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A cyber island… in the making
Mauritius needs new ideas to boost its economy. As it can no longer rely on sugar and textile to feed its population, the country sees in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector a way to emerge from the crisis. The government has expressed the wish that ICT becomes the fifth pillar of the economy. It is now high time for the country to give itself the means to achieve this. The forum of the Mauritius IT Industry Association (MITIA) was certainly a step in the right direction.
Mauritius has a cyber tower and a second one is under construction but that doesn’t make it a cyber island. To achieve this “identity”, it needs to acquire more knowledge and the “weight” that will make it credible to foreign countries. While remaining in the fields of outsourcing and back-office, Mauritius could become a mediator between Europe and Asia. Mauritius could benefit from the fact that companies in developed countries are thinking of delocalising their activities to reduce their production costs.
In fact, what Mauritius has to do is to rebuild its reputation; it has to be seen not only as a tourist paradise but also as a perfect destination for ICT companies in Europe. Dubai should no longer be the only possibility in the region.
The lack of people involved in the sector is a major problem in achieving its goal. In fact there is a double problem there. On the one hand, there is a lack of competence. Courses given to students do not always correspond to the needs of companies of that sector. Companies have to say what they really need so that training institutions can adapt. Moreover, the PM’s communications adviser, Jean Suzanne, considers that there is a need to format the training courses according to standards of targeted markets.
No chairman means no decision</B>
On the other hand, Mauritius does not have enough labour to satisfy the needs of mass markets. Jean Suzanne believes that Mauritius should attract foreign workers. This will not only help to build a more credible image of the country but these workers would also help train Mauritians. Mauritius could benefit from the foreign professionals’ experience to become a knowledge hub in the sector. Developed countries would then have no objection to delocalising to Mauritius.
But Mauritius will not succeed only with actions at government level. Computers and this new way of accessing knowledge (especially through the Internet) will have to become more accessible to the majority. How can Mauritius boast about being a cyber island with such a low penetration rate of IT and the Internet in Mauritian homes? The government seems aware of the problem and is speaking of reducing the price of computers and the Internet connection.
However, there seems to be a major obstacle towards the decrease in the price of the Internet so far. The Infotech fair, held last week at the Freeport, helped to pinpoint the main problems the industry is experiencing.
While the decrease in the price of the interconnection by Mauritius Telecom – which would lead to a reduction in the price of calls to mobiles and the reduction in the prices of international calls – was long expected, this has not been possible because of the Information Communication Technologies Authority (Icta). The fact that it has no chairman has prevented a certain number of decisions from being taken. The drop in Internet tariffs is part of these decisions, which take time to be implemented. Cellplus and Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Limited are eagerly waiting for Icta to give the green light for their projects.
But even if all the innovations presented at Infotech 2005 cannot be implemented within the next few days or weeks, the fair gave the opportunity to see that new technologies are now part of Mauritian life. A lot of innovations were introduced to the public at lower prices than in the previous fair. The dream of making of Mauritius a duty-free paradise has played a great role in this drop in prices.
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