■ A: « ……Au lieu de se focaliser sur l’économie, les autorités -aussi bien le gouvernement que l'opposition - mettent l'accent sur la politique. Les gouvernements qui se sont succédé entre 2010 et 2020 ont negligé l'aspect économique du pays. Nous en payons le prix aujourd'hui. Maurice n'a pas connu de nouveaux piliers économiques ces dernières années. Il n’y a pas eu d’investissement dans le secteur productif pour créer la richesse. D'ou le fait que je qualifie 2010 a 2020 de « the lost decade « Malheureusement, le meme modus operandi perdure. Les autorités sont occupées avec leur political survival Par contre, les autres pays s'attellent au développement économique et consentent des investissements là où il faut . »
Very much in line with our thinking , indeed we are paying dearly for the absence of meaningful reforms during " the lost decades". . We had raised this issue in an article titled " 54 years of Independence- a reassessment !" dated 11 March 2022.
" The lost decades: Growth dwindled to an average rate of only 4.0% over the past two decades, nearly a two percentage points below the heady historical trend.
Why lost decades ? The improvements to the macroeconomic, business and investment climate and the adoption of a more simplified and growth-friendly tax and hiring system were short term and piece-meal reforms that were not accompanied by the more broad-based and inclusive reforms to tackle fundamental bottlenecks and generate sustainable growth. The low level of capital investment and the absence of sector reforms to generate productivity improvements in agriculture, industry, public utilities, health, education, environment,public sector etc, did not prepare the economy enough for greater resilience and sustainable growth thus undermining the medium to long-term growth prospects.
We avoided making hard choices. The reform agenda remained unfinished and critical constraints to economic development became increasingly evident.
These economic constraints were more sectoral than macroeconomic, and in the absence of sector reforms to generate and enhance productivity improvements, the long run growth potential was insufficient to absorb the unemployed and growth was not broad-based enough to achieve the desired above-average growth rates.
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…..Lost decades also in the sense that by the early years of the new millennium, when we peeled off some of the layers of the success story it uncovered a fragile underlying fabric which, for quite some time now, was being gnawed by a typical Mauritian virus - the dodo virus. Yes the historical dodo virus had caught up with the African cub-tiger. Like the dodo, the cub-tiger was cosily enjoying the spoils of its success that it has lost its competitive and enterprising drive. Indeed, the tiger needed immediate treatment. It was still a well-cocooned economy, where the economic agents haven't learnt all the tricks of competitive trade and business practices. “Markets and free competition are limited by the actions of the oligarchic families who dominate major plantations, financial institutions, real estate, trade and telecommunications.” And an education system that is no longer responsive to the needs of the economy and we had too much excess luggage on board- an over-burdened bloated public sector and unsustainable social maintenance programmes among others."
Are our policymakers and institutions tuning up to the new realities to craft the major reforms that await the country- things that were not tried in the past formulated in a strategic vision plan with clear annual milestones and action plans-A new vision that will make a sizeable difference to the younger generation. ?
They have failed to translate what Mts needs in its policy framework into a bold vision to be put before the country. We have missed the train already ; we cannot afford now to squabble at the bus stop and miss the last bus as well .
There comes a time in the life of a nation when it needs some spark, a vision,.... for change to happen.
We have to bring new life, new vigour and vitality to the economy. The present situation demands audacity , a genuine intent to reform and a willingness not to succumb only to the priorities of the day but to the initiation of long term reforms and a new model of development. Mauritius is longing forward for a grand vision and actions to go with it. We need actions that show we have the conviction and are not afraid of taking bold decisions to chart a new path for Mauritius to shape a great future for our children.
We must start by getting rid of this regime which does not have the clarity of a long term holistic vision of the future of the country which would have provided the direction, consistency, and focus essential to sustain any long-term reform process.
We are living on borrowed time and borrowed dimes. We still have all the potential to realise our vision but only if we get back to work on our country now before it is too late and let us all join hands to get rid of these incompetent impostors ! BZD !
