PRB: Compensation for improved service delivery?

(Published in MTimes and in L'express 05 June 2013)

The Minister of Finance is saying that the Pay Research Bureau (PRB) will be costing us yearly some Rs 9000 per worker. This statement does not allow us to form an opinion as to whether the compensation of about Rs 5.6 billion rupees to the civil servants is justifiable; the PRB award is a combination of compensation for the loss of purchasing power and for the improvement in the productivity of the public sector worker .We have to examine the rewards of government workers vis- à -vis their output or their service delivery. So the discussion should not be focusing on what it costs to the economy or the taxpayer but whether the compensation to the civil servant relative to his improved productivity is excessive or not? Does he deserve it?

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  A new dawn: fantasy or reality

As we time travel to 2050 and beyond, the “big” small island unravels itself as a “model of sustainable growth that is equitably shared and with a high score in the Human Development Index. Relative poverty has disappeared. ….. The country that outshines all others on the world map stands out in term of facilities” -whether it is public transport or the Light Rail Transit , IT connectivity, trained workers and specialists or innovation and research . It also has a vibrant cultural and night life in world class cities that exhibit its wealth of diversity, its soulful art and trendy architecture, high urban living, choicest gastronomic offers and varied landscapes. ( “Born in 2013” in L’Express 50 ans avec le Pays- 27 April 2013”). Everyone can have his own views about the future. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. You need to have the courage and conviction to walk the talk, regardless of the obstacles that will lay strewn in your path.

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A road map for the financial sector

We have been overwhelmed recently by a volley of bold claims that Mauritius is establishing itself as a regional financial centre-a gateway to the emerging world or that is perfectly positioned between Africa and Asia to become a financial hub which can be counted on in the Indian Ocean region. Are we providing the financial sector the means to play this role ? A road map for the sector is long over due; we have been waiting for a reengineering and modernization of the sector since 2006 with aim of transforming it into a financial services sector that is characterized by speed and continuous innovation; a sector characterized by its increasing ability to leverage capital markets, specialized skills and technology to innovate and create new products, processes and services; these are the prerequisite to being a sustainable premier financial centre that has both width as well as depth.