[Blog] Reconstructing the Civil Service : A Call for Accountability and Pluricultural Reform

The recent unveiling of the Strategic Framework for Public Service Reform 2025–2029 has reignited debate on the future of our civil service. While the document speaks of transformation, it fails to confront the deeper fractures within our administrative architecture. Reform cannot be cosmetic—it must be reconstructive.

The PRB Paradox

The Pay Research Bureau (PRB), once envisioned as a guardian of fairness and productivity, must now amend its mission. Every five years, Rs 400 million is spent to produce reports riddled with anomalies—requiring further costly reviews. The PRB advocates performance, yet fails to sanction policy failures.

Consider the following :

• Equal pay for unequal responsibilities: Two types of Permanent Secretaries—one leading ministries, the other subordinate to Senior Chief Executives—yet both remunerated identically.
• Unjust travel grants: Officers in vastly different regions receive identical compensation, unlike bus refunds which honor distance.
• Medical salary distortions: MBBS and MD holders are treated as equals despite differing academic rigor.

If the PRB is to remain relevant, it must evolve into a performance watchdog—sanctioning failures in youth policy, where we see the proliferation of drugs, rising teenage pregnancies, and obesity linked to systemic neglect.

A New Architecture for the Civil Service

We propose a five-tiered structure that honors merit, memory, and the mosaic of Mauritian society:

1. Support Group: HSC holders providing foundational services.
2. Technical Group: Executive Officers, Assistant Finance Officers, HR Assistants, and Ministry Technicians.
3. Executive Group: Directors and strategic leads.
4. Professional Group: Postgraduates, MBAs, and PhDs with a pluricultural mindset—entrusted to direct ministries and departments.
5. Consultative Group: Senior citizens—healthy, experienced, and still productive—engaged on two-year contracts as mentors and think tanks.

This structure is not just administrative—it is ceremonial. It honors the rhythm of service, the dignity of experience, and the emotional scaffolding of governance.

Toward Pluricultural and Gender-Responsive Reform

We call for a National Study on the Challenges Facing Public Administration in a Pluricultural Society. Mauritius is not a monolith—it is a mosaic. Our civil service must reflect this diversity in its leadership, recruitment, and rituals.

We also urge the Government to engender the public service by partnering with FAM AN MARS, a movement that champions women’s leadership and family welfare. Through ceremonial platforms like Sita Circles, Shakti Workshops, and Mandodari Dialogues, we are already modeling inclusive reform.

Let us not choreograph another dance without music. Let us instead compose a new raga of reform—one that sings of accountability, inclusivity, and civic guardianship.

By Dharamraj Deenoo, 
Civic Steward & Secretary at FAM AN MARS