Republic of Mauritius- Management Information System for an efficient and technologically responsive public sector

The Minister of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms, Mr Teeruthraj Hurdoyal, the Secretary for Public Service, Mr S. Ragen and the Director-General of the Civil Service College, Dr R. Durbarry, were present.

The training, an initiative of the Public Sector Business Transformation Bureau (PSBTB), targeted mainly Transformation Implementation Committees who are responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the development of the Public Sector Business Transformation Implementation and Action Plan for different Ministries and Departments.

In his keynote address, Minister Hurdoyal highlighted that the implementation of the MIS heralds a new milestone in shaping the Public Service into a high performing, knowledge based and citizen-centric institution which upholds the principles of good Governance and ethics. The system, he stressed, will be a key tool for the PSBTB to successfully implement transformation initiatives and projects and ensure that Key Performance Indicators set are within targets.

The Ministry, he stated, has taken a number of initiatives towards the transformative journey of the Public Service and realising the vision of Government in gearing up to become a high-income country in the years to come. These include: the construction of a state-of-the art building which will host a modern Civil Service College in Ebène; high-level capacity building programmes on Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain, Data Analytics, Fintech, Internet-of-Things and 3-D printing; implementation of a Government Medical Insurance Scheme for Public Officers; and an SMS based platform to ensure closer and more effective communication in the Public Service.

Mr Ragen, on his side, spoke of the Public Sector Business Transformation Strategy developed with the assistance of the Commmonwealth Secretariat and approved by the Government in 2017 adding that it plays a pivotal role in bringing a change. The goal, he said, is to achieve resilience and adaptability while ensuring that public officers and the population in general are satisfied with the quality of services provided. According to him, team work, dedication and determination are the essential ingredients to revamp the current ecosystem into an effective and robust administration.

For his part, Dr Durbarry underlined that the strategy holds great importance for training and upskilling of public officers thereby ensuring that the latter become efficient and well-prepared to confront various challenges which hamper progress and technological advancement at work. At the same time, he said, the Public Sector is becoming more resilient and responsive to face competitive global landscape by leveraging on innovative technologies, lean and smart processes and a fit-for-purpose organisational redesign.