Though he does not mince his words, the director of audit seems to be making more or less the same recommendations year in year out. However, careless use of public funds seems to have little to do with the government of the day. The promises of the minister of Finance, Rama Sithanen, when he took office, to reduce waste have not yet been kept. After twelve months of checks and calculations in all ministries, the director of audit points at the misuse and loss of public money between July 2005 and June 2006. All ministries have thus been requested to make an effort.

While the government keeps asking the population to tighten their belts and make sacrifices until brighter days, the State still has to recoup some Rs 1.64 billion from taxpayers. Moreover, Rs 460 million look irretrievable and Rs 462 million are subject to litigation. The authorities justify this situation by the fact that bad debtors block the whole process by starting legal proceedings. The biggest arrears come from the income tax department - Rs 764 million - but the value added tax, the hotel tax, the gaming and betting tax, customs duties are also due.

<B>Unjustified expenditure</B>

The ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the most criticised. Not only is it pointed at for unjustified expenditure but the audit also states that the ministry has acted in bad faith and not taken its previous recommendations seriously. “This ministry is a peculiar one, unique of its kind,” states the report, which highlights misuse of state funds – especially overtime (unjustified), allowances to Mauritian ambassadors, cars to officials not entitled to such benefits – to the tune of Rs 7.2 million. The report also notes that the ministry did not reply to any of its queries or even try to remedy the situation. The director of audit made it clear that he was “not including any reply submitted by this ministry (…) as these may mislead Parliament and the general public”.

A number of ministries have been criticised for their lack of action during the past years. Many have already disbursed large sums to launch projects that are still pending. The central slaughterhouse of the ministry of Agro-Industry is among projects that have not progressed for years. More than Rs 40 million have been spent on this project (including consultancy fees) but it is far from finished. Likewise the national institute of biotechnology (since then changed into a laboratory) is still waiting to be set up. At the ministry of Tourism, the situation is not much different. Unoccupied and unpaid commercial spaces at Le Batelage in Souillac have led to Rs 265,000 in arrears for the ministry of Tourism.

Initial budget largely exceeded</B>