tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86498777237927358592024-02-08T17:44:29.570+04:00Come & Live in Paradise-IslandGibson & Hills offers consultancy services in business setups / management and immigration. We have been in the business for the past 15 years, helping foreigners to settle in Mauritius.
As your consultant, we want you to have all the cards in your hands and thus maximise your chances towards a successful relocation: for you, your family and your wealth.
We don't just shake hands over a signed contract... we hold it forever.Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-48434149916286386692013-11-11T22:14:00.001+04:002013-11-11T22:14:31.385+04:00Mauritius, Work-in-Progress<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The annual budget
speech of Minister of Finance, Xavier-Luc Duval, reveals a very promising
future for Mauritius. Government confirms its strategy to transform the country
into a business center of excellence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Minister has so
far produced excellent results, no doubt he has been voted as the Best African
Minister of Finance for the second consecutive time. As a Chartered Accountant
of high repute (<i>I’ve been lucky to work
along his side for a couple of years), </i>Xavier-Luc has shown a no-nonsense
approach to finance management during his tenure and he maintains his
reputation in this field.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Through this budget
speech, Government lays down its vision of future Mauritius, without casting
its eyes off today’s hardships and the general difficult financial
context. This budget does not simply aim
at devising strategies to tackle external factors or to adjust to the
international situation or keep pace with economic trends. No, this budget aims
at building a new Mauritius. There is an
intelligent mix of bold decisions and prudence.
Delicate issues have been treated with a good dose of sense, logic and
vision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I won’t go into a
financial or sectoral analysis of this budget (<i>sorry, you might be disappointed) </i>as I believe there is enough
coverage of same in the press and on the internet. I’d rather concentrate on announcements that
may affect those relocating or already residing in Mauritius under a residency
permit. You still can contact me in private
if you need advice (<i>or my opinion) </i>on
other points raised in the budget speech.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Well. Mauritius ranks
among the best business destinations of the world (</span><a href="http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/mauritius/">http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/mauritius/</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Foreigners living in the country will
confirm that they enjoy, among others:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">a good business oriented environment, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">a stable country (political, social and
even climatic)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">a pleasant population with no signs of
xenophobia against foreigners<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">a well-defined & modern legal
system<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">a low fiscal regime that favors
business initiatives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">modern work and residency permit
schemes to attract foreign capital & expertise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">a generally pleasant country with
breathtaking views & world’s best beaches (did I go too far here? <i>No, I don’ think so) </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">With no
natural resources and the removal of guaranteed quotas on our sugar (and
afterwards textiles) – Mauritius had to find new ways to continue its
development. Different economic activities were introduced; tourism, financial
services, textiles, ICT / BPO, etc.
Foreign investment and expertise were thought to be essential elements
that would ensure a proper development of our island into a world-class
business hub. And it was true!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The introduction of
Business Facilitation Act 2006 and the creation of the Board of Investment led
to unprecedented uplift in both our domestic and international business
sectors. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) reached interesting peaks, confirming
on their way that Mauritius was appealing to the international community of
entrepreneurs. We had to capitalize on this and we are just doing this. It serves to purpose to attract foreign
investment if we have no vision or strategy for the future. Strategy &
vision, our decision-makers have them.
There were also the dangers that every nation faces when it opens its
doors to foreign investment or inwards migration. Striking the right balance is crucial and in
my opinion, Mauritius is doing marvelously well in this field. We have a selective approach to the immigration
of capital and competence. Of course, no system is fool-proof but is good
enough when it offers a comfortable level of security, both to authorities and
to the common Mauritian. No one would want an invasion of foreign currency to
kill his local money, and neither a massive immigration of expertise to drown
the (highly and/or newly) trained local workforce. On the other side, the selection
process should not be a hindrance to those who are serious about investing,
retiring or working in Mauritius. The
right balance, yes, this is the key to success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There were
different times (or periods) where we faced serious problems and the dangers of
unfiltered immigration. Of course, these
were teething problems. Clairvoyance, intelligence and improvement had to come
into play and they did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I love to highlight
the Mauritian team spirit, whenever it appears.
And here, is an opportunity to salute the common efforts made by both
Government and the private sector in turning strategy into concrete
results. Success, because it is, would
not have been possible without participation of banks, management companies,
consultants, financial services and others.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Success is not a
destination in this kind of strategy. It is a milestone which leads to another
one. Government’s objective, as announced in the budget, is to rank Mauritians
as one of the highest income earners of the world. Yes, we can! Before I get
too political or emotional, let’s have a look at the broad measures taken to
further boost the local business environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The contribution of
foreigners in the development of Mauritius is not questionable. Mauritians do
not have any problems in sharing their country with non-Mauritians either.
There has been no sign of xenophobia against businesses operated by foreigners
despite the additional competition that they bring to our soil. This excellent
socio-political feature of Mauritius added more sparks to the different schemes
created to attract foreign investment and competence. Government now wishes to
enhance the already avant-gardiste business legislation to support investors,
actual and future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Many expatriates
and investors have been living in Mauritius without the possibility to own
their residence. In fact, foreigners could only acquire residential properties
classified as luxury through the RES and IRS schemes. The restrictive price tag
(which confirms the luxury status) was not accessible to each and every
expatriate living in the country. We had
to find the right balance in opening residential property to foreigners while
eliminating negative impacts on Mauritian.
Dollars and Euros may put pressure on our small Rupee – so we did not
want real estate prices to catch a high that local people would not be able to
match. Foreigner’s access to real estate
has always been a very delicate issue.
The right balance has been found, in my opinion, again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Investors holding
an Occupation Permit (<i>having invested a
minimum of USD100,000 in their business) </i>and professional earning more than
USD3,000 a month can now purchase an apartment in any complex having ground +2
floors. This allows expatriates to own a residential property and avoid eternal
rental. Since Mauritians are not too enthusiastic when it comes to high-rise
living (we prefer our garden), it was very intelligent to direct foreigners to
these types of accommodation. On the other side, it was quite a strange thing
to see so many upmarket apartment complexes being built, particularly on the
highway to Phoenix. There are three of them, literally one next to the other. I first thought that these were doomed since
the promoters would never reach decent percentage of occupation through Mauritians.
Government saved them! Lobby or not, I find this move a very intelligent one.
On one side it rewards those who contribute to the success of the country and
on the other one, it helps local real-estate developers in their business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another brilliant
announcement: extension of permanent residency to investors. The only way to obtain permanent residency
was through acquisition of villas under the RES/IRS schemes, worth a minimum of
USD500,000. This was a paradox. Investors who put that same amount of money
in developing businesses (and eventually creating employment) did not have
access to permanent residency. Now this
has been corrected. Investors can now apply for permanent residency if they
invested at least USD500,000 in qualified sectors (<i>construction, banking, insurance, real estate development, ICT,
tourism, manufacturing, healthcare, education, and many others).<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is worth mentioning
that Permanent Residency is not actually permanent. It is in fact a residency permit for 10
years, renewable. We should watch how this
affects the Naturalisation scheme which allows investors (+ USD 500,000) who
spend more than 3 years in Mauritius to apply for citizenship. I presume
amendments will follow, as it always does.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As we can see, the
Government is polishing and improving the schemes to further attract foreign
investors. In fact, it going well beyond
that by rewarding those who are already here through a better access to
property. It is even catering for a petty but yet essential point, the age of
dependent children. This has been
revised from 18 years to 24 years old (<i>I
see someone out there jumping with joy)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My observation is
simple: authorities have relayed the usual grievances of expatriates and this
has been tackled in an intelligent manner by the Government. Like any other
things in life, foreign investment should be tamed, understood and kept under
control. Only then we can benefit from
its positive sides and mitigate risks and reduce the dangers. Up to now we have been very careful, working
each step carefully before moving to the next one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mauritius has
always survived difficult phases of its life through the vision of its leaders. When sugar cane was hit by the dangers of
commercial extinction, the country introduced the textiles industry. It changed the local social context; women,
usually confined to house chores were leaving their home for work,
unbelievable! And then textiles started
to take the blows (<i>elimination of quotas
and birth of monster China). </i>We had to adjust again, and there came tourism…
and again tourism was hit, we created one of the best financial services of the
world. All the above economic sectors are still operational and blend into the
broader economic picture to make Mauritius a versatile & modern business center.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Minister of Finance
stated that it will take 6 additional budget exercises (6 years) to transform
Mauritius into one of the highest income earners of the world. This is not an
illusion, it is achievable and right now it’s <i>work-in-progress.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.gibsonandhills.com/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">www.gibsonandhills.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;"><a href="mailto:info@gibsonandhills.com"><span lang="EN-US">info@gibsonandhills.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-55571782342362441902013-03-08T11:19:00.000+04:002013-03-08T15:11:25.211+04:00Mauritius, paving the way for the future<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We are observing, with satisfaction,
that certain governmental organizations are making a real effort to evolve.
The recent Board of Investment (BOI) scandal has pushed decision makers to
react – and they are doing so in very notable manner to transform what was once
a stagnant and, to a certain extent, corrupt institution into a healthier one. It
is undeniable that updating oneself every now and then is necessary, especially
if one wants to keep pace in this fast changing world where information sharing
has reached a hike. Mauritius is indeed riding on this tidal wave and we’re
glad to see that some people of influence are not just sleeping on the laurels.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When it comes to foreign investment and
residency, the the BOI is key and almost inevitable. I use the term almost
inevitable because there is at least one scheme where a foreigner can invest,
work & live in Mauritius without going through the BOI. This scheme is the
Work & Residence permit scheme, operated by the Ministry of Labour and the
Passport & Immigration Office. I have always been somewhat virulent
in my previous comments towards the BOI. This is largely because I have
always felt strongly against the inconsistency in their decisions, the ever
changing rules & regulations (which are rarely communicated, if at all) and
the arrogance of certain officers.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But things are changing at the BOI and I
want to be the first to acknowledge and congratulate them for the effort.
BOI heads have finally seen what I was saying for years. There is a visible
change in the way applications are treated.
The front desk officers now realise that foreigners have other destination
choices too, some of which are more interesting than our paradise island. Our duty is indeed to scrutinize, select and
encourage the influx of real business & clean money. The new
procedure in place is as follows: an application for Occupation Permit goes
first through the Passport & Immigration Office (PIO) desk. Once the
documents & records are found to be clean, applicants are allowed to move
to next step: the BOI counter. This may seem to be a small change but in
the eyes of professionals it has a greater meaning. This change has removed the
dependency on the BOI and eliminates the risks of corruption by splitting
responsibilities between two highly important bodies: the BOI & the
PIO. Secondly, it gives due importance to the PIO which is the actual
authority issuing and controlling Occupation Permits and leaves the BOI to
shoulder its part as a mere facilitator.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To further avoid risks of unnecessary
intervention by unqualified and pseudo consultants, the BOI is now registering
official & known consultants (Gibson & Hills Ltd is one of them!).
People accompanying investors or other applicants to the BOI are now requested
to officially register themselves with the BOI and after a screening process;
they are either registered or rejected. This measure obviously reduces
unwarranted interventions and protects foreigners from ‘offers to buy’ their
permits.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If I could apply the definition of unavoidable
to one institution, it would be to the Registrar of Companies (ROC). In
fact, any foreigner who wants to invest, work or live in Mauritius has to go
through the ROC (with the exception to expatriates who are not promoters of a business
as well as retired persons). If one wants to apply for an Occupation
Permit as Investor or Self-Employed, one needs to first register one’s company
or oneself at the ROC.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The ROC has always been an exemplary
body and has always made the extra effort to stay updated in terms of
legislation, procedures, and technology. It is among the first to provide
a computerized system for the public to access data on registered companies. One
cannot but think aloud that this may be due to the fact that it does not have a
political nominee at its head (!?). Stability and vision of the ROC’s
management over the years definitely earned the ROC its reputation as one of
the most respectable and respected para-statal body on the island.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some recent changes last week shows that
the ROC is one step ahead; again. The ROC has upgraded all its
paperwork. All the forms required for company incorporation and
registration of changes have been redesigned with a visually more appealing
look, enhanced user-friendliness with provision for full computerization. I bet
that once the E-Government concept becomes a reality, the ROC will be the first
in the race. They even sport a barcode on their forms now! At least
someone knows what Cyber-Island means!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A last change has cost Rs50 million to
the Government: the complete revamping of the governmental portal and its
websites. These have become more user-friendly with simplified navigation, and definitely
pave the way for the E-Government.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I thought worth writing about these
little changes that albeit show a lot about our country’s strategic move to become
an international business destination.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-80675829277678446302013-02-15T12:04:00.001+04:002013-02-15T12:04:20.032+04:00Favouristism & Non-equal opportunities in Mauritius<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In my French blog,
sometimes ago, I wrote an article about favoritism in Mauritius. Some people didn't like my opinion and I was
cursed. Those people, some expatriates
having spent few years on our soil, take themselves for experts mastering every
aspect of life in the island. Anyway, this is not the subject of today's
article but it's good to mention that the press, through the recent scandals,
proved me right. As a pure-bred Mauritian, having spent all my life (so far) in
my motherland, I have some legitimate reason to believe that my observations
and opinions are not (totally) irrelevant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I maintain this blog to
help those who want to invest and live in Mauritius with backstage information
on life in paradise-island. It is essential that people understand the
country's culture, habits and evils before taking the relocation leap.
Foreigners are more vulnerable for many reasons. First, they don't know the laws of the
country and the idea of jumping milestones is so tempting when you are starting
from scratch. The BOI scandal confirms
that many victims didn't have dark minds, they were simply abused of due to
ignorance of rules. Your foreign currencies multiply their (purchasing) powers
when they reach Mauritius; and we, Mauritians, very aware of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As regards favouritism,
it is not a secret to any of my counterparts. It has been existing since the
arrival of the first settlers and has prevailed over generations up to
now. I believe that the history and the
demography of the country have played a very important role in the survival of favouritism. Our population is mosaic of cultures
originating from different regions of the world. Indentured labourers from India, traders from
China, slaves from Africa and master-minds from Europe (I prefer the word master-minds
to colons). Favouritism, in my opinion, took birth from the moral obligation
that each person felt towards those in his ethnic group. I wouldn't term this
as racism, given the context, but solidarity.
We succeeded in building a nation of peace and harmony, but we cannot
pretend to ignore some genes that compose our DNA. Favouritism is deep rooted
and from there stems out other demons: corruption, power influence, racism,
etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Having a bad gene is not
dramatic in the sense that everything can be cured these days, well almost
everything. The introduction of the
Equal Opportunities Act is a big step towards cure. I concede that writing Law and applying it
are two different things, but a Law in force is Law and any aggrieved party can
have recourse to it to seek repair. That’s
a start. The country is very
self-conscious of its reputation and usually makes a point to get good
classifications on international lists (<i>For
example: Transparency International's corruption ranking, Moody's banks
ranking, Independence of the press, and so on</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The press recently
revealed that the spectacular success of some 'brilliant businessmen and women'
was the result of high-level occult protection.
Facts and details reported in the press show some coherence and confirm
the presence of favouritism that we all were aware of and have been tolerating
up to now. The success story of this
ex-shop assistant is visibly not the result of her effort but that of her
relationships. Succeeding in business in
Mauritius is not mission impossible, we have a long list of impressive success
stories. I still remember that young man starting his 'poster' business. From
some thousands of rupees, his turnover has steadily grown to reach one hundred
million. With the same dedication, humility and honesty, he is now aiming at
the billion. Success, in every sphere, requires effort and it a process with
requires constant focus towards your goals, irrespective of the obstacles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If you want to reach the
summit at lightning speed, you either repeatedly buy yourself a Lotto ticket
until you hit the jackpot (<i>with the risk
of ruining yourself</i>) or, if you are in Mauritius, do your best to get
acquainted to an influential politician.
And when your ways are revealed in public, you can still run to the
court for a gagging order. But in any
case, everybody has to assume his responsibilities, acknowledge the risks
involved and accept them when they blow in your face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Our ex-shop assistant
has no known track record in business but is running an empire brewing millions
of rupees. In this small island,
arrogance is to be avoided, particularly if your success is not
legitimate. Bluntly: you better shut up
& be invisible. When power and money
invade your brain, you feel invincible, lower your guards and then inevitably
take the blow. It serves no purpose,
other than to worsen your case, if you maintain arrogance and fight public
opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We have witnessed
similar results with some foreign investors.
Many believed that Mauritius is a poor country and that money, wherever
they are sourced from, are welcomed and can buy you a status. It works; but for
a very limited time frame. And while you are enjoying it, you (again) better
shut-up & be invisible. You don't
race your sports car on the beach and risk the life of others. If you are a
foreigner, bear this in mind: you will first be alienated by your benefactors,
then treated by public opinion; thereafter treated by law...you will be ejected
from the island <i>(after paying for your
offence).</i> You can also be part of
collateral damage if your benefactor’s ill-doings are revealed in cases which
do not involve your person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Success in business is
not difficult in Mauritius. One can
argue that the domestic market of the island is restricted in size but the
other incentives & features available do position the country as a
strategic business platform for regional and international markets. In our own case, we deal mostly with a
foreign clientele and we have been consistently growing our business. Often we
have had the opportunity to build occult relationships, but kept away from such
enterprise. Our clients often ask for advice on suspicious offers they receive
to speed up things. We strongly &
systematically advise people not to venture into shady business and to seek
advice from professionals in case of doubt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Honest business pays in
Mauritius.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">(c) Gibson & Hills Ltd - February 2013</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.gibsonandhills.com/">http://www.gibsonandhills.com</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-82187008845843055522012-12-12T16:39:00.000+04:002012-12-12T16:39:38.880+04:00MAURITIUS EMPLOYMENT LAWS & REGULATIONS, AN OVERVIEW<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Every foreigner who wants to relocate or invest in
Mauritius has the duty to understand the laws and rules in force in the
country. Even if many can afford the
support of professionals in the fields, some basic knowledge still remains
important. We are launching a series of short articles on our blog to help our
readers understand the laws (and the spirit of law) which are related to the
setting-up & operation of business in Mauritius. This series will include,
amongst others: company law, accounting rules, tax rules and employment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We start our series with the last topic: employment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The authority<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations &
Employment is the supreme authority which regulates labour laws in Mauritius. The
ministry operates several departments, each one specializing in a particular
aspect of employment: operational health & safety, labour law, employment
of foreign nationals, licensing of recruitment agencies, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The head-office is found in Port Louis (where else?) –
but several sub-offices are operational in various regions of the island. These sub-offices offer a number of services
to employers & employees and were created to avoid overloading the head-office. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Laws<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Employment Rights Act is the main law that governs
employment in Mauritius. The Law</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> itself is not heavily loaded with legal and technical jargon. It is
written in a rather accessible language and allows the nonprofessionals to at
least understand the fundamentals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It is to be
noted that the Employment Rights Act is not the only reference that needs
attention. Employers need to consult Remuneration Orders issued by the Ministry
of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment. Remuneration Orders set out
the additional rules of employment in industries operating with specific needs.
For example: hotels, tourist’s entreprises, shops, call centres, etc. These
businesses operate specific working hours and therefore turn to Remuneration
Orders of their particular industry to determine, for example, how overtime is
calculated or paid, shift systems & mandatory rest periods, after-hour transport
obligations, meals & other allowances – and other specific issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Employment, an overview of the main points<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Intervals between two salary payments shall not exceed
1 month. No agreement is valid if it
mentions an interval exceeding 1 month. Employers and employees may enter into
agreement for pay intervals of less than 1 month<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Working hours: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">8 hours of effective work
per day – except for those working on a part-time basis and for watchmen. For the latter, 12 hours of effective work
per day is recommended by Law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Overtime should be on mutual agreement (employer &
employee). On expected future overtime, the employer has the duty to give a 24
hour notice to his employee (wherever possible) and the latter may refuse to
attend such overtime work, with a 24 hour notice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A worker performing on a public holiday earns twice
his hourly rate for each hour worked on that day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For each 4 hours of work, an employee has a right to 1
meal break of 1 hour AND to 1 tea-break of 20 minutes Or 2 tea-breaks of 10
minutes each. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No discrimination: employees of the same category,
working on the same hours should be paid on an equal basis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The right to payslips cannot be discussed – it is mandatory!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No deductions are allowed on salary, save and except
those mentioned in the Law. In case of refund of advance salaries, the employee
needs to give his consent in writing and the refunds shall not exceed one-fifth
of the monthly salary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Maximum deduction (in any case) shall be less than 50%
of the salary payment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Employers cannot apply financial sanctions (fines) to
employees for negligence or damage to equipment. Employers cannot apply any interests or
financial charges on advances made to employees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The cost of transport shall be borne by the employer
and refunded to the employee if the permanent place of residence of the latter
is more than 3kms from the place of work. If called to work after normal
working hours (where public transport is not available), the employee has the
right to a free transport means from his employer, irrespective of the 3kms
distance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The right to leaves (annual, sick, maternity and
paternity) is opened to the employee after 12 months of consecutive employment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Annual leave: 20 days + 2 additional days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sick leave: 15 days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Maternity leave: 12 weeks (with an option of 6 weeks
prior to confinement). Breast-feeding female workers have the right to two
breaks of 30 minutes each or to one break of 1 hour per day, over a period of 5
months following confinement or over such periods as may be medical advised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Paternity leave : 5 consecutive days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Any employer, employing more than 10 persons should
cater for medical facilities on-site.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The employer has the duty to provide transport
facilities to any employees suffering from accident on his place of work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">National pensions funds & training levy<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The maximum
salary on which pensions funds & solidarity fund contributions are
calculated : Rs12,640<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The employee pays 3% (National Pensions Fund) + 1%
(National Solidarity Fund)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The employer pays 6% (National Pensions Fund) + 2.5
(National Solidarity Fund)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Training levy is paid by employer at the rate of 1.5%
on the actual salary (not the maximum of Rs12,640). This training levy gives
right to a refund of costs of training spent on training schemes approved by
the government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have, in
this article, highlighted the main points of labour law and regulations of
Mauritius. Readers will understand that
it is impossible for us to cover all the laws in this short article. We therefore make ourselves available to
answer your queries by email (<a href="mailto:nadeem@gibsonandhills.com">nadeem@gibsonandhills.com</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.gibsonandhills.com/">www.gibsonandhills.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-40943740933375571882012-10-05T13:05:00.000+04:002012-10-05T13:05:52.472+04:00Walk on, walk on, with your head high...
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mauritius has been in the limelight following ‘many’ events that
were reported in international press.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bad publicity does not exist, they say but nonetheless paradise-island
was somewhat hurt in what was relayed in the media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bullet fired to our open wings. It does not
matter, we still remain one of the world’s best destinations and no one can
counter that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the island is
worth some praise, despite our internal problems and pains – who does not have
them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Irish
Boycott<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The first scandal that hit us was the murder of Irish personality,
Michaela Harte. She was 27, murdered in a five-star hotel in Mauritius on her
honeymoon. International press did not miss it and soon whole Ireland was
against our island. Mauritians living in Ireland were victims of racial hatred
and discriminations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mauritian police had to act fast and find the culprits. In haste,
it got three persons in the nets. After weeks of trial, the jury found all
three of them innocent and they were released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of the three persons arrested were employees of the five-star hotel
where Michaela spent her fatal honeymoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These persons were at all times claiming their innocence and on several
occasions declared they were victims of police brutality. They were forced to admit
a crime they did not commit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Police was
tagged as incompetent and denied of the glory it was expecting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ireland felt that its child was denied justice and this was clearly
demonstrated by Irish Prime Minister’s declaration: “Justice is not done”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then followed a systematic boycott against
Mauritius, legitimate maybe but definitely understandable. Some travel agency
displayed ‘No tickets to Mauritius’ on their windows. Mauritius was no longer
in their hearts, clearly and bluntly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Board
of Investment Scandal<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">One of the most reputed institutions of the country, the Board of
Investment (BOI), was recently hit by a unprecedented scandal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The BOI promotes Mauritius as a business and
luxury-living destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It acts as a
one-stop-shop to regulate, facilitate and encourage foreign investment in
paradise-island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of its core
services is to coordinate, supervise and recommend application for residency
permits submitted by foreigners who wish to invest or retire in Mauritius.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Apparently some of the BOI officers grouped themselves into a gang
and were racketing ‘poor’ foreigners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The gang offered their own ‘services’ by delivering fake permits to
their victims. Blasphemy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Investors
applying for occupation permit through the official channel would be approached
by these corrupted officeials and were called to pay some additional fees for
an expeditious treatment of their applications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Victims would never doubt the seriousness of the proposal since this was
being done on the premises of the BOI and by officers of the BOI. Enquiries led
to the arrestation of a couple of BOI officers and the whole network was dismantled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appeared that this gang was a well-engineered
one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">This scandal almost blew away all the efforts done by the
Government to position Mauritius as a worldwide business and leisure
destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could sense the anger
around; among professional consultants, Ministers and all those who are working
hard to build the image of modern Mauritius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We could not afford to bear with this one, surely not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the bullet was already out of the barrel
and it had to cause harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whom do we
trust now if fake documents are being manufactured inside BOI’s walls?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Has the whole system shown its limitations
and should it be pulled down?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">I make it a point to mention that the Managing Director of BOI, Mr
Ken Poonoosamy reacted with the calmness and intelligence, so essential in
these types of situations. He did well; he reacted with a proper communication
strategy which, in my opinion, reassured the international community of
investors and professionals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m not justifying the crime, but some brains & eyes cannot
limit themselves to their job when they see too much foreign currencies moving
near them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some officers at the BOI (and
their gang members) thought it was legitimate for them to have a bite in the
foreign investments cake…maybe they thought that they were playing a very
important role in handling residency permit applications and they deserved a
greater share than their actual salary. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The BOI, as an institution, did well do
dissociate itself from these worms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Since then, much has been done to restore the image of BOI and
Mauritius as an investment hub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It all
seems to be back on track again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Government announced recently that we are about to reach the Rs4bn
figure in foreign direct investment (FDI).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Arms
traficking<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">More recently, an American NGO, the Conflict Awareness Project
(CAP), reported that Mauritius was about to be used as an international arms
trafficking platform by Russian mafia. CAP has been very active in tracking
down illegal arms traffic and supports the United Nations in implementing an
international arms treaty to formalize and regulate arms trading. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">CAP’s report was full of lies and baseless allegations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hurt Mauritius, going as far as treating
our country as an ideal host to arms traffickers willing to pursue their
business in the post-September, 11 era. CAP put international media to its
service and the information was relayed, verbatim, in some of the world’s most
reputed columns. Local media was hooked along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our local <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“do-everything to sell
more papers” </i>reporters had a scoop!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because it came from the US, it had to be true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CAP blamed a well-known Mauritian family of
lawyers to be part of the ploy, accusing one of the members of this family (an
actual Minister) to have played a game of influence and helped Russian mafia in
reaching to their goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come on!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Gibson & Hills Ltd (yes, yes!), according to CAP is a company
founded by Russian mafia to host their dark business in Mauritius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought I founded Gibson & Hills Ltd,
but somehow because CAP is American, local press gave more credit to her words!
LOL!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those local press reporters did not
verify any of the information contained in the CAP report, and yet such
information is readily available at the Registrar of Companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A simple check would have revealed that
Gibson & Hills Ltd was created by Nadeem Mosafeer (Me) in January 2008, and
the Russians set foot in Mauritius only in 2011. I had to show those reporters
my blogs with their 25,000 readers and ask them <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘you think that’s part of the Russian’s gameplan?’ .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Many understood that it was all about a
sensational lie from the director of CAP, Ms Kathi Lynn Austin… but many still
had to be convinced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">We then issued a counter-report and blew away all those ugly,
dirty and blatant lies that Ms Austin wrote in her report. We revealed the
actual gameplan of Ms Lynn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She claimed
that the Russian investors (our clients) were lieutenants of Viktor Bout, the famous
arms dealer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her report, she tries to
defend a crook (a Mauritian) who was arrested for swindling the Russian
investors of more than Rs10 million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ms
Austin went so far as accusing local police of incompetence, and claiming she
held a truth that Mauritian authorities did not care take into consideration:
The crook was a gentle and innocent guy, the victims of the crook were the real
big bad wolf!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guts and foolishness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ms Austin’s aim was clear, and we wrote it clearly in our counter
report:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">CAP had
to show that even harmless countries like Mauritius could play an active role
in arms trafficking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore it was
essential to implement an Arms Treaty. </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="twunmatched" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
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</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">CAP was
about to make itself known to the world with a brilliant work, a sensational
report revealing hell business in paradise-island.</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">CAP shows
that it is a very serious NGO and this can bring further blessings from
investors.</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">As
for the Mauritian crook, he would see all those legal entities held by the
Russian collapse and he would no longer be held accountable for the massive
frauds he committed. Obviously, we came to know that Ms Lynn and the Crook were
actually friends on facebook and it was clear that :<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Crook gave biased
information to CAP, and CAP would play in favour of the crook.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Now here is the real story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Russians wanted to invest in a charter airline business to serve the
islands of the Indian Ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crook
informed them that he was holder of an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) and
could help them set their planes take-off faster than they planned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crook took over USD400,000 in the
process, but never showed the original(AOC to the investors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the Russian enquired with competent
authorities, it was discovered that the AOC was a fake one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Russian complained to police, crook
arrested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crook humiliated, crook seeks
vengeance. Crook hooks CAP and CAP gets traps in a sensational but false
story ! Full-stop, that’s what happened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">CAP and director Kathi Lynn are nowhere to be found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have been called to answer on different
parts of their report by local authorities; no signs of life on Mars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">All of the above events had a serious impact on the image of
Mauritius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, the hard-work and
endurance of the Mauritian population in general outplayed those negative
impacts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mauritius will continue its progress;
its leaders have a vision and are determined to work towards our goals. We will
succeed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As one of the top performing
economies of Africa, paradise-island will not abandon the playfield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those who are not aware, we successfully
shifted our economic pillars from agriculture to textile, we had the same
success when we implemented tourism & textiles… and now we are moving
towards being a leader in worldwide finance and services industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><strong><em>What upsets me is that those who are doing everything to hinder
progress will be the firsts to claim a share of success, when success will be.<o:p></o:p></em></strong></span></div>
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Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-19623691482941471922012-04-11T14:41:00.001+04:002012-04-11T15:25:18.990+04:00POLITICAL TURMOIL AND ITS IMPACT ON BUSINESS...<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Much has been said and written on the political turmoil that is apparently hitting Mauritius. It’s true that the moves were spectacular – the President of the Republic of Mauritius resigns and plunges back to active politics. He proposes to be the next Prime Minister to rescue a country on the downfall! As the architect of the modern Mauritius, Sir Aneerood Jugnauth (SAJ) was (and for many he is no longer) a much admired personality. Controversial many a time; but then this is expected from every determined leader that leads a nation with a vision and ambition. Resigning from the most gratifying retirement post in the country (Presidency) to again face active politics and its bruises: you’ve got to have strong reasons. Many of us do not agree that the country’s progress is the main motive behind the move.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’ll leave the political motivations and other strategies for some other time. I’ve been thinking on the impact that a political turmoil might have, particularly during this actual worldwide economic crisis, on Mauritius. Bear in mind that this is not a scientific analysis of the situation, but my personal opinion based on observations made by a common layman, which I am. You may be deceived, I warn you. You won’t find any economic theory or political analysis of our system, depicted in heavily colored illustrations and charts. Neither will you find a post-mortem report of local history. I leave this to the more learned people around!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To me, political stability has been one of the key factors of our progress so far. My definition of political stability lies not in having the same governing party over a long period of time. I’d rather define stability as the coherence in vision among successive leaders and the smoothness of the transition processes. So far we have seen that most leaders share almost the same vision. There a visible consensus on the resources we have (and don’t have), the industries we need to develop and the way forward. We all agreed that the country’s ambitions should not be limited to the size of its surface area, we all agreed that we have the potential to play leading roles in the region and on the world scene – we all agreed on these and have been working towards these. We still agree, and so do the leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is the duty of the opposition party to shout and cry out on every opportunity it has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actual leader of opposition, Mr Berenger, is famous for his hysteric statements, so much that he makes me laugh (I give him a big LOL!) whenever he says anything. I'm sorry, but even if he's right, my brain can't focus on him anymore. Maybe if one day, he gets the Prime Minister's chair, I will think differently; but then, that's a different story in today's context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Decades back, we would rely on the information opposition parties would relay to consider whether a particular transaction or event could be qualified as scandal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, we have different<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>means to obtain information; internet, blogs, forums and private radios.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank God!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the opposition party shouts high and loud that the country is in a catastrophic state, I tend to smile and say "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">there he goes again!". </i>I only say to myself that the guy is doing his job - honestly and to the best of his abilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has the habit to utter strong words like 'etat d'urgence economique' (when he himself was holding the reigns of the country and was panicking during the financial crisis) or to treat others with discriminative nicknames 'Lake lerat' (rat tail), or to qualify people as 'intellectually limited'.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry for this long paragraph but I had to write this to make my point: I simply can't take on his words, unless he shows some concrete things - which he hasn't done so far, in my opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now he has convinced SAJ to join him and save the country. To save from what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing I can see the ex-President saving is his son, Pravind, completely drowned in the political ocean and about to be completely erased from the local political scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now you can refer to the last sentence of my first paragraph and read again.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Having said all this, I do not foresee any major upsets in the business environment. In fact, I do not even foresee any upsets at all! I may be wrong; I'm not a political expert. But I can't help myself thinking that this is another tune from the same trumpet. In fact, the leader of the opposition shouted on every roof that we will soon see major developments, through the resignation of SAJ, yet again the so-called major developments are yet to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The resignation of SAJ was the talk of the town for two days and all the excitation has faded and reduced to petty gossips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don't expect any impact on business environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our economy allows for freedom-of-business, if I may define the principle in these words. As long as you observe the rules and regulations in force, you are pretty free to run your enterprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don't have a sensible stock exchange which fluctuates with the tides, human emotions, or whatever other non-economic & non-financial reasons traders usually put forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Politics has very little effect on business in Mauritius, unless it leads to major regulation changes (tax system, regulatory conditions, etc.). Obviously, when the government changes, there is an observation round. Investors are less reactive, they stand on the watch-out mode but stay ready to shoot when the signal turns green. It turns green when people get back to work again and the general excitation is over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In Mauritius, you shout, cry and shout again...for some hours or days, and then you realise that you need to feed your family so you get back to normal life again. Back to work or to your business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a minority who has nothing to lose and who looks for every opportunity to get back to popular movements on the streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has never lasted long, never gathered any big momentum, save on Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As someone running his own business, I always keep an eye on the external factors that may affect my company; and politics is one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It never had any major impact on my business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet this business of mine is deeply connected to the political-social-economic equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the government stops encouraging foreign investment, or removes business incentives (low tax rate, user-friendly procedures, etc) – my business would definitely hit a low and I would need to restructure my service grid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hasn’t so far as successive governments have understood the importance of foreign investment and the need for a simplified business framework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Entrepreneurship is encouraged and local people given ‘almost’ every kind of nursing to help realise their business projects. I can’t see this stopped by any future leader, well I really don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it happens, it will be a Kamikaze at the head of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All brings me to the final remark that politics is more related to soap operas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know that the actor will fall in love, will marry the actual actress, will fight with her, ask and get divorce and then fall in love with another one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scenario will keep on revolving with some new twists and turns… that’s exactly the case in Mauritius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> When the show is over, switch off the TV - get back to work, until the next episode starts.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="color: red;">Warning: Soap operas can be addictive and are injurious to family life<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></i></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-28968632584322805762011-12-14T14:42:00.001+04:002011-12-14T14:43:52.295+04:00Mauritius - small country, big nation...!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Oprah Winfrey is no longer the wealthiest person from the black community. Ok, that’s news! What’s better is that the leader, in terms of fortune, is someone from the African continent. Mr Aliko Dangote, cement-king, from Nigera is sitting comfortably at this position. His wealth is the result of long years of sweating. He now weights USD10 billion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">From a small cement trading company created in 1977, Mr Dangote has worked his way to a multinational pan-African enterprise. No, it’s got nothing to do with corruption, fraud or whatever other illegal money-making instruments we know of. Yes, it is proof that people can also succeed in Africa. By the way, why is it that when a US citizen makes money, we assume he’s good in business and when it’s an African... we assume its money from bad deeds? Maybe because of the not-too-glorious past of Africa, ok I’ll satisfy myself with this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">`<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Well, the performance of Mr Dangote is not a exceptional or spectacular at every level. Africa has activated its stealth system and is progressing at constant speed without catching anybody’s attention. While the world is focussed on Asia (and China) – mama Africa is moving peacefully to success. There is a confirmed economic growth winding prevailing from the west (Ghana) up to the south (Mozambique). This is the highest growth rate so far on the globe! </span><span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Take Ethiopia, for example. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">It has a growth rate of 7.5%. From a crouching and kneeling country, devastated by an endless famine to one of ten largest livestock producer of the world, Ethiopia has done supernatural progress.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Severe income disparities persist through much of the continent; but a genuine middle class is emerging. Things are changing now. Banks operating on the African continent are unanimous on this point. This market is growing at a respectable pace, better than in certain ‘emerging nations’. At this stage we can’t say that Africa has rid off its old habits and problems. But the fact remains, and I insist, that Africa is progressing in a spectacular fashion. Just a note to say that international trade between Africa and the rest of the world has known a 200% increase since year 2000. External debt was reduced by 25%, budget deficit by 66%. Overall, Africa is doing better than Asia (excluding Japan). I’m not an expert in economics but I trust The Economist Magazine and his published materials.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">So why I am talking about Africa? Well, firstly I feel proud to see the black continent standing on its feet and not on its knees. I feel proud whenever I see such efforts deployed and the willingness to succeed take form. I was once on my knees and now jumping… The second point is (and it is the most important point of this article) – Mauritius is playing an important role in the new Africa economic dynamism. Cast a glance at the picture, the figures say it all! Only Botswana is doing better than Mauritius. Again, I trust The Economist Magazine !<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">In the wake of the financial crisis hitting Europe, Mauritius proposes a safe business and holiday destination. We are able, today, to propose cutting-edge & low-risk solution as compared to what is available in Europe. We have solid banks, some boasting a profit of over Rs4 billion. Our banks do not gamble and blame traders – we all mean business, we always did…. Africans always did but did not have the gas pedal under their feet. They have it now. We have had our trouble times and unpopular measures taken by Governments. Thank God! We are better now while Europe is facing Austerity measures. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">I cannot put myself in the shoes of the European investor or entrepreneur, but he is surely in a bad ‘financial or emotional trip’ right now. I’m wondering what’s in the mind of those youngsters full of capabilities who want to launch their business! Sure, the Nicolas and Angela couple can give birth to a super-economic-baby, but when ? </span><span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Is it in the making? Not sure. And when it’s born, will it be able to survive the financial tsunamis ? </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">And when will it be able to talk and walk ? I know that my European friends have many more questions like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">That brings me to a clear observation: Mauritius is now doing better than Europe! We are progressing and I don’t see anything stopping that progress, except the impact of the European crisis. We are able to cater for free education, free health services, exceptional quality of life, climatic and political stability (with its folkloric gossips), free transport for students and senior citizens, top class to-be road network, free WIFI all over the island… the list can become quite long. Many projects are in the pipeline, many needs improvement…but globally we know what we want, and we are doing everything to reach our target. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">To invest in Mauritius no longer needs convincing. It’s now more than an simple ‘interesting’ option, it is a serious option. Doing business in Mauritius is such a pleasure. Streamlined legal framework, modern business laws, competent people… the finest international trade treaties, what else? Can you really wait for the Merk-ozy couple to come up with that superpower economic child, will they be able to give birth to it? Can you afford waiting, can your family afford it, and what about your own children?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">European should start finding other ways to protect their wealth. And I’m not talking about creating that wealth, could be something out-of-this-world right now. But let me tell you it is possible to create wealth from Mauritius, oh yes it is. If you want to know more, visit our website at. <a href="http://www.gibsonandhills.com/">http://www.gibsonandhills.com o</a>r contact us by <a href="mailto:nadeem@gibsonandhills.com">email</a>. We will be glad to see how Mauritius can accommodate you for a brighter future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Don’t forget to send a ‘Congratulations’ card to the Merk-ozy couple if they happen to get that baby walking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-29254485128155521432011-10-19T15:48:00.000+04:002011-10-19T15:48:01.963+04:00Invest in Mauritius, easier in a month?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has known a significant decrease since January 2011. The big-thinkers and government analysts once again put the blame on the international financial context. True to some extent, but not entirely. Some of those experts have always been blaming the international economy for every of those problems we encounter – sometimes to justify their incompetence, sometimes to hide themselves. Those who tried to relocate to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mauritius</st1:place></st1:country-region> during the past months know it well: the problem lies within the authorities (not to mention the Board of Investment) and their ever-changing rules and regulations. In 2006, when the Business Facilitation Act was introduced, the doors where wide open… and with a big bang they closed it in January this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Mauritius</span></st1:placename><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></span></st1:place><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> does not have any natural resource or wealth. We are completely dependent on certain specific industries: tourism, financial services … and on our ambition to become a cyber-island (guess what this means!). If we want to keep pace and give a chance to our ambitions, we need to give due credit to foreign capital and expertise. The foreigner is not someone who just puts money in our economy and sit back in his country. He needs to stay, in most cases, on the island and work along his money. The residency permit becomes essential. By systematically refusing to grand residency permits to investors, the Board of Investment has slowed down FDI. Blunt but true!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">In a month or so, the new Finance Minister will present his annual budget speech. That’s where the major changes to business laws are brought, and that’s where the government gives a clear definition of its objectives. The Finance Minister, Mr Xavier-Luc Duval (XLD) is a reputed Chartered accountant. His competence cannot be disputed. I have had the opportunity to work in his firm some years ago and with him, we developed his ‘Expatriate Services department’. I know that he understands the hopes and exigencies of foreigners relocating to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mauritius</st1:place></st1:country-region>. His statement in the press confirms it. XLD is planning to streamline the actual system to facilitate and encourage foreign investment to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mauritius</st1:place></st1:country-region>. True that we have made impressive progress – I still remember those days when you needed an Attorney-At-Law to open your company – today this is a very simplified procedure. So, I’d rather think that the adjustments need not target the business law segment, but rather the immigration law & rules where we have visibly regressed. Regression is visible in the procedural aspects, the mentality of those civil-servants processing the application and those appraising the applications. We have a real problem when the government is still requesting people to show birth certificates, as if the original passport presented was not enough. What’s the point of showing a birth certificate in original? They want to get acquainted to your dad and mom!?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">XLD will be presenting his budget speech for the first time! I know the guy will get out of it with brilliance, I know, I know him. During the annual salary compensation tripartite, he was excellent. The first Finance Minister I saw being applauded by the trade union representatives! He knows better than me in what chaotic situation the Board of Investment is operating within. He values FDI and foreign competencies.. so I guess he will come up with something fantastic.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I’m eagerly awaiting his speech and I foresee some revolutionary measures that will boost <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mauritius</st1:place></st1:country-region> in the eyes on the international community of investors. If we get foreign currencies flowing in again, we might be able to navigate out of trouble waters. If we don’t, don’t ask me to pay more tax and pay for those glamorous Road shows that the Board of Investment officers enjoy year-in and year-out, during their ritual trip to <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. Inefficiency, waste of MY money and party – that’s what it’s all about.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">If XLD is still, and he appears to be, the same person I’ve had the honor to work with, then people, we have some hope lying ahead! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Good Luck Xavier…!<o:p></o:p></span></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-46972749419040000652011-09-07T15:50:00.002+04:002011-09-07T15:51:26.615+04:00DEMO(N)CRACYPolitical stability is one of those wild cards that Mauritius waves when speaking of itself. Oddly enough, many of my countrymen don’t see the political situation as a stable one – while the whole world seems convinced that we’re having one of the best democracies on the planet. The situation is not a paradox but may be confusing for those willing to set home in paradise-island. Here’s my two pence worth of comments and opinions. <br />
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<strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">Stability through Historical Coherence</span></strong><br />
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What everybody calls ‘stability’, in my opinion, is more a historical coherence that has been prevailing over times. We are inspired (or directed) by our historical origins and ties. India, for instance, is (and has been) inevitable. The majority of our population is of Indian origin; descendants of the indentured Indian laborers. Needless to convince anybody of the impact of India on our political system. Even if we are not tagging ourselves as communal or racists, we do accept that the Prime Minister-ship of the country should always be held by a Hindu, and that, of a particular elite caste. The only non-Hindu having tried his luck as Prime Minister had first to bargain for a two-year mandate (with a Hindu ally) instead of a five-year term. Thereafter, he stayed glued in the opposition.<br />
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Yes-so: historical coherence, I was trying to define this. The basic point is that every leader of the country vows an unconditional fidelity to India. Such vow pleases the powerful socio-cultural lobbies and paves the way for non-disturbance of our Mother-India-styled-heart-throbbing emotion. So we have a consensus on two things here: we need a Hindu Prime Minister & India is our mother. As long as we stick to these two basic factors, we follow the rail… and the train moves. This is very basic as opinion, but for me it is the fundamental equation of our political system. <br />
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Now, take the above example and apply it to any part of the world from where our population originates, you will get almost the same results. Europe, France: from there came the first colons. They took possession of lands, developed the sugar cane industry, owned the mills – and proved to be very sharp businessmen. The situation is still prevailing at this day. Descendants have, for so long, been at the head of the economic Mauritius. They made our success on worldwide sugar trade, then shifted to tourism with the same success. Take one person from that part of the population and transform him into a taxi driver: you’re inviting trouble. That could shake the whole nation! You might be putting the legendary stability at stake.<br />
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Another example? People of African origin. Our ancestors from Africa were slaves and manual workers – after abolition of slavery. The descendants are known to be strong men and therefore ideal for manual works. Their situation is somewhat close to slavery and most of them flirt with the poverty line. Am I being racist? No, never, I’m talking about stability. True, however, that the younger generation is trying its best to get out of this tagline… and has so far been wonderfully successful. The mentality and the perception is still the same though: black people = hard work + low pay! Sad! Who does not remember the Black Golden Boy: Jean Suzanne? Sure, his downfall was somewhat his responsibility – his skin colour brought him to the worst Court of Law: trial by public. He shouldn’t have been at the head of such a fortune, firstly – and that’s most people blame him for. He’s black, if he’s rich, then he’s either a swindler or a thief. We have a common expression: Nation (black people) soit li voleur ou li vantard! Go and seek a translation – and please, don’t be surprised.<br />
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As long as we don’t disturb the above equation, we are sure to keep the country stable. We bet? I define this equation as Historical coherence.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">Dynasties and innate qualities – Political coherence</span></strong><br />
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Political coherence, under my definition, has a similar working mechanism. We can call ourselves stable because we are not disturbing none of the well established mentality, even if they are outdated and obsolete. Doesn’t matter if some of us believe that we are not evolving… we are not disturbing anything, so we are protecting stability. <br />
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The country’s leadership changes and evolves through a system of dynasty. Being of a certain religion or caste is not sufficient – you have to be from one of those ruling dynasties. Take the actual Prime Minister as example. Hon Navin Ramgoolam is the son of the father of the nation, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. No, I’m not discrediting him from excellent leadership qualities. He has proven to be a very good Prime Minister, on his second attempt. But still, I can’t help wondering whether he would have reached that position if he was not the son of his dad. We have all been laughing on his frequent reference to his dad in his speeches: ‘Mo papa ti dire (my dad said).. mo papa ti fer (my dad did..). I think that beyond these innocent statements and beyond the simple father & son affection, he was just deliberately hammering the name of his father on our brains and get us mix him and his dad. That’s what dynasties are all about, aren’t they? When you vote, you vote for what Ramgoolam represents to your brain; a large part of his party supporters think that way.<br />
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The other big dynasty is the Jugnauth. Sir Aneerood Jugnauth was the great architect of the modern Mauritius. He had a vision – and I remember he was the one to bring color television and video players to our households. As a kid, all I could gather was that and it really stayed in my mind. Told you, I’m a common man, not a political analyst – not even a political observer. In the 80s, Sir Aneerood Jugnauth led the country’s transformation and earned us the status of ‘Tiger of the Indian Ocean’. From a sugarcane dependent economy, we ploughed our way to be one of the most reliable textiles manufacturers of the world. Massive investments from Asian giants gave birth to an impressive number of textiles factories in the country and in turn created employment. Revolution: housewives were transformed into income earners and many households saw their income doubled. I witnessed this major change in the country. Was a bit weird to see buses full of ladies in the morning, going to work, being active and happy to contribute to their households – and to the country’s economy. From there, the consumer market exploded. Color TV (again, yeah), VHS video players, washing machines, people were getting sophisticated and modern. All thanks and glory to Sir Aneerood Jugnauth. <br />
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The son and brother of Sir Aneerood came to the political world through this new dynasty. If you are a Jugnauth, then the population would assume you have the charisma and the potential of a Prime Minister. Did we not see Mr Ashok Jugnauth (brother of Sir Aneerood) being proposed as a Prime Minister candidate – even if he did nothing exceptional as a Minister? Pravind Jugnauth (son) also flirted sometimes ago with the Prime Minister’s seat and he still stand as a ‘serious’ contender for this role. This is what dynasties are all about (bis). <br />
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Point to note on the two dynasties above: they have all the qualities – they are Hindus of a particular caste. This is not a racist statement but the reality of the political Mauritius.<br />
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A smaller dynasty would be the Duval. Origin: Sir Gaetan Duval, mastermind of the tourism industry of the country. He was a popular figure, glamorous, generous and super-charismatic. Not from a Hindu religion but a catholic – an exception from African-origin population. He had the support of creoles and Catholics of the country and therefore was an important element on the political scene. An alliance with him guaranteed votes from the creole population, crucial sometimes to get a majority in parliament. Fun-loving and ‘bon vivant’ he had a very turbulent stay while in power. First owner of a Rolls Royce, one of the most popular villas on the Island, friend of monarchs and sheiks, known to international stars – he happened to position Mauritius on the international stage as one of the finest tourist destination. Success of our tourism industry is based on his efforts and connections. Xavier-Luc (son) took over. He enjoys almost the same popularity and represents the creole population of the country. A fine and intelligent person with whom I had the privilege to work for years, Xavier-Luc (even if he denies it) enjoys the benefit of his family name. Naturally he was a very good tourism minister. But lately he was shifted to a less glamorous post: Minister for Social Integration. Now with the latest political turmoil which saw Pravind Jugnauth ejected from government – Xavier-Luc has been posted to the Finance Ministry. I’m confident that he’ll do a good job there because I’ve known him as one of the finest Chartered Accountants of Mauritius.<br />
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Richard (the other son) is also enjoying the windfalls gains from power. I don’t know him personally and cannot remind myself of his contribution to the country. If you know of any of his works, please help. True benefit of being in the dynasty, however small that dynasty is. He enjoys duty-free German limos, is paid a salary from tax contribution and has a good life. I know of many young people who would do tremendous things for this country if allowed the same privileges and honors. But these young people do not belong to any dynasties – too bad for them! <br />
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There are some exceptions. There are some exceptional talents that emerged from nowhere and carved their names in the political arena. Well I find a simple explanation for that: dynasties are not yet large families, we are a young nation and we’re still building up. The dynasties have to recruit support to keep them on the topmost position.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">Internet revolution – glowing light</span></strong><br />
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The rotation of power among dynasties does not please – and should not please – many of us. There are so many competent people out there to serve the country, but it’s almost impossible for them to get in the play. The political scene is framed and controlled – access is limited, your profile should suit the sentry. I’ve seen some movement on Facebook and Linkedin. Some are now trying to bypass the classic system and instigate a small revolution through the internet. Hope it’s not going to be as radical as in Egypt – yeah, to be honest we don’t have Mubarak here, our leaders are not ogres. If they were, I would not be sitting here writing all this! <br />
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Those leading this internet revolution are fed up seeing the same people (and families) in power and they are right. It’s time to renew the political environment with new blood and new ideas. We are thinking of having competent persons in the leading roles, not simply representatives of a particular section of the population or bearers of impressive family names. Very honest cause, I admit. But then, let me be the Devil’s advocate: we will surely have some collateral damage – are we ready to bear the consequences? Will we be able to absorb the Opportunity Cost? <br />
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Let me just expose two points: First, the historical voters (those who vote by tradition) need to change their mindset. You see that grandma in her red sari kissing ‘her’ Navin voting for a dynamic and competent professional who doesn’t inspire anything to her? Do you see Tonton Michel in his blue shirt voting for someone other than a Duval? This is where the votes are. Mauritius is all about tradition and it’s dangerous to try and change tradition, isn’t it?<br />
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My second point is that we would necessarily go through a ‘trial and error’ system. Potential ministers might not necessarily be good ministers. By the time we test, confirm or replace someone, we will be losing pace in our development. This could cause some damage, great damage.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">Do we need change? What to change? How much to change?</span></strong><br />
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We don’t change a winning team my dad used to say (and Kenny Dalglish also!). Mauritius has been progressing steadily over the years. Don’t be a hypocrite please! It’s good to live here, you are free to do and live your life the way you want. I am from a modest family (my dad was a primary school teacher) – but happen to get out of my small village to get myself an office in the Cybercity. I worked my way through the maze; focused and determined. Many of my friends also did the same. They are living a pretty happy life with their families, got a car & a house…and a dog & a cat – breathing fresh and enjoying the salted water of our lagoons. <br />
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I’m not saying that things are perfect. There’s always room for improvement… What risks are we ready to take through change? What if tomorrow we lose that freedom – or what if we spend some decades in a slump because of change? Are we ready to take those risks and, for example, expose our kids to them? The country could collapse if we bring a radical change. Is a revolution justified when people are living quite a free and happy life? My experience as a Mauritian: everything is possible, if you work for it. <br />
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I love this country. If Americans have the American dream (and most of them trying to survive), Mauritius is not too far away. Laborious people will always succeed here and really, it’s not that difficult to succeed. The ex-Finance Minister, Mr Rama Sithanen, is a concrete example. He comes from a poor, very poor family but he is one of the most talented finance expert of the country. He worked his way towards most senior position in the top 2 companies on the island. And then (he is one of those exceptions I mentioned above) – he was used as support to safeguard Navin Ramgoolam’s position. When not needed, he was kicked aside without any elegance. And that’s the political Mauritius. Else he is still enjoying a high-level job, great pay and honours. And that’s real Mauritius.<br />
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So I conclude that Mauritius is free and fair! If you want to live your life, achieve your dreams and secure your family – you’re in the right country. But if you have a political agenda and want to serve the country, then you’ve got a different fight at hand. <br />
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Before trying to change, we need to cast a look at other countries around us and compare. It’s always good to review a well-anchored system after some time, test whether it still stands good in the modern world or whether changes are to be brought. My question goes beyond that point: what do we need to change? How much do we need to change? Are we prepared for the consequences?<br />
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Dear readers, feel free to comment. But please bear in mind that I not a political expert, but a common man. This article reflects my feelings and my way of seeing things around me. <br />
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<strong><em>I seek to educate myself constantly, so your criticisms and comments are most welcomed. </em></strong>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-2451800303509777012011-08-11T15:18:00.000+04:002011-08-11T15:18:32.289+04:00Mauritius, ready to welcome investors back again... my bet.<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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... </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-33300763490703197602011-06-23T09:26:00.000+04:002011-06-23T09:26:32.395+04:00MAURITIUS IS NOT THE MOST DESIRABLE LONG-TERM DESTINATION<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The government seemed surprised : foreign direct investment (FDI) has known a 75% declined. Are we failing in our ambition to attract foreign capital and expertise, or are we just being too arrogant? Is it the world financial crisis? You aren't going to throw this one to me again, are you? Euphoria is difficult to manage, we all agree. Since we launched the Business Facilitation Act in 2006, there has been a big response from the international market. We are superstars, the most desired country of the world...wrong guys, we're just an island. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Officially, the authorities are blaming this on the globally dull economic situation. Will someone, someday, stop blaming the world for every mistake we make? We are not Wall Street for God sake (err, some effectively believe that we are, but that's another story). FDI accounted for as much as Rs4.6 bn from January to March 2010. Guess what? We got only Rs1.4 bn for the same period this year. If you are still wondering what calamity broke on world's economy in January 2011, then you are heading to the wrong direction. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The problem is in Mauritius, it’s all in our attitude. The Government has set up a committee to monitor all applications for residency permits (Occupation Permits). The committee members act in complete impunity behind the curtain. Untouchable and incorruptible... Visibly these guys have misunderstood their role. It is obvious that they're having great fun rejecting applications. It wouldn’t be exaggerated if I say that it’s almost an orgasmic pleasure. The more they reject, the more competent they believe they are. It's a pity that they do not understand that each permit rejected directly impacts on FDI. The least we can get from an Occupation Permit is US$35,000 (self-employed). There are about 20 such applications rejected per week, according to information gathered from professional consultants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I have one observation: it means that foreigners are coming to Mauritius with their money AND they are more than 20 a month!</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Pity, we area losing FDI and I’m not talking a</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">bout job creation and tax revenue that we are rejecting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One of the biggest sectors designed to attract foreign investment is the luxury living industry, well that's how we call the seemingly luxurious villas we have; the famous IRS and RES schemes. Again, we thought we were the most desirable country of the world, the new Beverly Hills for superstars, we are better than the fashion Paris and far more exciting than Las Vegas. Naturally our prices reflect our self-proclaimed super destination status. Do I need to tell you that we were wrong? Everybody dreamt of selling his piece of agricultural land for millions of rupees. Everyone is dreaming of that charming foreign prince coming out of the misty cloud, opening his fist to reveal some millions of € & $. Real estate prices shot like arrows. Mauritians could no longer afford a plot of land. I'm dedicating this paragraph to that fool offering his 2200 metre square bare land for Rs7.5 million when it’s not even worth Rs2 million. His argument: a foreigner has purchased a plot next to his... And he was talking to me; that's my field of expertise and I know that foreigners can't buy land directly! I have a dream, says every landowner. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All of those land promoters have overestimated their properties and projects. Of course, the island is heavenly, we can't deny that. But isn't it foolish to think that the whole world is dreaming to come over? Do we have the infrastructure to accommodate the high net worth individuals? Do these guys satisfy themselves sitting in a villa near the sea or on a mountain? He has a yatch and a chalet in Switzerland. It's stupid to think that we are impressing them. Their bathroom are more luxurious than many of the properties we are offering. Where does Ms Paris makes her favorite show-off session? Under the coconut tree, isolated on acres of land? A good tourist destination does not necessarily mean a good long-stay destination. Check your boredom gauge, it takes an average 7 days to visit the best attractions, if we can call these attactions in this modern world. Wake up! Out of 53 official permits given for such developments, 36 have been able to start and 12 have simply abandoned. And we blame the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There's no use setting up high powered committees to analyze the situation. It's so obvious. Foreigners will no longer come to the island unless we know what we really want. Incompetence is not to be tolerated but then arrogance too. People who appraise investment projects and screen investors should themselves have a strong business background or professional experience. Sorry, but I can’t figure out how people who have got no clues on business management can appreciate innovative projects coming from renowned promoters. No no, I just can't get that one to my brain. Imposing a minimum of US$100,000 per investor...and then refusing their permit despite their showing the money, and this, without any reason, is insulting. If I proved myself in my country, earned my money, then getting myself insulted in a foreign land is the last thing I would want. Can government officers shake off that arrogance of their skin and understand this point? Let's hope someday they'll have this on agenda in their lunch and dinner meetings held in 5 star hotels....built and managed by foreigners.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Be realistic, we're just an island. Dubai is crashing out, did we wonder why? The solution lies not in inviting the President of Singapore and earn air-time on our local TV; tell him humbly 'teach me Master'...and change your mindset dear government servants. Maybe then you won't need to blame the world for your failures.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unless things change in the near future, I don't see the need to have a Board of Investment in this country and neither the reason to spend my tax money on road shows and investment promotion events worldwide.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-17267294233239256542011-04-09T17:25:00.001+04:002011-04-09T18:25:00.320+04:00Beware: country on move, nation at work!The likelyhood of hitting obstacles is higher when moving than when sitting idle. Ambitious people very seldomly lose themselves in comfort zones, unless they believe that their objectives have been met. But then again, ambition evolves with our environment. They can be like the horizon, moving one step with each step you make. In my humble opinion, Mauritius is an ambitious country, and so is its population. The country is moving forward.<br />
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At a time when many countries are facing dire difficulties in their financial (and social) adaptation to the changing world, the paradise-island is always finding some ways to keep it's shoulders out of the trouble waters. The worldwide financial crisis reached our shores, but the vision and strategy of the government and major decision makers washed out any potential harm that this could do to us. True, we are dependent on the world market, but is it not marvelous that despite this we are progressing? There is, in the backstage, a real collective ambition to transform the country into a leading business hub and a first-class tourist destination. We are steadily moving towards our objectives. The shift from an agriculture based economy to a tourism destination raised a lot of questions. Collateral damage was part of the game too. The end-result justified the moves of successive governments (and their vision); each one with it's loads of impopular measures. At times, they were blamed for selling our lagoons to foreign investors and hotel promoters. Today, when we realized the progress made, almost everyone wants a share of the cake. Local tour operators, restaurants and tourism enterprises are flourishing - those who believed in Tourism and entered the industry early are now unreachable businesses for new competitors. <br />
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We are, maybe, at the doorsteps of a scenario similar to the one described above. Opening the door to foreign capital and expertise was not something Mauritians unanimously accepted. Mind pollution is a dirty game, and many play it well here. Again, the government is being blamed for selling the country to Dollar and Euro owners. Some years later, those carrying out the blaming exercise will realize that they just missed the bus. Well, I'm not a pro-government activist and neither am I a friend of our Prime Minister (like so many of those big-mouthed people I know). But I admire the guts and daring attitude of this government, particularly of the Prime Minister. The opposition is left in a total confusion of its own, messing political battle with country's progress. Everything becomes a scandal. Fortunately, the government is focussed and keeps moving the country towards new heights. The population too.<br />
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Every action cannot be explained while it is being performed. You have to let time show you the results and the results justify the action. When the action is being performed, you've got to trust the performer. Right now, the population, well the majority of it, trusts the government. Some dogs will always bark but this doesn't stop the caravan, right? This government is ruling its second successive mandate of 5 years. The results are visible - even to the blind. Mauritius is a vast construction site: shopping malls lifting their heads out the ground, extension of our main highway, upgrading of infrastructures, increasing tourists and superb hotels. Again, there are inevitable collateral damages, as in every sphere of life. We are not perfect... But then, no one is. When you start to see Lambos and Ferraris on your roads, you realize that there's at least something positive for some people. It whispers the words 'Yes, we can' gently in my ears. Those behind the wheels of the angry bull and the black horse are not superstars and neither ministers, they are people who have seized the right opportunities at the right time. Somewhere, .. they believed in the country, it's economy and business potential AND its ability to fulfill their dreams. These people did not waste their time analyzing claimed scandals, they kept themselves focussed on benefits they could reap from the country's constant progress. Could be a materialistic statement, but I take full responsibility of my words here.<br />
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Then opposition has been blaming government on two massive projects: JinFei and Neotown. In the first case, the government gave Chinese investors major concessions to build a new city in the outskirts of Port Louis and in the second, you replace Chinese by Indians. It's true that the concessions, maybe, can be termed as excessive(low land lease, relaxed constructions norms and business conditions). No one seems to point to the fact that those lands, even being prime lands, were idle and required massive investments for development. Both of the projects mentioned are revolutionary in their concepts. They are paving the way for the future Mauritius. Why would investors come to this tiny island if no concessions are made? Why do they need to target a one million population market when they can easily go to Dubai and Singapore? There are concessions, of course, but there's also belief in our country. They know what we are planning to be and they know that we are giving ourselves the means to that objective. They believe in MauritIus.<br />
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In ten years time, Mauritius will be completely uplifted. The duty-free island will be a reality and many of world's giants will have a presence over here, if have not done so already. This is not a mere prediction, this is what many Mauritians see in front. Would you argue with your dad if he took one coin from your pocket and bought the winning lottery ticket with it? It's an open question which can bring many answers ... justified or unjustified protests. That's exactly what's happening in Mauritius. The essential thing to remember here is that we have the winning lottery ticket!Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-13815901416484164622011-03-22T09:46:00.001+04:002011-03-22T09:48:08.594+04:00The Mauritian smile can be lethal<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">It's spontaneous, takes you by the soul and wraps your heart in the comfort of human kindness. Makes you believe in humanity. This is the legendary Mauritian smile; a trade mark of its own. The Mauritian smile is so powerful that it has helped the tourism industry blossom, up to being the major pillar of the economy, and it keeps on selling paradise-island on the world market. Of course, our beaches and natural beauty do play a role, a significant one - but we cannot deny the part played by the local smiles. Beware! A powerful tool in bad hands can harm the world (hmm, feels like Donald Rumsfeld speaking!). Tourists or businessmen, many a foreigner has seen himself trapped within the spell of a Mauritian smile. Many lost their fortune and went back home in total disillusion, while others got married and then divorced… and are now paying alimony! The smile…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Well, let’s first see why the common Mauritian is always smiling to foreigners. That's my observation and I'm not inviting any reader to adhere to the views expressed here... If you do, then it's fantastic. Else, take it as another B-S blog. To understand local population behaviour, we first need to note that Mauritian population is a mix of different cultures of the world: Indian labourers, African slaves, Chinese traders...etc. Our ancestors were brought here by European navigators and explorers. Respect (and fear) of the European race (no negative connotation here!) has, since then, prevailed. I remember my grandfather (an untamed macho beast) at home, who would always refer to his boss (a French sugar estate owner) as 'Missié' (translate 'Sir' in English) even in the absence of the latter. My granddad treated his boss with incomparable respect, and acknowledged the fact that without 'Missié' his family would maybe die of hunger. Granddad had faith in ‘Missié’ and nothing could challenge his loyalty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">From there, came also the perception that people like 'Missié' are in fact superiour. You wouldn't be able to argue with my granddad on that one! Like any other descendants of Indian ancestors, he had a sacred faith in people within the same category as his boss. This notion of superiority was transmitted to my dad... And then came the independence, and free education and emancipation. So here you have an idea why foreigners were initially perceived as superior. Believe me, this is not a racist comment, but an observation of the social reality of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Even with education and emancipation, the Mauritian still, in his subconscious mind, has a complex of inferiority. Tourism further sustained the perception. When the tourism industry was officially launched, a sensible government campaign explained the importance of tourists. The latter obviously got every attention possible. We didn't want to fail in our demonstration of respect and sense of hospitality. Tourists brought additional social elements to enforce the feeling of foreigners' superiority. The first element is what I call the <b><i>E.T effect</i></b>. Blame that on Mr Spielberg if you want, but I define it as follows: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">'If he happened to travel over to your world before you could even understand that he existed then surely he is of a superior class.'<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The average Mauritian, during the 80s did not even have a motorcycle! Now imagine him in front of people who have just landed from an airplane. You got me? Ok, ok, I'm coming to the lethal smile thing, I promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Yes, so the poor local guy makes himself visible and gentle, he smiles on every occasion. What else can he do? Once again, with the tourism (five star hotels, luxury cars, beautifully clad people, etc) the superiority of foreigners is affirmed. He smiles in the hope of getting under the wings of a superior race, he smiles to say that he's ready to serve...and we all became known for our smile! Frustration is lurking around… <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We all know that in this material world, superiority is most commonly measured by the amount of money one has. Who has more money? Ok, we dig further : Euro1 = Rs40 and USD1= Rs30. Got it? Read on.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Today the Mauritian is using his smile for a different objective. Not all of us, thank God! If you are from a different country, then you need to know that not every local smile is authentic. Some of us have learned the tricks of the trade; we know that a tourist can be hypnotized and ordered to imitate a money tap (LO!). By the time you’ve started to understand the fake smile, you've gone over your holiday budget. Tourists are short-term victims. They leave the country with a sour after-taste, and that’s it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The thing gets more serious when it comes to expatriates and foreign businessmen. They are long term residents and have more at stake. Their presence has created a new sort of back-stage profession in the country: Professional swindlers, specialized in foreigners ripping-off. The smile is the perfect accessory of the learned swindler. Your wish is his command, well at first. He's there to transform your wildest fantasies into reality. You want to setup a business? He's got the expertise, even if he's only a taxi driver or a hairdresser. He knows people, Ministers if not the Prime Minister himself! You want to try? Ask your taxi driver, his uncle should be a Minister. If you’re lucky he will tell you that the Prime Minister was his classmate and best-friend. How can you not believe him? Are you insensible to that smile? Once your soul is captured, you are aspired in a whirlpool. With the same smile, your new brother will convince you that he is an expert in business and immigration, he'll prove his business management skills to you and you won't resist putting all your faith in him. His wife will be the managing director of your company (<i>He’s not interested in business and money, he’s just helping you out).<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Consultants and accountant become mere money eaters and you'll keep yourself away from professional advice. You'll soon be having your Mauritian citizenship (remember the Prime Minister is a schoolmate!?)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Now, if mix that smile with the right dose of other tasty elements, you get something explosive. An absolute banker! That's where the smile is the most effective and dangerous. You will be invited for dinner at home, or at the nephew's wedding ceremony. You'll be in a trance; you're be part of the family... Life is beautiful, champagne is good! Payback time is not far.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The Mauritian is not naive. The biggest mistake foreigners make is taking the locals for granted. You should never lower your guard and never hesitate to seek professional advice whenever there is legal or financial aspects involved. We are not different human beings, and we did not fall in any 'naive-rendering' magic potion in our childhood. Material gain, greed and easy money are the sons of a super power Devil and we all need to agree that the Devil also loves the sea and sun of paradise-island.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The Smile is one of the things that differentiate humans from wild animals, my dad once told me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-22339481353576280722011-02-17T15:55:00.003+04:002011-02-18T09:38:09.872+04:00MOOD SWINGS<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">We’ve always been hearing that Mauritius is an open country. We love foreigners: tourists, investors and expats. They feel at home among the cosmopolitan Mauritian who are so eager to be of service, with their legendary warmth and smile. Well, there seem to be some mood swings that right now. Suddenly the Prime Minister’s Office seems not to appreciate the success of its open-minded schemes. Too many foreigners employed in Mauritius, he says and then appoints two guys from his office to review and decide on all new Occupation Permit application.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">From there, nothing moves. We’ve handed the guns to two persons who always wanted to shoot. And they are shooting – systematically at every target at sight. No occupation permit is being given for now to people who are eligible by the officially published and publicized prospectus of the Board of Investment. It won’t be long to hear the Prime Ministers saying ‘no one is interested to work in Mauritius’. He’s apparently tightened some loose ropes claiming an abuse of the system by foreigners. You’ll agree that an abuse is only possible if you leave the room for it. If you don’t, then it’s no longer an abuse but an illegal act and you can act upon these through different instruments. Well then is it not a disguised mea-culpa? As far as I know, there has been some expulsion; some permits revoked…but overall people have been able to abuse the system for the past three years! And they’re still tanning on the beach at Tamarin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Tightening loose ends and firing at sight are obviously not the solutions. You cannot say ‘come to Mauritius, it’s easy and nice here’ and kick butts once people have moved in. Moving to a new country implies changing life, destabilizing your family while betting on a better future. It means resigning from your job and taking new risks in a foreign land. It also means getting your cats and dogs do a full battery of health tests – thought this was worth mentioning.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">And after doing all this, two camouflaged ninjas believe you’re not worth an Occupation Permit. No reasons to give, they don’t need you, that’s the attitude, and that’s not what they advertise. I guess they’ve messed up with what they were assigned to. To control and supervise application means, at least for me, to provide a deeper examination of cases and provide objective conclusions AND to give permits to deserved cases. These people are all-in, playing a game kill’em’all.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Let me give you one example. While we are, ambitiously, trying to turn the island into a cyber island, we do not seem to grasp the importance of mobile technology. Let me explain, a foreign company, well established in mobile software development is unable to get Permit for his Managing Director, a high-calibre professional - expert in the development of software for Steve Job's machine... and the androids. Such expertise is nowhere to be found in Mauritius. First, we don't have schools that teach such subjects, and second we're still thinking that information technology refers to computers and computers are either laptops or desktop. No one seems to see the future of mobile technology, except those young teenagers out there. So, the only way to train local competence is to get foreign expertise in. O</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">ur business plan mentions that the expatriate director will also be responsible to train local counterparts on the technical side of the business. We expose the different aspects of mobile computing and expose the innovative side of the business. Nothing doing. Seems our two cowboys don’t see things that way. For them, a reputed business, seduced by apparent facilities offered by Mauritius, is a suspicious matter. I don’t know, but that’s how I see it on my part.</span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Another company wants to recruit a team of foreign managers for its business.</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">The company offers back-office solutions to professionals of the tourism industry around the world.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> Super business, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">brilliant</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> ideas! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Mixing BPO and tourism is like holding 4 aces on a Poker table, I thought so.</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">It was again flushed out.</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">No reason whatsoever.</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Shoot to kill.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I’m stunned. Am I missing something here? Go and visit the <a href="http://www.investmauritius.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.investmauritius.com</span></a> website and then read this blog again.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Government seems to be into fast lane, moving full cruise…but on the wrong direction. Now my question is: when will they notice this? Mauritius is beautiful, a nice place to live in, the words ‘lush’ and ‘pristine’ are used repeatedly on all official documents. They’re, on one side inviting people, and on the other, kicking them out. In between you are paying for Air Mauritius tickets…and I think that’s how Air Mauritius is claiming 400% profits…I’m being silly I know but then I’m just aping those two cowboys sitting at the Occupation Permit Committee. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Before you sell your house, your car, your dog... to come to Mauritius, you better seek precise advice and save yourself an air ticket. Put your trust in God, it's going to be useful. Be positive!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-47041768599634607402010-10-28T18:01:00.000+04:002010-10-28T18:01:56.287+04:00GRAND BAY - GOOD OL'TIMES<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Years back, I remember, going to Grand Bay was a feat on its own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of friends would take our bicycles at 5 o'clock in the morning and ride up to that seaside village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cool breeze, more salty as we approach the coastline, and not a single vehicule on the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peace and traquility...Mauritius!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">From a pretty ordinary village Grand Bay transformed itself into one the world's most renowned tourist resort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's a place I would avoid at any cost today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, tourists are not to be blamed – they have all my blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m referring to those human sharks that wait every single opportunity to rip the tourists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’m not simply referring to local traders, here I’m referring to those unscrupulous businesses run by foreigners.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">When the government launched its strategy to attract foreign capital and expertise, it opened the doors wider than expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like getting a huge aspirator and sucking up all came near.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone would get a residence permit as long as he could present a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">financial forecast </i>showing Rs3 million as annual turnover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all know what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">financial forecasts </i>mean and we can all imagine that all financial forecast did effectively show astronomical figures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So everyone got in, from the top golden boy to the more-shark-than-human crook. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They invaded the space, brought a new mind-set to business: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All-in, rip’em off and get rich!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>With their Dollars and Euros, they easily got themselves a place under the sun… and started hitting hard on local businesses, mostly small enterprises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Naturally, when you have Dollars and Euros you will aim at earning more of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rupees are not that attractive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what you aim at?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tourists!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where do you go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grand Bay!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what happened there was to be expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the discothèques, bars and decent restaurants are owned by foreigners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good, because these guys know exactly what foreigners want and how they want it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is not there, it’s lying somewhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Read on.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">When the local businesses started enhancing their quality, adjusting their guns on the same heights, they positioned themselves as serious competitors to the foreign-owned commerce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere someone thought that Mauritians would never fight back, and that someone (in fact more than someone) has a clear deficiency of grey-matter in the brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole thing turned out to be an aggressive-pseudo-commercial riot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On one side, locals trying to get back to their good old days and on the other, foreigners all claws out trying to protect their share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a logical commercial context, fierce competition would mean better bargains for consumers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In every sense, this was not going to</span> be a ‘logical commercial context’ – consumers are the last thing that both sides worry about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re more into an egocentric fight for honor.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">So Grand Bay is now infested with a new genetically modified personal protection police. O</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">h, let me put it in simple English: bouncers grouped into different gangs, officially auto-proclaimed ‘Private bodyguards’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are hired by every discothèques, bars, restaurants and individuals. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is that this disease is now spread to every business: tour operators, pleasure craft operators (boats, catamarans), garments & accessories, retails… everyone in Grand Bay knows a bouncer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t have a private bodyguard agreement, then you simply don’t exist as businessman in Grand Bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll admit that bouncers are essential in bars and discothèque, but here it goes beyond their classic role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your bouncers are pitbulls that live on money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You pay, they do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The equation is simple, who pays more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>US$1 = Rs30,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>EUR 1 = Rs40. Guess who wins, the Rupee or foreign currencies, the Mauritian or the Foreigner?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, you might take me for an alarmist or drama-regalia lover. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I can’t help thinking back to Grand Bay 5 o’clock in the morning, cool and salty breeze running through my hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good ol’times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-63646215740946868782010-09-13T13:50:00.001+04:002010-09-13T13:55:40.145+04:00WHY INVEST IN MAURITIUS? Some ideas<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Speaking about the business Mauritius, one surely sets his first sights on the offshore sector. Often considered as a tax-heaven, the country can offer much more than confidential offshore business vehicles. You can benefit from many interesting features by setting up a company here - and we are not talking about complex tax planning or investment gearing strategies yet. I won’t go into details or jargon-packed exposition of the Mauritian business environment, but here are some points that might interest readers.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Domestic companies<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Enjoy limited liability. You need not be present in Mauritius to incorporate your company. All you need to have, if you do not hold a residency permit, is a Mauritian-resident director and a company secretary. Usually your business consultant is able to provide adequate services in these lines. The resident director is not necessarily a shareholder and may not hold any exceptional powers (bank account signature, contracting on behalf of the company without your instructions, etc). The Registered Office is another requirement but this is addressed by all professionals providing company formation procedures. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Licence fee<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You pay as low as Rs2,000 a year! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tax<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">15% tax on profits & no direct taxes on your revenue. VAT is at 15% and works in the same universal system. There’s no VAT on export, which means an export-oriented business can get itself reimbursed all VAT paid. Yes, the tax office sends you your cheque!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you have a company in Mauritius, it can handle various functions: administrative, marketing, sales & invoicing and back-office, for instance. It is then possible for you to minimize tax in your own country. With all sales being made in Mauritius, you pay tax on profits made over here. You get it?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Simplified accounting and fiscal obligations<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The overall business obligations are simple to manage. Government offices are all online, and most of them now offering e-platforms. Your tax declaration, accounts filing at the Registrar are no longer complex exercises that require chartered accountants to follow. For information, you need a chartered accountant if your business exceeds Rs30 million of annual turnover (that makes around US$1 million a year). What you need to get is a good accounting software…!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Employee costs<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You contribute around 6% to the National Pension’s fund, while 2.5% is deducted from salary of your employee as his contribution. Employment tax is paid by the employee and deducted from source under the Pay As You Earn system (15%). All training costs are refunded by the government if you contribute to the National Pension’s Fund for more than one year. Yes, that’s true! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Literacy<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Enjoy the capabilities of a young population of dynamic and educated population. Mauritians are education fanatics. Once out of high-school, our kids immediately set their eyes on tertiary education. Most of them travel abroad (UK, Australia, France, Canada, etc) for higher education. Those not having same possibilities have recourse to courses offered by numerous training institutions of the country, supported by Universities of high repute (Sorbonne, Leicester, John Moore Liverpool, etc). And then also, we’ve got the University of Mauritius and the University of Technology.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Duty-free and concessions<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the Freeport zone, you are able to benefit from duty-free imports of machinery and equipment. You are exempt from VAT (you don’t even pay VAT). There are other duty-free possibilities depending on your business activities. As Mauritius plans to be a duty-free island (read previous article), there is an interesting possibility that ALL businesses will benefit from the scheme.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Residence permit<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would you not like to have a residence in paradise-island? Under certain conditions, maybe the easiest in the world, you can settle down under the sun and wake up with your feet on the most beautiful beaches on earth. </span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Strategic location & infrastructure<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We are in the middle of the Indian Ocean, accessible to Africa, India and China. There are daily flights to Europe and major cities of the world. In simple words, we make the bridge between the biggest supplies of the planet (China & India) and huge markets. The modern airport will be upgraded soon, while the harbor already caters for advanced technological solutions.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"><b>Mauritius is constantly improving its business framework and it ambitions to be the leading regional business platform. I personally think that the country is getting closer and closer to its objectives. Local people and regulatory bodies have understood the fact that we don’t have natural resources and we need to find new ways to attract investment and competencies to Mauritius. That’s precisely what we have been successfully doing since year 2006.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #20124d;"><b>If you think that you are operating a business that cannot be migrated (in full or in part) to Mauritius, think again. Or you might just want to speak to us!</b></span></span></span><o:p></o:p></i></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-78631608944712138292010-08-25T14:04:00.001+04:002010-08-25T14:05:05.717+04:00MAURITIUS, DUTY-FREE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The idea is not new, it was first evoked in the years 2000-2005. It was a sexy proposal and somewhat seduced everybody. At that time, a novice Minister of Finance was holding the reins of the country’s economy for the first time of his life: Mr Pravind Jugnauth. The novice is back again, more mature, feet on ground and head on shoulders – and again he tables the same idea. Good to see some determination out there!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Turning the island into a huge duty-free shopping area is a good concept. It all comes to revamping the economy and promoting something else besides the (now tiring) repetitive ‘sea, sun & fun’. You can’t be boasting about your natural beauty and stay there expecting two million tourists. Look at Bali, Ibiza and Dubai for instance. To survive in this evolving world, everyone has to keep pace with changing environment. Mauritius is no exception. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Why would people come over here and spend their money? There’s got to be a good reason for that. Good hotels are something we can decently find anywhere else in the world. You can’t bet on the warmth and smile of local people when the world is getting more focused towards personal comfort and materialistic. The Finance Minister does well to keep on his idea of duty-free island. But what can really demark the country from the other shopping giants of the world? I’m talking about Dubai, Singapore, and so on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Well, successive governments had enough intelligence to knit a web of preferential trade agreements. It means clearly that we are able to get the goods in much cheaper fashion, avoiding tax and customs barriers. We’re closer to the impressive manufacturing industries of China and India – and more, we share a historical link with them. You’ll be glad to learn that we’ll soon be seeing a mini-China in Mauritius. Jin Fey, as they call it, is a large Chinatown (basically a new city in Mauritius) and will regroup a hotel, factories, houses and commerce. Chinese businessmen and government (I put government after businessmen) are financing all this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ok, let’s get back to the duty-free island. The intention is to propose a global. The implications are wide as it entails improving side infrastructures. Wise decision-makers are already one step forward. Our airport is soon to be a jewel in the region, capable of welcoming 4 million visitors a year. We’re getting our cruise quay ready to greet (rich) sea-lovers and … the first shopping malls are taking birth within months. The first two malls are within 1 kilometer distance from each other and very close to the new hub: the cybercity (that’s where my office is!). On a straight-line and within 2 kilometers we will be having 3 shopping complexes and two shopping malls, isn’t that wonderful?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The whole process will, and there’s no doubt on that, create more businesses and employment. If we dig deeper, we note that no many Mauritians can finance the creation and operation of world-class businesses. So there comes the space for foreign investors! Obviously, we can’t compete with the international exposure and competence of those present in the bigger cities of the world. Right now, several big names have already shown an interest in getting setting up their shops and manufacturing units. It will again generate more employment and more money for the local economy. Isn’t that brilliant?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Above all, it means that we, Mauritians, will be able to have duty-free shopping without the need to pay for an air-ticke</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">t. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>That’s the best part of it</b></span><b>!</b></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-26937314359906519432010-07-29T15:25:00.000+04:002010-07-29T15:25:19.786+04:00WHAT ARE YOU NOT ALLOWED TO DO ?<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In Mauritius, the idea of attracting foreign investors has long been associated to ‘selling the country’ to those capable of buying it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the Business Facilitation Act was enacted in 2006, general perception assumed that the humble Rupee finally succumbed to the Dollar and Euro power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the government announced it possible for foreigners to acquire land in the country, an air of worry started blowing in our face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we were wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The laws that allow foreign people to settle in our small island should not be interpreted as ‘Invasion allowed’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many restrictions on non-Mauritians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is important that one understands the fundamentals of such restrictions before taking any decisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve, many times, seen people selling their properties, landing with huge sum of money and then sweat their guts out because the project is legally not acceptable.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Property acquisition</span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, for instance, is a very sensible issue. Land space is limited, you may rightly guess, in the country where 1.2 million inhabitants share 2040 m<sup>2</sup> of land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Non-Citizens (Property Restrictions) Act prevents acquisition of residential property by foreigners, except in certain circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The luxury villa schemes (Integrated Resort Scheme and Real Estate Scheme) are accessible to non-Mauritians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are pre-approved complexes regrouping several high-end villas into one compound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting your hands on one villa for a minimum purchase price of US$500,000 gives you a Permanent Resident status.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you sell it, you lose the residency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can also work the other way round:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>get a Permanent Resident status through your business or profession (3 years minimum stay in the country & rigorous conditions imposed) and then freely purchase a residential property with no strings attached.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you do not fall in any of the cases mentioned above, </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">you can only resort to rental solutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Business restrictions </span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">can take various forms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>General commercial activities (import/export, wholesale, distribution, etc) are accessible to everybody – but they do not give you access to residence permit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, preserving part of the cake for locals seems to be the main reason behind such policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Allowing any foreigner to open a grocery store, for example, would definitely kill the business of teeny-meenie-little-Mauritian-shopkeeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Viewed from that angle, I would tend to agree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, I am of the opinion that each and every case should be assessed distinctively – we cannot just say ‘general commerce = no residency permit’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tourism is delicate business</span></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it fair to leave most of the benefits to Mauritians?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The right policy would be, and is, to apply the right dosage between foreign and local-owned operators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the locals do not possess the appropriate resources to sustain development and keep the pace with fast-developing destinations around the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without the intervention of foreign brain, our hotel industry would be a total fiasco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We learned from the great minds in the business – but since learning is an on-going process, we still need to keep those great minds at eye sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Small businesses in the tourism industry are somewhat reserved for Mauritians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To start a tour operator business, a foreigner would be required to invest at least Rs5 million while no such restrictions apply to Mauritian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Pleasure Craft (boats, catamarans, etc), the minimum investment is Rs10 million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The signal is clear: either you do it big, or you don’t do it at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Same policy applies to hotel operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Foreigners are no longer able to operate guest houses or tourists residence – but are free to invest in hotels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A guest house can be a mere regrouping of apartments or bungalows for holiday rental.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hotel is a formal structure designed exclusively for holiday rental and able to provide ‘services’ to its residents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically, a hotel needs to have a minimum of 25 rooms, entertainment (swimming pool, disco, bar..), food (restaurant, breakfast..), housekeeping and similar services. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Above are examples where foreigners need to be cautious before venturing out. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conceiving a project is bringing a dream to near reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can all be shattered with a blunt ‘No’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let you guess the impact on your environment: financial, emotional and social.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">The nuances can be subtle and misunderstood, but when you fire a bullet - it's a bullet used. Now the question is : how much ammunition left? </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">It’s always good to seek advice before venturing, and we are here for that!</span></div>Gibson & Hills Ltdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460700394347096295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8649877723792735859.post-69662958898779817892010-07-14T14:33:00.000+04:002010-07-14T14:33:47.663+04:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I created this blog some couple of years ago, but couldn’t keep it alive. A busy professional life, two kids on board and so little time! From 2006, when the doors were first open, up to date many have found a new life under the sun. Some complaints, some success stories, and life went on. On average, the strategy to attract capital and competencies has been working fairly well. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) reached new records, and some fresh air blew over the economy.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We were all living a happy business life, until the financial crisis took the world by storm. Less harm in Mauritius, but the general investment phobia played its role on our side also. Over-prudence led to hesitation, and then to mental anesthesia! No risks, no decisions and no moves. Stalemate! The number of Occupation (professional residence) permits never matched the number of business created. Clearly it meant that many foreigners settled in but never launched their business activities. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Four years from there – it is quite understandable that the government comes out with some adjustments. First, it had to pay the price of its success. It was too easy to get a residence permit: you simply need to fill-in the required forms, show your birth certificate and declare that you are able to meet the conditions imposed. You’re set for the next three years! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">From April 2010, however, things are not that easy. If you are planning for a residence permit as ‘investor’ you would be required to show USD100,000 and if you are going for a self-employed permit, you’ll need to show USD35,000 along with your professional qualifications. The USD100,000 and USD35,000 are meant to be minimum investments in the respective cases. One thing though: as these are investments the government is unable to ‘block’ the funds … So if we think well, I can borrow USD100,000 – show it to the government and once I get my permit I can return it to its legitimate owner. Where’s the control? I can’t see any. It’s more a complicated procedure than an intelligent one! The complication lies in finding a true friend to lend you USD100,000 – that much.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and they also require that you present a business plan. A big leap for the business-mankind! We all know what business plans are: optimistic where you want it to be, pessimistic to show how good it can be in the worst situation. After all they are only plans. No one knows the future, so nothing compels me to ‘obey’ a business plan. Again, more a complicated procedure than an intelligent one (I love this sentence!). The complication here is finding a good consultant and spending some bucks on him. It’s simply a waste of time, honestly.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The increasing influx of foreign people in a country where land and resources is limited somewhat poses a delicate problem. It gives the impression of an unfair competition between those having Euros and Dollars and those living on the small Rupee.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> The common Mauritian, after being hesitant, accepted the fact that we do require foreign expertise and capital if we wanted to bring sustainable solutions to our economy. There has been increasing pressure from opposition parties (those who always find reasons to blame others) claiming that we were selling our country to foreigners, precisely pin-pointing to the famous exclusive IRS villas. Nothing doing: the population worked along the government to welcome those willing to leave their homes and try doing something on our land. It did work well in some cases, and it didn’t in others. Some foreigners simply came here thinking that we were some desperate nation willing to be conquered by others. Nope, we aren’t …and we’re happy that the incentives given to foreigners are working fine.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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