Kevin Chuttur: «Mauritius cannot sit on its laurels and pretend it has achieved its limits»

Innovation, productivity, competitiveness... These are the trending terms among stakeholders of the business community nowadays, in order to achieve efficiency. We bring to you the outlook of Kevin Chuttur, Chairman of the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC), who demystifies these terms in the interview below.

BUSINESSMAG. Productivity is often synonymous with better output. However, the country’s annual growth rate is stagnating. Could this mean that our strategy for growth is not fully optimal?

Based on the latest IMF report, our economic growth has been resilient in an adverse external environment, but the country’s growth has also slowed in 2012. There have been some signs of recovery, especially after the global financial crisis and the stimulus policies by the government. However, the Mauritian economy is still not operating at full capacity, although the output gap is small. Our major sources of risk factors have been the heavy dependence on demand from Europe for key services exports and our declining competitiveness in the world market.

The strategy of the government is to achieve higher productivity for improving growth rate and it has invested for pushing concepts of productivity at a national level through the productivity campaign launched last year and which is still ongoing. Productivity is the key to competitiveness. Tor Dahl, a productivity guru, has rightly said that only productivity has three simultaneous effects. It increases wages, so demand goes up. It reduces prices, so demand goes up further and it increases profits so wealth is increased. However, higher productivity growth requires educating our people, getting them to work in teams and above all engaging them in a long-term vision. We have to keep in mind that productivity achievement is a marathon without a finishing line.

BUSINESSMAG. The NPCC organized the Mauritius Innovators’ Award from 2004 to 2008, which was then discontinued. Are we in dearth of innovators in the country?

Innovation is a major determinant of productivity growth and sustained international competitiveness. The Innovators Mauritius Award was launched with a view of developing a culture of innovation in all walks of Mauritian life. The Innovators Mauritius Award was launched in April 2004. The theme was Sweet Mauritius. The following edition was in 2006 – Green M: reduce, reuse, recycle waste. In 2008, Eco-living pour une île Maurice durable : Everyone can make a difference was released. We registered an increase in terms of participation in the Award over the three editions.

I do not believe that there is a lack of innovators and innovation in Mauritius but there is still much to do in that field. I must point out that some issues discussed earlier by the NPCC have been taken up later on by the Mauritius Research Council, namely the need to have a Mauritian Innovation System. I recall a pilot initiative by the MRC in 2010 with other national innovation stakeholders, including the NPCC which is the ‘Collaborative Mauritius’ project aiming at building a stronger capacity for innovation within the Mauritian economy.

Since the NPCC’s agenda is to promote productivity at national level and based on our experience with many institutions and organizations, we have realised that there is a need to demystify the term ‘productivity’. It is for that reason that we have started a national productivity campaign in 2012 and we are working on a Productivity Award which encompasses innovation by public and private enterprises.

BUSINESSMAG. Are you satisfied with the measures taken so far to maintain the competitiveness of the country on the regional sphere?

Mauritius is a key player in the region and remains among the top performers in the region. Mauritius is ranked 45^th according to the Global Competitiveness Index 2013-2014 and is also the second highest ranked country in the region after South Africa. Moreover, according to the Africa Competitiveness Report 2013, Mauritius is ranked among the first three best performers in the African region in the following pillars: infrastructure, health, primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness and business sophistication.

The way Mauritius continues to position itself in the region indicates that we have been relatively successful in putting in place the fundamentals for improved competitiveness. However, we cannot sit on our laurels and pretend that we have achieved our limits, especially at a time when there is a growing international attention focused on Africa as an investment location and talks about an African renaissance.

For Mauritius to remain ahead of its competitors in the region and at global level, we need to strengthen existing pillars where we fare well and further improve in the areas where we are underperforming.

BUSINESSMAG. Mauritius has lost four places this year in the Global Innovation Index. What are the reasons behind this performance and what can be done to boost innovation?

The innovative capacity of a country is determined by a number of factors, which is quite complex. Hence, in order to understand why Mauritius has regressed in the Global Innovation Index, and how we can boost our innovative capacity, it is important to analyse all the factors that are contributing to our underperformance. A glance at the Global Innovation Index 2013 shows that our main weaknesses lie in the following pillars: human capital and research, business sophistication and knowledge, and technology outputs.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach and no tailor-made solution to boost our innovative capacity. We need to apply a multi-pronged approach to make a difference. This will not happen overnight. 

Investing in our human capital is a key strategy to be adopted. We need to be able to groom and produce a population which can think, which can create and most importantly which can take risks and venture in new avenues which have so far remained unexploited and under-explored. The way we educate our students in schools and universities, and the way we educate our workers needs to be revisited.

Reinforcing the linkage between academia and the industry, which we have pondered over for quite some time, is another priority. Another weakness which needs to be addressed is in terms of the types of businesses we operate. We need businesses which can create high value added products and services, those which can move up the value chain. We need to build in a new entrepreneurial culture able to capture the market through their innovative ingenuity.

BUSINESSMAG. The government is considering the implementation of a performance management system (PMS) for employees of the public sector. What is your take on this?

There is a rising demand in organisations for improved performance and results. Organisations in all sectors, including the government, are similarly challenged to operate more efficiently and effectively. It is important that the PMS results from a joint process through dialogue and undergoes continuous reviews if deemed necessary. Employees of the public sector should feel included and involved. In a way, the PMS should ensure it continually engages employees and keeps them motivated to improve their personal performance so that they are encouraged to participate on an individual basis to the improvement of the services of the public sector.

BUSINESSMAG. How do you perceive the 24/7 concept the sugar industry is planning to introduce? Would it really prove to be synonymous with productivity?

Any project that aims to optimise the use of resources will surely improve productivity. Adjusting the work life balance, giving more flexible hours of work or increasing the weekly working hours will contribute to growth. However, productivity should not and cannot be imposed. There is a need to build consensus and once people are convinced, they will cooperate.

BUSINESSMAG. The Global Competitiveness Index 2013-2014 pinpoints Mauritius’ inefficient government bureaucracy as the most problematic factor for doing business. How can the NPCC assist in improving this area?

Bureaucracy is an overused term. Have we ever questioned how a bureaucratic system operates and how it hampers progress? This is the basis of the NPCC’s productivity improvement programme. The approach we use raises lots of questions, stirs people to think differently to solve problems they face and challenges existing systems in place. The NPCC, through its Muda Free Public Service programme has in fact been assisting the government to reduce bureaucracy. It is however important to time and again revive this process.

The NPCC continues to have an important role in reducing government bureaucracy. One-off interventions will not reap the maximum benefit. It is in this spirit in fact that, through our productivity academy, one of our important target groups has so far been public officers. We are grooming them to be productivity champions in their organisations so that work is performed in an effective and efficient manner.