by Deepa BHOOKHUN

I personally thought it would be a non-event. The budget turned out to be anything but? The package is indeed very attractive. A duty-free paradise. Enough to make us all dream. Already I can see it. Wow! Mauritius turned into another Dubai or Singapore. Who would say no to that? Until, of course, the poisonous snake shows its ugly head and brings us back to reality. Great ideas but are we ready for this? Do we have the means and I do not just mean the financial? means.

We are obviously not turning duty-free for our own consumption - contrarily to what many would have us believe, the average citizen of this country does not have the financial means for this. Even though he will be lulled into believing he does in the first few months when his purchasing power will find itself artificially raised. This euphoria will not last?

We will never be a duty-free paradise, if we do not open up; so far we have heard nothing on air access policy; we are still debating whether to welcome up-market tourists or average ones. And, as always, we are procrastinating on those vital issues. Vital if we really aim at becoming a duty-free paradise, that is.

I see this image in my head and it gives me nightmares: tourists flocking into Mauritius, Mauritian restaurant owners and waiters exasperated with having to keep the fake smile plastered on their faces and giving a performance of bad service that would put to shame some waiters operating in London?s Chinatown. Taxi drivers overcharging because, of course now, they have a very legitimate excuse not to use the taxi fare at all, tourists blocked in endless traffic jams and breathing in the polluted air caused by the antiques that are still allowed on the streets, robbers and all sorts of maniacs preying on them and tourists becoming synonymous to nuisance? Nightmare!

We are in danger of turning into that kind of touristy destination if we do not get rid of this bad habit of applying piecemeal solutions to every problem. The question is: are we ready to be a duty-free paradise? I think not.

Unemployment is bound to rise in the coming years with local manufacturers not being able to compete with better-quality duty- free products and the creation of jobs thus declining. Unless, of course, they rise up to the challenge and pleasantly surprise us all. Consumption will increase while we will produce less. People will tend to borrow more and all this will eventually lead to more social problems. What kind of a duty-free paradise will Mauritius then be?

Don?t get me wrong, I?m all for the idea. But I am of the opinion that we are trying to run before we?ve started walking. What are the measures that have been taken so far to train us to be good hosts, to provide good quality service, in short, to be efficient? For as long as we will keep throwing our garbage in the neighbour?s yard or the neighbouring river or simply on the streets, as long as we continue in our endeavour to remain the unevolved third-world person with the like-mentality, can we aspire to compete with those who have mastered the art of service and efficiency? Thus the question again: are we ready?