Budget 2024-2025: Rs 2 billion of public funds remain unused

The audit of the Budget 2024-2025 reveals that Rs 2 billion of public funds have not been spent. Of this amount, Rs 1.7 billion have been reallocated to other expenditures. The report also highlights the granting of additional credits despite initial funds remaining unused.

Context

Revenue for the financial year 2024-2025 was initially estimated at Rs 210.5 billion, while projected expenditures amounted to Rs 216.8 billion. Subsequently, the Supplementary Appropriation (2024-2025) Act 2025, adopted on April 22, 2025, and approved on April 24, 2025, provided for additional expenditures of Rs 21 billion, of which Rs 11.8 billion were actually allocated.

Key Findings from the Audit Report

1. Reallocation of Unused Funds
   Out of the approved Rs 11.8 billion, Rs 2 billion remained unused at the close of the financial year. Among these unspent funds, Rs 1.7 billion were reallocated to other expenditure items.

2. Use of Additional Credits Despite Unused Initial Funds
   An allocation of Rs 3.2 billion was planned in the initial budget for the Climate and Sustainability Fund (CSF). However, due to delays in its implementation, the planned projects were executed through the National Environment Fund (NEF). Despite this, an additional credit of Rs 1.1 billion was approved on April 24, 2025, to finance these same projects through the NEF, while the initial CSF funds remained unused at that time. This situation raises a budgetary inconsistency, as a simple reallocation of existing credits (from the CSF to the NEF) would have sufficed, thus making the need for additional credits unnecessary.

On June 30, 2025, an amount of Rs 2.5 billion from the initial Rs 3.2 billion allocated to the CSF was redirected to a new expenditure item: a grant to the National Property Fund Ltd (NPFL), which was not included in the initial budget. It was observed that the funds initially intended for the CSF projects were redirected for new uses, while these projects were ultimately financed primarily through additional NEF credits. This highlights a lack of coherence and transparency in resource allocation.

3. Partial Use of National Resilience Fund
   For the fiscal year 2024-2025, a total of Rs 8.5 billion was allocated to the National Resilience Fund. This amount included Rs 3.9 billion from additional credits, aimed at supporting eligible employers facing challenges in paying the 14th month salary and 2025 wage compensation, as well as financing the Home Ownership and Home Loan Schemes. However, by June 30, 2025, Rs 1.2 billion remained unused, of which Rs 500 million came from initial credits and Rs 700 million from additional credits. This underutilization reflects a limited capacity to effectively mobilize allocated funds.

4. Transfer of Rs 2.58 billion to the National Property Fund
   On June 29, 2025, the National Property Fund Ltd (NPFL) requested financial support of Rs 87.5 million to meet interest payments due in 2025 to the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) under a Rs 3.5 billion credit facility. The NPFL also engaged in discussions with authorities to obtain long-term support solutions for the repayment of this facility.

On June 30, 2025, the government made a total transfer of Rs 2.58 billion in the form of a current grant to the NPFL. This amount includes:

• Rs 87.5 million for annual interest payments owed to the BoM, financed from credits allocated for wage compensation under the supplementary estimates;
• Rs 2.5 billion earmarked for the partial repayment of the principal of the Rs 3.5 billion credit facility, financed from the funds originally allocated for the Climate and Sustainability Fund in the Budget 2024-2025.

Response from the Ministry of Finance:

"All budget reallocations were made in strict compliance with the limits and conditions set forth by the financial regulations regarding credit transfers. Likewise, all excess expenditures, except those from the financial year 2022-2023, have been duly regularized through the Supplementary Appropriation Act."