No more talk or discussion. It is time now for action. The government wants to quickly implement its budget measures so that the population can see the results in the near future. Many observers had said that the best way of getting out of these difficult times for Mauritius would be to be more open to foreign investment and expertise; the minister of Finance, Rama Sithanen, seems to have got the message in view of the decisions he took in his budget.

The Board of Investment (BOI) is now taking all necessary steps to make Mauritius one of the most welcoming countries for investment and business. The Business Facilitation Act, introduced in Parliament last Friday, should help as well. The BOI wants to put Mauritius among the 10 most welcoming countries for business according to the World Bank rating. It is presently the 23rd on the list.

Hence, the BOI intends to make of Mauritius a platform for business and introduce it to the world as a bridge for business between Africa and Asia.

To achieve its objective, the BOI intends to target specific companies. For instance, those likely to use Mauritius as a platform will be of major interest for the institution just like the Asian companies buying their raw materials in Africa or the African ones wishing to raise funds from the international market.

If the BOI is so optimistic about Mauritius’ future – the country is said to be set to attract three times more investment than the present rate in 2007 – it is because of the measures contained in the budget as well as the business facilitation Act which should be put in practice as from 1st October.

Rama Sithanen’s intention is clear with this new act, “We have to put an end to the incredible amount of red-tape.” And it should help the country reach the top 10 in the World Bank rating. Members of the government are showing much enthusiasm at the implementation of such an act.

The minister of Trade, Rajesh Jeetah, is happy with this “innovative approach”. This act should actually allow all entrepreneurs – local or foreign – to set up a business in three days only.

Foreign investors will no longer have to bother about the red tape - which may have been one of the reasons why they have not been interested in Mauritius during the past few years. Residential and work permits will be grouped under occupation permits, delivered by the Passport and Immigration office. The investor will have to have a Rs 3 million turnover a year or earn a salary of Rs 600,000 a year or Rs 30,000 a month.

The BOI will be responsible for promoting foreign investment. Its strategy is to concentrate on sectors with high value-added and for which a continued assessment of the investment climate – including new means to position the country on the global market – is necessary. The main sectors the BOI is targeting are light engineering, textile and fashion, seafood, financial services, the integrated resort scheme and information and communication technologies. Moreover, the missions for investment promotion led by minister Sithanen abroad will particularly concentrate on these sectors.

As for local companies, all the procedures will be facilitated as well. The companies will be grouped under three new categories: services, trade and industries.

The new act also plans that construction permits be delivered within three days. The same principle will apply to Small and Medium Enterprises; local administrations will also have to deliver permits within three days. Trade licences will no longer be necessary to set up a business.

If the government is showing impatience to put these new measures into practice, the opposition has more reservations. Opposition leader, Nando Bodha, fears that Mauritius may become the first country to deliver a “permit on a basic fore-project” to investors. Moreover, he is afraid that “a reception notice (avis de reception) might become a residential permit” in the future. Likewise, former minister of local administrations, Joe Lesjongard, said he could not understand how a “local administration could deliver a permit within three days”, as an engineer can’t give firm advice on a building in only three days.

The act still raises a lot of questions. The opposition seems to be believe that, even though it could indeed help attract more investors, it could be ‘dangerous’ for the country’s reputation to be so quick to implement the measures…

The BOI however looks confident that all these measures will only help Mauritius to attract three times more investment as from next year. Let us hope so!