Following the presentation of the white paper on electoral reform by the Prime Minister, reform has become the buzz word of 2014.  I will not write about the merits of this reform, since a lot of column inches and debates have already been and are still being devoted to this topic. I will like to focus on the areas where I believe major reforms are required and propose solutions for tackling these challenges.

The country has done well over the last few years, despite the recession in the so-called developed world. The challenges which lie ahead are daunting, with major sectors of the economy under threat. (White) Papering over the cracks with short term measures is not the solution to address these economic challenges. In my view, we need to make profound changes in the following areas:

Political reform: Out with the old…

Although a step in the right direction, if politicians are to be believed, the proposed reform does not go far enough. Growing up in the 90s, my generation has only known one class of political leaders who have taken turns to lead the country. The fragmentation of the electorate into vote banks which can be traded by so-called community leaders against (undeserved) privileges and the "Jeu des alliances" have enabled these political leaders to hang on to power for so long, despite not having coherent and forward looking policies. 

The system needs deep reform, with transparency and accountability as key tenets. There should be term limits for the president and prime minister roles. The USA, even Russia where the president cannot stay in power for more than two consecutive mandates, have term limits for their presidents. In other major democracies, it is customary for the leader of the defeated party to step down and hand over leadership. This should also be the norm here, and will encourage much needed renewal of ideas and policies.

Opacity and lack of accountability means that there is no strong incentive for politicians to work in the interest of their boss, i.e. the population. There should be complete transparency in disclosure of wealth and assets held by candidates. Donations received by political parties should be made public with strong sanctions for (deliberate) wrongful disclosure. The electorate should also demand more from their MPs and use means such as e-petitions to influence policies and government. 

Reforming the political system so that it meets high standards of transparency and accountability is not just desirable from an ethical/democratic perspective but also makes economic sense. The absence of a strong governance system hampers economic development, through the misallocation of resources to projects which are not economically viable or socially desirable. Strong governance prevents such waste of resources from happening and ensures that our economic resources are put to good use.

It's the economy, stupid

Mauritius did remarkably well during the financial crisis, but the main sectors of the economy are facing challenges. The offshore sector will be affected if the DTAA with India be renegotiated under less favourable terms, and tourists have not been flocking to the “pleasure island”. The answer for these ailing offshore and tourism sectors is diversification, with these sectors being less India and Euro centric respectively. 

The area of concern is the real estate sector. The same conditions (reckless lending, over concentrated bank balance sheets and rapidly increasing property prices) which led to the property bubble in Europe and USA seem to be operating here. This has led to years of recession, from which the USA and Europe are barely coming out. Though a smaller and less sophisticated economy, we are not insulated from a property crash and the ensuing prolonged recession. The financial difficulties some real estate projects are facing are worrying signs. Measures need to be taken to rein in real estate investment.

The IT sector needs nurturing and holds lots of promise. In Africa, technology hubs have been set up to provide support to start ups to help them grow. Major companies, such as IBM, have set up research labs in the so-called Silicon Savannah in Kenya.  Mauritius was a pioneer in this area in Africa and it seems the Ebène Cybercity was an inspiration for Silicon Savannah.

Whilst the international business news channels (Bloomberg, CNBC) have been raving about Silicon Savannah, no mention was made of our own Cybercity.  We have fallen on the wayside, as we have been too focused on the lower value end (call centres). We have not developed the higher value end of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector enough.

We should incentivise BPO companies, operating on the higher value end of the chain, those developing software or apps, through tax breaks and cheaper access to finance.  We should also encourage computer programming and engineering in schools, and provide incentives for the existing workforce to improve their IT skills.

Per The Economist, six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies of the past decade are in sub-Saharan Africa. Through our trade agreements, educated workforce and proximity (geographical and cultural) to the continent, we are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities Africa offers. Africa is the future, and we should not miss the boat.

Education, education, education

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." Albert Einstein

Though I was successful at the CPE exams, I believe that the CPE needs to be abolished and national examinations should be held at a later stage. The CPE exams put tremendous pressure on young children and instead of encouraging creative learning and critical thinking, the system encourages rote learning and conformism. This is not the way to educate our future generation of knowledge workers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders. The CPE ranking system excludes too many children from further education and should be abolished.

Investment should be made in improving teaching and sports facilities in colleges and the universities. The teaching of Mathematics, languages and science subjects should be improved using technology (e.g. online resources such as Khan Academy), and start at an earlier age. At school, the practice of sports and pursuit of artistic endeavours should be encouraged and not be the preserve of the affluent class only.

Investments should be made in Information Technology (IT) equipment in schools and students should be encouraged to learn programming and engineering. Investing in IT equipment and applications does not mean spending millions on expensive laptops or tablets. There are cheaper alternatives such as the Raspberry Pi, a credit card size PC which costs Rs 2,000, and which runs free open source software, Linux e.g.

Teaching at universities should also be improved and incorporate aspects of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by world class universities. Students, including those at School Certificate or Higher School Certificate levels should be encouraged to explore the MOOCs. They will be able to study subjects, which are not currently offered in Mauritius, or use these courses to supplement the subjects they are learning. There is (anecdotal) evidence of students from poorer backgrounds who have been offered scholarships to prestigious universities (MIT, Stanford etc.) following their participation in these MOOCs.

The local universities should develop partnerships with reputable foreign universities. More bursaries should be available for graduate education at foreign universities for priority sectors. The private universities should be strictly regulated.

Local businesses should offer apprenticeships and work closely with the local universities, similar to the German Mittelstand model. Short term secondments to foreign companies should also be encouraged. As a small island, we do not have significant economic resources other than our people. Education is the key to our prosperity and significant resources should be invested in educating our existing workforce and future generations.

Conclusion

Mauritius is facing strong economic headwinds. Deep reforms to the governance structure are required, economic sectors with high potential should be nurtured and high quality education is important for our long term prosperity. 

The challenges are great but we have overcome seemingly impossible odds before, despite Nobel Prize winners James Meade and V.S. Naipaul giving negative assessments of our country’s prospects. From 1980’s onwards and within a generation, we went from a primary (agricultural) economy, to a secondary (manufacturing) and a tertiary (services) economy. A feat not achieved by any other countries in this part of the world.

For people living on an island which lacks natural resources, we have proved that we very resourceful.  

We are now facing new challenges but we cannot afford to remain complacent and stuck in our old ways. If we reform and show the same enterprising spirit which has led us to be regarded as an example for developing countries to follow, we will be more successful than we have been over the last 30 years.