Mauritius is disadvantaged by being a small island state and more distant from major world markets compared to the average African state. The adverse climatic conditions we are often confronted with like strong cyclones, droughts, floods and recent tsunami has highlighted how vulnerable we are as a small island economy. Against this background, it came as no surprise when in the early 1960s, the economist and Nobel Prize winner James Meade, prophesied in the that the development prospects of Mauritius were poor and that Mauritius was a strong candidate for failure, because of being a very typical African economy with its heavy economic dependence on sugarcane only, it was vulnerable due to trade shocks, rapid population growth, and potential for ethnic tensions. But instead of lying down and accepting its fate, Mauritius rose to the challenge and has proved all this to be wrong. Mauritius today is considered a success story and a model for many of the African states.
Mauritius has been able to transform its weaknesses and threats into strengths and opportunities. The ethnic communities have important links with the rest of the world which have encouraged investments from entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, China, India and France in particular. The diversity of the population has played an important role in the development of participatory institutions. An article of the daily Times, UK newspaper, in 1983 was quoted as saying that a country which has many ethnic populations would give rise to tensions and was not likely to progress economically. In reply to this article, another newspaper the “Independent” of UK referred to the example of Mauritius, an island with many ethnic diversities yet thriving and prospering with no major tensions.
It is time now for Mauritius to sustain its spirit of innovation in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Because we do not have natural resources like oil, gas or precious metals, we need to harness the solar, wind and wave energy which are in abundant supply in our tropical country. We can also use our sugar to produce ethanol for hybrid cars, following the model of Mexico. This will also reduce our dependency on imported oil which is used as a major source of fuel. The government of Mauritius has recently proposed an innovative project: “Maurice Ile durable” – Mauritius sustainable Island, which has attracted attention from France, WHO and other Commonwealth countries who are following the progress of many of our pilot projects towards a sustainable island state with keen interest.
Our human capital and entrepreneurial spirit are going to play a key role in enhancing our creativity as a nation along with how we utilize technology to improve our productivity and quality of products and services. Education of the population is a key priority right from kindergarten to tertiary education. Mauritius is probably unique as a model where schooling is free at all levels with free transport for all students. Private secondary schools and colleges are subsidized, and a state University provides free tertiary education. The country is also tackling poverty which affects about 10% of the population. Unfortunately, with rapid progress, the country is also suffering from problems of non transmissible diseases with Mauritius being amongst the leading countries in the world with the incidence of diabetes. Mauritius however, is a good example where there is a culture of innovation because as a small island economy, we believe that we cannot not innovate – otherwise we will die.
Be the first to comment on this contribution.