What independence means

Tomorrow Mauritius celebrates its 38th independence anniversary. It's also 14 years since we became a republic.

We became independent from the British in 1968: no blood-soaked wars here. We were lucky enough to be among the last pearls of the Empire's crown. By the time it was our turn, the British were more or less happy to let go.

Mauritius has taken itself from being an economy based exclusively on its sugar industry to one where it was able to manufacture textiles and develop five-star tourism. We have no raw materials in our soil, a blessing in disguise, since there is no gold or diamond for our politicians to slip into their pockets. We depend on our people.

Today Mauritius is facing a new challenge, similar to the one we knew right after independence. This time, there is no safety net: no sugar quotas reserved on the European market, no agreements to guarantee markets for our textiles.

We are trying to fit into a knowledge-based world. We depend more than ever on our people: business-process outsourcing is a great part of what we can do, excellent customer service and conditions in our tourism industry, sound financial regulations to attract investment, IT conception and programming to satisfy clients based around the world. The backbone of these industries is people who are able and willing to learn continuously to remain on top of the fast-evolving demands. I believe we can do it.

I'm not sure how many Mauritians realise that in the new economy, having tea at 10h and 14h and leaving work at 16h sharp while blaming the government for our problems is not really going to make a difference. We are now more than ever alone in determining our survival. We are also more than ever interdependent. We are each as responsible as the government. We are also more intolerant towards the squandering of our funds by that government.

Succeeding in and as today's independent Mauritius is far from being a pleasant stroll on the beach. More like something between rock-climbing and body-boarding. And that can be fulfilling too.