The Digital Revolution: can Mauritius join the leaders?

Mauritius stands on the brink of a technological revolution that will transform the way we live, work and relate to one another. In its scale, scope and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything Mauritians have experienced before, provided government 7creates the enabling environment. The response to achieving Digital Mauritius is an integrated and comprehensive system, involving all stakeholders from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society, and most particularly government, through the Ministry of Finance. By choosing a consensual approach, more concerned with climbing the next rung in the ambition ladder, the Minister of Finance has missed the full dimension of the Digital Revolution.

SCIENCE FICTION AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF LITERATURE

The imagination knows no bound. Each time pessimists talk of a Malthusian nightmare or the depletion of resources, a writer, painter or scientist comes with an idea people might think is disruptive. Sci-fi stories combine two ingredients: (i) Basic Science often leading to surprising accuracy and (ii) Creative Imagination. Leonardo Da Vinci thought of flying and reproduced his dream in a painting. H.G. Wells wrote of the Time Machine and War of the Worlds, both predictions turned out to be quite close to the truth. Shelley’s Frankenstein, the first work of science fiction, imaginatively combined the rigour of science with the freedom of fiction. It played a big role in expressing the hopes and fears we project into our creations. Both Greek mythology and Hindu mythological creations bring us to a world of make-believe, but should be interpreted in between the lines. Is not Uran Khatola a precursor of modern space satellite? Jules Verne created a propeller-driven aircraft in the early 19^th century, when balloons were the best that aviation had to offer while in the 1960s, Arthur C. Clarke envisioned the iPad, while several Sci-Fi TV serials have thrilled the viewers.

The world has known four major revolutions:

The Industrial Revolution: using water and steam power to mechanize production (1784).

Electric Power: Allowed mass production and includes Division of Labour (1870s)

The Electronics and Information Technology which automated production (1970s)

The fourth Industrial Revolution builds on IT and is known as the Digital Revolution. Progressing since the 1950s, and building on some of the discoveries during World War II, it opens endless vistas of growth, development, leisure and better living conditions for small dynamic nations. Three aspects are of interest: Velocity, Scope and Systems Impact.

THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Digital technology through PCs and Internet has already transformed work, education, leisure and entertainment. It has generated new market opportunities. New digital infrastructures, such as wireless networks, mobile devices and positioning technologies herald the next radical shift in digital technology. The Digital Revolution is grafted on a fusion of technologies that blur the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres Digital technology or the Digital Economy is evolving at an exponential rate rather than a linear pace. This is why it is of essence that Mauritius adapts to the rapidity of the breakthroughs if it wants to survive and grow, maintain a clean environment and become a regional leader. Mauritius must stand prepared to face disruption in almost every industry and every aspect of the life of its people. The breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management and governance. Mauritius cannot afford to stay behind. The development of the Ocean Economy or the Pharmaceutical Industry, for instance, depends heavily on Digital Technology and a substantial Research Budget.

Sadly, the recent Budget provides practically nothing for research, which is inextricably linked with the benefits of the digital economy. While there seems a complete confusion of practically everyone holding influential position in managing the ocean economy, confusing the ocean economy and limiting it to fishing and aquaculture, the Blue Revolution is much more. Only digital technology and robotics can lead to an optimal exploitation. Mauritius must be readying to adapt itself for breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage and quantum computing, or else perish. Like the Luddites and the coachmen in Europe of the 1920s, many Mauritians may be apprehensive of job losses. However, as stated in my previous article, the economy will face some disruption and necessary destruction. The need for Mauritius to act fast to create new jobs, some of which many of the present generation cannot imagine, cannot be overemphasized. Let us turn to what the policy-makers have conceived for a start.

BUDGETARY MEASURES

The Budget built great expectations and do contain some valuable measures as part of the fourth revolution. Some of these measures are:

The National Payment and Settlement Switch System for routing payments (Bank of Mauritius). The expected benefits will be reduction in transaction costs and a boost to e-commerce

The Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation will make operational the Information Highway for sharing information among public sector agencies

Government will jointly facilitate e-commerce with MEXA to connect consumers around the world with Mauritian exporters

The other measures are micro investments with marginal impact.

The Budget then presented a list of domestic and regional projects. People clapped and showed their appreciation little realising how insufficient these measures are to take Mauritius to the next level of development. Although the international ranking index on information technology shows that we are among the top 45 countries in a list of 120 countries, a better performer than Italy or Poland and first in Africa, still, we lag behind some of our competitors. Many of the other island financial centres or tourist destinations are better achievers. It is obvious what we, Mauritius, consider we are doing our best, whether at the level of government, the specialist organisations or regulators or providers of information technology services or the private sector and universities. Our best is not good enough to take us to the 25 top nations, an ambition potentially within our reach. How could we do better?