Technical Assistance Reports

This technical assistance report presents the findings and recommendations of a diagnostic review conducted by the Fiscal Affairs Department of Mauritius’ public financial management legal framework and supporting fiscal institutions to inform the development of fiscal responsibility legislation (FRL). The report outlines design options and implementation requirements for the FRL for consideration by the Government of Mauritius. The existing public financial management framework has been ineffective in enforcing fiscal discipline and accountability. The debt limit has been repeatedly breached since 2008, fiscal planning has been undermined by overly optimistic forecasts, the budget process lacks an early strategic top-down phase with expenditure ceilings, and in-year fiscal reporting is limited. The report proposes a comprehensive FRL framework that incorporates fiscal responsibility principles, numerical and procedural fiscal rules, a detailed medium-term fiscal framework, and robust transparency and corrective mechanisms to support effective implementation. It also highlights the need to strengthen or reform key fiscal institutions, including macro-fiscal forecasting, the medium-term fiscal framework, the budget preparation process, fiscal risk management, and fiscal reporting, to ensure the successful implementation of the FRL.