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.
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