Address by DevAppalswamy
Officer in Charge NPCC
Opening of Competitiveness Foresight II
Tuesday 26th September 2017, 9.00 a.m
Sofitel Hotel, Flic enFlac
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All Protocols Observed,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning,
It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you to the Competitiveness Foresight workshopin view of “Laying the foundation for the next quantum leap.”
We have had the opportunity to meet many of you or representatives of your respective organisation, prior to today’s event to gather your insights about the current competitiveness status of the country. It is heartening to note that you have all responded positively to our invitation. Your willingness to give your precious time and share your knowledge and experience is highly appreciated and is an encouraging sign of your commitment to this exercise.
It is a priviledge to have Abdullah Verachia, CEO of the Strategists Ltd, among us. He has come over from South Africa to share with us the latest competitiveness trends and to facilitate this workshop. He has an impressive cv and, you will see, he is the man for the job!There is no model of foresight that fits all purposes and cultures, and Abdullah will have the challenging task of facilitating this foresight exercise and stressing the potential of foresight in getting prepared for what may seem unlikely a priori.
Afirst competitiveness foresight exercise was organised in 2004. The decade, since then, has been eventful. And we are humbled and honoured to note that we succeeded to bring foresight in policy-making. And this served us well, especially during the global financial crisis. Small island economies like ours became very vulnerable. But we manage to thrive and grow.
The International Monetary Fund has tweaked its predictions for global economic growth in a positive direction: growth is expected to rise from 3.1 percent in 2016 to 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018. The Mauritian economy continues to be resilient and is expected to grow at 3.9 percent in 2016/17 and 4.1 percent in 2017/18.
But this is not a time for complacency.
We are today experiencing an increased fragmentation in international trade, a rise in economic protectionism in key world economies, accommodative tax policies, deregulation, weak trade and investment growth, lacklustre productivity growth and inequalities in income amongst others. Climate change and global warmingare already transforming life on our planet. They are disrupting national economies and affecting lives. And thisone challenge does not take into account national borders.
Such uncertainties pose significant challenges to wealth creation. We have to continuously improve our preparedness against uncertain developments and strengthen our capabilities to take full advantage of the upturn and stay competitive in the long term.
Business as usual is not an option.
In his famous essay,The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Professor Michael Porter wrote: “National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, its labour pool, its interest rates, or its currency’s value.”
We are faced with many pressing questions about the best strategies and policies to adopt to withstand crisis and better the lives of our people. Obviously, we do not always have all the answers.
What we need is informed research and collective thinking with a multi-disciplinary, broad-picture perspective, that is not confined to one area of activity. There is an urgency to abandon the silo mentality, pool our effortsand focus on shared objectives. Active participation and involvement from a wide array of participants is, indeed, an essential component of foresight and of the development and implementation of policies. Thank you again for being present today and eager to engage in debates, scan and broaden the horizon, anticipate changes, identify threats as well as opportunities.
Abdullah is currently co-authoring a book on the commercial corridor between Africa and India and, I hope, that this competitiveness foresight exercise will help to consolidate the position of Mauritius along this commercial corridor.
Let us develop the conviction that the future can be influenced strategically and that our two-day workshop will contribute positively in the preparation of policies and policy measures. Let us be inspired by Adam Urbanski, a school teacher and college professor who has led education reform in America, who said: “If we always do what we've always done, we will get what we've always got...”
Let us not shy away from change and from the accusation of being unrealistic. But, instead,let us take into consideration that awareness raising is an essential part of foresight. The deliberations will of course be published. Or, rather, an action plan will be drafted.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Sustainable economic growth and competitiveness cannot be achieved by any one stakeholder alone. To all of you who are here, I would like to appeal to your networking and coordinationefforts so that experts, decision-makers of both the private and public sectors and civil society can all put their hearts and minds together to craft a better tomorrow for everyone.
Now is the time to take off all our blinkers and to decide where we want to go.Let us deliberate, even debate, in as non-partisan a way as possible, and reflect upon ways to make life better for all of us. Thank you!
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