IMF Urges Legal Reform to Shield Statistics Mauritius from State Interference

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for urgent legislative changes to guarantee the legal independence and autonomy of Statistics Mauritius, warns a newly released report. In an updated assessment of the nation’s data quality, the IMF recommended that the Statistics Act be amended to ensure the agency operates as an autonomous statutory authority.

The global lender emphasised that the body must remain free from all government interference regarding its statistical methodologies, standards, and publication schedules.

The findings, finalised in September 2025, form part of a Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC). Based on the 2025 Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), the analysis updates previous evaluations from 2002 and 2008 to support ongoing national consultations.

Strengthening Institutional Integrity

The IMF mission outlined several critical adjustments to the nation’s legal framework to align with international standards:

• Statistics Mauritius: Beyond independence, the IMF recommends a “comprehensive definition” of official statistics that integrates UN fundamental principles, distinguishing them clearly from administrative or unofficial data.
• Bank of Mauritius (BOM): While the 2004 BOM Act provides a foundation, the report advises updates to explicitly state the Bank’s autonomy. It suggests the Bank should neither “receive nor seek instructions” from government bodies or external persons regarding data sources and release dates.
• Ministry of Finance: To preserve the quality of Public Sector Debt Statistics (PSDS), the report calls for a staff review of the debt management unit to ensure sufficient resources.

Technical and Methodological Upgrades

The assessment, which covered national accounts, consumer prices, and external positions, also highlighted specific technical improvements. For National Accounts, the IMF suggests expanding the coverage of “gross fixed capital formation” to include knowledge-based assets.

Regarding the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the report recommends transitioning to “short-term price comparisons.” This shift is intended to better manage missing price data and the introduction of new products, while also calling for studies into long-term price trends to identify potential systematic biases.

Key Data Responsibilities

To improve coordination, the IMF proposed a formal Memorandum of Understanding to define data-sharing protocols between these three entities, ensuring the continued prosperity and transparency of the nation’s financial reporting.

Source: Defi Media