Gerard Sanspeur: “Digital democracy in economic policy”

Gérard Sanspeur, Chairman of the Board of Investment, has been appointed Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED) as from Monday 4 April 2016. News on Sunday met him to find out more about his new role.  Gerard Sanspeur’s role is now more than just attracting Foreign Direct Investment to Mauritius. He will have a major contribution in the forthcoming Budget. Having provided strategic leadership in the fields of management, economic development, regional trade and investment at top echelon in public and private sector as well as in the African region, Gerard Sanspeur is all set to face new challenges coming his path, without fear. Mr Sanspeur, what are your priorities as Special Adviser? I have been appointed as Senior Adviser and my new responsibilities will include an advisory role with regards to the forthcoming National Budget. I will be involved in formulating economic development strategies and policies, as well as closely monitor the implementation of budgetary measures and the realisation of major capital expenditure projects in the public sector. My priority has been the setting up of an interactive digital platform, leveraging on latest technologies, applications and social media networks in order to stimulate public involvement in a very broad-based pre-budgetary consultative process. I will personally drive this first-of-its-kind project to ensure that pertinent and constructive inputs from fellow countrymen from all walks of life be utilised in the national strategic development plan to enhance the quality of life. I strongly believe in consultation through dialogue but so far consultation did not touch grassroot level. The digital platform will thus encourage wider public participation. Even the Mauritian diaspora can be reached. So will the platform be simply collecting emails and views? No. A dedicated team will be assigned and its role will not be limited to analysing public contribution but it will go beyond that in order to capture maximum intelligence. A website is also on its way (editor’s note: www.mauritiusfinance.com) structured around such themes as transport, urbanisation, etc. This is a two-way sharing of ideas, strategies, with participative democracy. The general public has a right to information, and the platform will provoke deep thinking and will also have an educative objective. The advantage of the platform is that it operates in real time. Facts will be presented to the public in a language that is easily understood. The whole exercise will be fully transparent, in a spirit of good governance. The platform will culminate into forums where technical persons will debate strategies and outcomes. After all, public policy should no longer be limited to the contribution of 4 or 5 economists, but should be based on intelligence gleaned from the masses. Digital democracy is a reality. The third phase will be about monitoring of outcomes. We want citizens to serve as active agents rather than passive recipients of policy-making. Tell us a bit about the Budget. The Prime Minister recently announced that renewable energy will be high on the agenda… I cannot at this stage give hints about the Budget contents, but be assured that the Budget will take into consideration the Economic Statement made by the Prime Minister in line with the Vision 2030. Various teams are busy at work. It aims to be a game changer, with a strong dose of innovation, both in terms of contents, presentation and implementation plan. A Budget geared towards results, and containing measures that can be implemented easily and in the short-term to benefit the population at large. Various sectors need to be given a vibrant impulse and we want to create more jobs and opportunities.

“ The key word is innovation. Innovating through putting people at the heart of institutions, fostering more citizens’ involvement, public contribution and wider participation."

Mauritius wants to be in the Top 15 of Doing Business ranking. How are we going to achieve that? Doing Business ranking does not mean much in terms of competitiveness. An improvement in the business climate alone does not suffice to boost economic growth. We are rather planning to come up with sectoral industrial policies. With industrial policy targeting specific sectors, we will ensure the right conditions for the proper impetus to growth. The onus is not simply achieving a better rank for the sake of being at a high rank but rather to boost our competitiveness. Rigid bureaucracy remains an obstacle to investment. Shouldn’t delays in permit processing, etc be addressed through the silent agreement principle and one-stop-shops given more powers? I was myself a strong proponent of Silent Agreement principle, but let me tell you that this principle can also be dangerous. Let’s say a file has been with an officer who did nothing within the prescribed time frame. The permit will be deemed to have been issued under Silent Agreement principle. Should we take this risk? I must say facilitation services are working fine, we have one-stop-shops, collaborative meetings between ministries and departments, etc. However, one-stop-shop doesn’t mean that an agency usurps the role and prerogative of other agencies. It is rather a collaborative role. We should not dilute the role of ministries and departments. FDI seems to be directed mainly towards real estate. Are we neglecting other important productive sectors? No. the truth is far from that. If you look at the organigram of the Board of Investment you will find that all sectors of the economy are well represented. There is a perception that real estate is dominating, but our message out there is that there is more than real estate in Mauritius. Many other productive sectors are on the move, perhaps there isn’t enough communication about them. Some sectors, such as the ICT, have tremendous potential. In Mauritius, we have not yet reached a level where the potential of technology and digital platforms is fully tapped. A final word? The key word is innovation. Innovating through putting people at the heart of institutions, fostering more citizens’ involvement, public contribution and wider participation.