Acknowledging the proven capacity of ICT to become an even more powerful tool to accelerate both social cohesion and economic development, while increasing efficiency productivity across all sectors and enable a high standard of living, the Ministry believes that ICT in general deserves greater focus from all stakeholders and should therefore be apprehended in a more holistic way.
In this context, the Ministry of ICT has enunciated a combination of measures to:
· initiate some major steps to bridge the digital divide,
· charter out policy initiatives to lower the cost of telecommunications,
· establish the right eco-system that would permeate the use of ICT throughout the country and to make access to the internet a basic citizen’s right.
· position the country as a safe and reliable ICT destination capitalising on our bilingual workforce, modern ICT infrastructure and good governance.
The key to the ICT sector development has been the formulation of National Strategic Plans since 1998 and the enactment of major legislations which are subjected to regular reviews to adapt to the changing ICT landscape and making the ICT environment appealing for attracting flagship companies which in turn would create economic opportunities for the citizens.
The National ICT Strategic Plan 2011-2014 gives significant policy guidance to successfully embrace the knowledge economy journey and respond to these dynamic changes. It falls in line with the government’s aspirations of transforming the nation into a high-value economy while always ensuring inclusiveness in its approach.
The country will continue to see more of such implementations of initiatives as the momentum towards this vision 2014 aspiration takes speed.
The Broadband Policy released on the 20th January 2012 is one of the milestones to create this momentum whereby advocating a comprehensive framework to create digital on-line technologies and associated services which are not only accessible but also affordable to the citizens. These are critical drivers, central for major ICT uptakes and economic multipliers in the making of the Intelligent Mauritius branded as i-Mauritius.
