Mauritius seeks to become "cyber island"

[Grant Lee <grantlee@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

allAfrica.com: Mauritius: Mauritius Seeks to Become a Global Cyber Island
Paradise[Mauritius also used to have a GINI of zero, although I'm not sure
if it's doing that well now. Note as well the role of the Indian
government.]

Mauritius Seeks to Become a Global Cyber Island Paradise

allAfrica.com
January 12, 2004

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Port Louis and Curepipe, Mauritius

First came California's Silicon Valley, then India took the honours. Next,
if all goes according to plan, the tiny Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius
hopes to lead the way in Africa, by transforming itself into a "cyber
island".
The dream is to create a hi-tech paradise, dubbed "cyber city," which is
located in Ebene, 15km (9 miles) outside the capital, Port Louis. The
12-story tower, surrounded by a ring of mountains, rises out of the sugar
cane plantations that were once the bedrock of Mauritian economic
prosperity.
But it is not to the West that Mauritius is looking for its example of cyber
supremacy. That falls to India. The island may be a dot on the map in the
Indian Ocean, but it is strategically located between Africa and the east
and has close links with India.
"Through the cyber city project, we want to forge triangular cooperation
involving India, Mauritius and Africa, to develop synergy and facilitate
Africa's march towards an e-economy," then finance minister, Paul Berenger,
told a conference last year, before he became the island's prime minister in
September. [Berenger succeeded Sir Anerood Jugnauth under the terms of a
power-sharing agreement signed during the 2000 elections by the political
parties the two men head.]
Mauritius, with 1. 2 million people, is home to a large population of Indian
descent, which accounts for most of the island's political elite, though
Berenger, a veteran politician, is himself a Franco-Mauritian and,
therefore, a notable exception. Although the country is officially bilingual
in English and French, the local language Kreol is even more widely spoken
by islanders. Hindi and other Indian languages are also popular among the
different communities.
The majority Indian population on the island dates back to when Britain, one
of the European powers that colonised Mauritius, brought in indentured
labourers from India to work on the sugar plantations. African slaves had
earlier been imported from Mozambique, with the landowners being of French
origin, which accounts for the island's rich, mixed heritage.
Devendra Chaudhry, the chief executive officer of Business Parks of
Mauritius Ltd (BPML), the company responsible for the construction of the
cyber city complex, is an Indian national. He has been seconded to Mauritius
from the Indian civil service to lend his hi-tech know-how and share his
experiences working in his country's own Silicon Valley.
The government in Delhi has extended a financial credit of US$100 million,
as well as technical support. Most of the workers on the construction site -
and the infrastructure - have also been brought over from India. Delhi is
hoping to reap the benefits of its largesse by exploring info-tech markets
in Francophone Africa and even in France itself - through French-speaking
Mauritius.
But critics in Mauritius argue that the lion's share of the jobs created by
the cyber city will go to foreigners, who are only interested in making a
quick buck, at the expense of locals who will be relegated to low-skilled
occupations.
The knowledge park is being built on a 150-acre (60 hectare) plot and will
include a business zone, a multi-media complex and a hotel, as well as
residential and recreational facilities. Completion is scheduled for 2005.
"Technologically speaking, the cyber city is a state-of-the-art facility,"
said Chaudhry, adding that it would "provide a world-class
telecommunications network, through both satellite and an (underwater) fibre
optic cable".
In 2000, Mauritius joined the South Africa Far East (SAFE) Submarine
Fibre-Optic Cable Project, which plans to link the island to Malaysia, via
South Africa and onto West Africa and Europe. This should provide high-speed
connectivity.
In the words of the island's minister of information, technology and
telecommunications, Deelchand Jeeha: "It is no longer a matter of choosing
between penicillin and Pentium. It is now more a matter of choosing the most
effective way for IT to transform Africa into an engine for economic growth
and a better provider for its people".
The government in Mauritius wants to diversify the island's economy away
from its traditional exports of sugar and textiles, which are dependent on
capricious world markets and global trade regulations.
Berenger said: "On the horizon, the sugar protocol is threatened and textile
exports to the European Union and the (United) States are also under
question by the World Trade Organisation's new rules and, by developing free
trade agreements, so we are threatened from all sides".
This reality, said Berenger, was the reason for "our idea to make Mauritius
a cyber island, to rush ahead as a services' economy". Mauritius is hoping
to attract big business and foreign investment by offering tax incentives
and cheap power.
Some companies have jumped at the opportunity, among them Hewlett-Packard,
which is already a partner in the cyber city project. Microsoft and IBM are
reported to have chosen the island as regional headquarters. Other big
hitters are also showing an interest.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200401120314.html