Ettiene Sinatambou, the deputy speaker of parliament in Mauritius, has hailed his country’s favourable investment regulations as the major driving force behind the success of ICT in that country. Sanatambou spoke to ITNewsAfrica.com during the African ICT Achievers Awards last week in Johannesburg.
The former ICT minister said it was because of the commitment of his government that Mauritius is ranked highly when it comes to ICT in Africa.
“Mauritius is in the top 3 of most of the ratings on ICT, whether its ITU report or UN e-Governance report, this demonstrates the eagerness of political leadership. We are ready to establish the ICT industry as the 5th pillar of the state after sugar, textile, tourism and financial services,” he said.
The Deputy speaker emphasized that for them to realize this vision they had embarked on massive planning.
“To achieve this the government through a rigorous planning process and Mauritius I believe is the only African country today that has, a national ICT policy, a national strategic plan and a national information security strategy with time lines and budget plans,” Sinatambou explained.
On investment in ICT, Sinatambou was unapologetic when he boasted that his country had the most investor friendly regulations on the continent, which has made it attractive to the world.
“Mauritius has taken bold measures because we believe in providing the best possible business environment for investors, which is why both income and corporate tax in only 15%, this is unheard of in Africa.
The measures we have taken to optimize the business environment has resulted in Mauritius being ranked 24th in the world and 1st in Africa on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business index,” Sinatambou said.
The Islanders recently passed a law on permits that allow anyone earning above $1000 a month to get both a work and residence permit.
“We passed a law in Mauritius that combined the work and residential permit into one which we call an Occupational Permit. Whoever applies for this permit and no reply is forthcoming within 3 days your application is deemed approved,” he said.
The outspoken diplomat was in South Africa attending the 10th Annual African ICT Achievers Awards, recognising contributors to the ICT industry.
The awards – organised by ForgeAhead, in partnership with the Department of Communications, the State IT Agency and EOH – recognise companies and individuals who have had a significant impact on ICT in Africa.
By Samuel Mungadze
This guy is an arrogant prick..if mauritius has had any sort of success recently in the ICT its certainly not due to any of his measures..