Cutting bureaucracy has
not only created a thriving
textile and garment
industry in Mauritius but
also significantly boosted
its exports.
According to Dev
Chamroo, CEO of
Enterprise Mauritius, this
was all achieved on an
island with no cotton fields
and no sheep.
“So how do you even
think of
starting
a cotton
industry when
you have none
of the basic
requirements,”
he asked
during a panel
discussion
at Source
Africa 2014 in
Cape Town.
“By being
innovative and by creating
an environment that can
thrive.”
He said
bold steps
were taken
at times -
including a
resolution where
applications for licences
and permits are
considered
granted within a
set period of time
when one does not
hear from the civil servant.
“In other words, if you
apply for a permit and
the civil
service take
their time
and don’t
get back to
you within
a stipulated
time period,
that permit
or licence
is then
considered
granted. If
they want
to revoke it then the civil
service must go to court
to do it,” he said. “Also, all
kinds of incentives were
taken away completely. In
their place is an extremely
simple customs and duties
process. The same goes for
taxation on the island.”
Generating billion
of dollars of export
every year, the industry
has grown to such an
extent that they are now
outsourcing production
to foreign countries
including South Africa,
Botswana, India and
Bangladesh.
“We are also in the
process of setting up
production processes in
Uganda and Ethiopia. We
have introduced cotton
farming in Madagascar
and Mozambique to secure
production,” he said.
He said the key to
success was being able
to add value to the
production line.
INSERT
In place of incentives
there is an extremely
simple customs and
duties process.
– Dev Chamroo
