Gerald Lincoln : Opening Mauritius for Growth

The Mauritian economy has experienced reduced growth rates over the past few years, and although a number of sectors have been earmarked to drive growth, only tourism has gained momentum so far. The growth rate in 2017 is unlikely to exceed 3.8% and job creation is a challenge. Brain drain is also becoming more of an issue today, with young Mauritians emigrating at a worrying pace.

I am a firm believer that one of the main strengths of Mauritius is our talent pool, which has contributed to our development so far. However, we lack the expertise required to launch new sectors like the blue economy, bunkering, life sciences or the ports hub, which have been earmarked by the government as areas of future growth. We also lack the scale and concentration of specialist talent and expertise in sectors like finance to compete on an equal footing with other international financial centres.

There is, therefore, a strong case for opening up Mauritius and actively attracting foreign talent of working age with the skill set that we do not possess locally in the identified growth sectors. Other countries with few natural resources have boosted their economic growth by successfully attracting a disproportionate share of talent. Singapore, with similarly little natural resources, actively attracts foreigners accounting for 30% of the Singapore workforce today. Dubai, with no oil or gas, has led the way in the Emirates and neighbouring countries, with 85% of its population being expatriates.

Beyond Singapore and Dubai, we can also take the example of Luxemburg. Luxemburg, a country of 2,568 km2 (Mauritius - 2,040 km2) with the highest GDP/Capita in the world, has no natural resources but is a world class international financial centre. It has twice as many jobs as the Luxemburgish national active population. Around 70% of the country’s workforce is made up of immigrants or border workers and the unemployment rate is lower than the European average. In achieving this, it has successfully attracted key talent with a package of incentives.

Even larger countries like Australia, Canada or the United Kingdom with significant amounts of natural resources actively compete to attract talent. In contrast, Mauritius willingly welcomes tourists but is less welcoming foreign talent. Mauritius has granted occupational permits to about 5,000 foreigners at this stage, representing less than 1% of our workforce today.

Attracting the right talent would have multiple benefits. An influx of, say, 100,000 foreign professionals who would represent 20% of workforce, would enable the smart cities to flourish. They would boost consumption (retail, commerce, restaurants and entertainment), construction and would help improve the productivity and work ethics of the Mauritian workforce. With sufficient depth of expertise, our chosen growth sectors would emerge together with new technologies. The multiplier effect would create more jobs for Mauritians and growth.

There is a myth that foreigners would steal our jobs although there is no empirical evidence to support this. It is also not consistent with the constant search for the right talent that is a common issue across businesses in Mauritius, from textile and construction to financial services. Germany, for example, has recently witnessed great success by opening up its borders to Indian IT experts, as research has shown that for every Indian allowed to enter, three new jobs were created for Germans.

Mauritius has a natural attraction from our beaches, tropical weather, as a secure and stable democracy. We offer a desired lifestyle, connectivity to the rest of the world, and have an excellent reputation. However, foreign talent is not queuing up to come to Mauritius. Under our current policies, many occupational permit applications are rejected. In cases where one spouse is allowed to work, we often deny the other spouse that same right, which is not sustainable for couples. We are late in joining the war for talent, and need a national strategy to differentiate ourselves from other countries and attract foreign talent.

A change in national policy to encourage, via international marketing campaign, foreign professionals to move to Mauritius would no doubt dope our economy and enable progress. If we aspire to move to a high income economy, the opening of our island is a must.