Thursday, August 11, 2011

Mauritius, ready to welcome investors back again... my bet.

Since January this year, I can't count the number of times I've cursed the Board of Investment and its officers. Incoherence and total confusion, a ship navigating in trouble waters... and no captain on board. I had a go at several theories, trying to guess as to what can possibly motivate such an important office to act in such irresponsible manner. I think I've got a clearer picture now, and it all comes out of the political fog that has been covering the island for some days now.



Following the Medpoint scandal, six ministers from the MSM party resigned. Comments of every nature, aroma and taste were flowing around and I said to myself 'what a wonderful confusion'. This Sunday morning, sitting in the car (while my wife was enjoying her shopping with mother-in-law), I got the opportunity to hear the resigning Minister of Finance and leader of MSM. And GOD really showed me His love; I switched on the radio just when the ex-Finance Minister was speaking about the BOI. Oh my God! Light up my cigarette, all organs in receptive mode... I never paid attention to this arrogant cry-baby as he's always pretending to the one with the highest IQ on the island. Well, I never really liked his arrogant tone. Anyways, cigarettes and attention, here we go.



Mr Pravind Jugnauth was speaking about the Prime Minister's initiative behind the setting up of a monitoring committee to appraise all occupation permit applications received. He referred to this committee as a parallel Board of Investment, acting in full authority and impunity. Mr Jugnauth now voices out his frustration as the Board of Investment falls under the direct responsibility of Ministry of Finance but no one from his department was appointed on this committee set up by the top most powerful man on the island, the Prime Minister. I can deduce that the Board of Investment is a politically strategic house and the Prime Minister kept this under his arm. Was it a mere political thing behind all this mess at the Board of Investment? Honestly, once it went through my mind, but then I threw this theory to the bin thinking that Board of Investment is such a hopeless case that it won't attract anybody. I still don't understand why the Prime Minister has kept his veto on the BOI. But at least it explains why no one could explain in the past... what the BOI is really up to.



Was it a deliberate plan from the Prime Minister, in his apparent endeavour to discredit his then Minister of Finance, in his strategy to get rid of him? Much has been said in the press on the decline of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the BOI had fingers pointed in its direction – it underlined, somehow, the incompetence of the Mr Pravind Jugnauth as Minister of Finance. I’d think that all this was planned on the day the MSM of Pravind Jugnauth joined forces with PTr of Navin Ramgoolam. The equation was not that complex after all: break your opponent’s team by hiring one of their players ... win the game and then send your recruit to the trash. To further explain your action, show his incompetence.



There has been some collateral damage, of course. And one of those collateral damages is the incoherence prevailing at the BOI with the result we all know today.



The new Minister of Finance is a competent person. I have personally worked under his wings for a couple of years. He is a chartered accountant and has been at the service of foreigners relocating to Mauritius. He understands, I bet he still do, the needs of investors and the technicalities that lie behind a relocation process. Mr Xavier-Luc Duval is a respected professional and I feel relieved that he is finally at the right place...



I think that things are going to change in the near future and we will be welcoming foreign capital and expertise to Mauritius with the same smile.