valuations). - Supporting materials are largely targeted at well-informed users; different levels of metadata and general-use information should be provided for a broader audience. - Recommendations: - Publish graphical presentations, commentaries and analysis to assist less expert users. - Provide comprehensive and accessible metadata documenting data sources, coverage, compilation methods, concepts and definitions, and highlight divergences from international standards. - Publish an advance release calendar on the MOF website showing planned publication dates and time of release for all upcoming debt statistics, including a fixed time in the day. - Promote and raise awareness of user support channels and bespoke data services; explicitly mention available support in individual PSDS data files. ### User support - A contact form is available on the MOF website. - PSDS compilers provide knowledgeable support to user queries; recommended to explicitly promote available support and bespoke table services in PSDS data files. ### Strengths (as listed) - PSDS are published in a very timely manner, with data disseminated one month after the end of the quarter. - Long time series of public debt data available with quarterly time series extending back to 2008. - Clear distinction made in PSDS publications between preliminary, revised and final data. - Published debt data on the website are electronically accessible, easily downloadable and presented in broad alignment with the international statistical standards. - The time series provided and detailed tables are useful for analysis by PSDS users. - PSDS published on the MOF website is consistent with debt data disseminated in the QPSD and via the NSDP. ### Recommendations for improvements (consolidated) - Routinely assess consistency of public debt data with related measures in other macroeconomic statistical outputs and transparently explain reasons for differences. - Report revisions transparently within PSDS publications; categorize revisions by type and explain unusual revisions. - Publish information on typical revision cycles (e.g., based on data availability, audits, coverage changes) and the MOF’s revision policy. - Maintain access to historic/previous debt publications for comparison and independent revision analysis. - Publish graphical presentations and commentary to improve accessibility for less expert users. - Provide structured, comprehensive metadata alongside PSDS reports, documenting standards used and deviations. - Publish and maintain an advance release calendar on the MOF website, including fixed time-of-day releases. - Promote awareness of user support channels and bespoke data services. ### Users’ survey (selected results) - Institution types of respondents who regularly used PSDS: 6 Financial institution, 3 Foreign government, 4 International / regional institution, 4 Research or academic institution, 7 Public sector, 5 Other. - Primary uses of PSDS reported: 22 Short-term analysis and decision-making, 19 Long-term policy development, 20 Econometric modeling and forecasting, 14 Academic or economic research, 18 International comparisons, 14 General information. - Main sources for PSDS: 19 Official national debt bulletins and press releases, 28 Government or Central Bank websites, 22 International organization publications (e.g., IMF, World Bank), 7 Media reports, 8 Academic or research institutes, 9 Private sector summaries and analyses, 0 Other. - Overall quality rating of official statistics: 5 Very good, 18 Good, 6 Neutral, 0 Poor, 0 Very poor. - Quality compared to other countries in the region: 12 Better, 16 About the Same, 0 Worse. - Coverage satisfaction: 27 Yes, 2 No. - Level of detail satisfaction: 22 Yes, 7 No. - Frequency satisfaction: 27 Yes, 2 No. - Timeliness satisfaction: 26 Yes, 3 No. - Awareness of advance release calendar: 18 Yes, 11 No. - Sufficient information about revisions: 24 Yes, 5 No. - Consistency across statistical domains: 22 Consistent, 7 Differences (unexplained). - Ease of access to statistics: 28 Yes, 1 No. - Ease of access to supporting information: 24 Yes, 4 No. - Clarity and usefulness of methodological information: 25 Yes, 4 No. - Consideration that statistical methods are sound: 28 Yes, 1 No. - Perception that official statistics are unbiased and accurate: 25 Yes, 4 No. ### Authorities’ response (selected commitments) - Response dated: November 18, 2025. - Government agrees with recommendations and will: - Review the Statistics Act to formally designate PSDS as official statistics and place them under the Act’s oversight. - Clarify the definition of public sector debt in the Public Debt Management Act and consider segregating front, middle and back office responsibilities within the Public Debt Management Unit. - Formalize information-sharing arrangements (e.g., MOU) between the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Mauritius and Statistics Mauritius. - Expand PSDS coverage gradually to include other accounts payable (OAP) and public sector liabilities related to deposits, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes, with initial focus on OAPs and pension liabilities. - Use the midpoint between the selling and buying exchange rate for converting foreign-currency debt into Mauritian rupees. - Report public debt at nominal valuation alongside existing face value measure and publish market value of outstanding debt securities as a memorandum item. - Prepare and publish stock–flow reconciliation tables to explain movements in public debt. - Present revisions clearly in future publications, categorized by type (methodological, source data, reclassification) and include explanations for major changes. - Make previous debt statistics publications accessible for comparison. - Publish an annual debt bulletin with concise analysis and graphical presentations. - Continue updating and publishing metadata alongside PSDS tables and publish an advance release calendar; promote user query channels. *IMF | Technical Report – Mauritius Data Quality Assessment for Public Sector Debt Statistics (excerpts as provided)* --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/tar/2025/english/tarea2025102-source-pdf.pdf_