” We cannot purchase our way into becoming an AI nation”

‘We must build capability inside Government, universities, businesses and communities’

Interview: Dr Avinash Ramtohul, Minister of IT, Communication and Innovation

* ‘international evidence increasingly suggests that, for many occupations, AI will transform tasks rather than eliminate entire jobs’

* ‘AI will not substitute leadership or administrative responsibility’
But it can make inefficiency visible and once a blockage is visible and measurable, it becomes much harder to ignore’

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from a technological innovation to a major driver of economic and social change. For Mauritius, the launch of the AI Innovation Lab, the National AI Strategy and the inclusion of AI as a key pillar of the 2026–27 Budget signal an ambition to position the country for this new era. But beyond policy announcements, the real questions are how AI will affect the economy and jobs, whether our people are equipped with the right skills, and how effectively Government can turn this ambition into tangible benefits for citizens. Dr Avinash Ramtohul, Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, responds to these questions in this week’s interview. Read on.

Mauritius Times: Following the launch of the AI Innovation Lab and the inclusion of AI as a key pillar of the 2026–27 Budget, alongside the National AI Strategy, what will these initiatives actually mean for Mauritius? And how will they make a tangible difference to the economy and the workforce?

Dr Avinash Ramtohul: The most important point is that these are not isolated announcements. We are building an ecosystem in which infrastructure, skills, innovation, public-sector transformation, governance and cybersecurity reinforce one another.

The Digital Transformation Blueprint 2025–2029 provides the overall architecture. The National AI Strategy defines how Mauritius intends to move from digitalisation to what I would call digital intelligence. The FAIR Guidelines establish the principles within which AI should be developed and used. We have established a dedicated AI Unit to drive implementation and the 2026–27 Budget provides resources to accelerate that implementation.

We are already moving from policy to delivery. The AI Innovation Lab STEM Centre is a very concrete example. It has an AI training laboratory with 24 computers and an electronics laboratory equipped for robotics, sensors, circuit design and the development of AI artefacts. It is intended for technopreneurs, researchers, innovators, secondary and tertiary students to learn, experiment and build.

Our objective is ultimately economic. We have to compete through skills, productivity, innovation, trust and agility. The National AI Strategy therefore explicitly covers education, health, tourism, financial services, climate action and public services, while creating the foundations for AI to become a new economic pillar.

The Budget takes this further by targeting 50,000 Mauritians for practical AI enablement and training. We are therefore investing simultaneously in technology and people.

* What we are really talking about is therefore the future of Mauritius — economic competitiveness, public services, jobs, education, cybersecurity, privacy, and the role of the State. In light of the Digital Transformation Blueprint and the National AI Strategy, what tangible changes should citizens expect over the next two to three years?

Citizens should expect Government to become progressively simpler, more connected and more proactive.

We have already started that transition. KOREK! is being developed as the single digital gateway bringing Government services together. It started with the Digital Penalty Points service. We have subsequently integrated other services, including AI-enabled reporting of water leakages, CEB information, details of driving licences and on Thursday itself the application for State Age Pension Estimate. We also launched online payment of road tax for taxi operators, reducing the need to queue physically for administrative procedures.

The next stage is connecting more services under KOREK! — services around the citizen.

Our National AI Strategy introduces DIVA — the Digital Interactive Virtual Assistant — which is intended progressively to become a 24/7 AI interface between citizens and Government services. The Strategy also envisages intelligent search, automated workflows, multilingual assistance, predictive analytics and interoperable Government data.

The Blueprint was deliberately constructed around four pillars: state-of-the-art info-structure, human capital and digital skills, innovation and private-sector growth, and a sustainable and resilient digital future.

* What do you foresee as the biggest obstacles to implementation, and how will Government measure whether these programmes are actually succeeding?

Government systems have developed over decades. Institutions have different databases, procedures, legislation, levels of digital maturity and organisational cultures. Digital transformation therefore requires interoperability, institutional coordination, change management, skills and sometimes, legislative reform.

A second challenge is data. AI is only as useful as the information supporting it. The Strategy recognises that Mauritius has useful administrative and service data, but that standards, interoperability and governance must improve. This is precisely why we are advancing the National Data Governance Strategy.

The third challenge is skills. We cannot purchase our way into becoming an AI nation. We must build capability inside Government, universities, businesses and communities.

For me, the fundamental KPI is straightforward: Has technology made the citizen’s interaction with the State demonstrably easier, faster and more transparent?

If the answer is no, we have digitised; we have not transformed.

* While AI promises future economic growth, which Mauritian jobs are most vulnerable to displacement, will automation create a net surplus of employment, and are workers being prepared for this transition with the right skills as seriously as the technology is being promoted?

We should neither minimise the disruption nor exaggerate it.

Jobs involving highly repetitive, rules-based and information-processing tasks will naturally experience greater exposure: routine clerical work, basic data processing, certain customer-service activities, elementary bookkeeping and administrative functions, and parts of content production.

But international evidence increasingly suggests that, for many occupations, AI will transform tasks rather than eliminate entire jobs. The International Labour Organisation estimates that one in four workers globally is in an occupation with some exposure to generative AI, but stresses that transformation is more likely than wholesale redundancy because human input remains necessary.

If Mauritius simply imports AI systems to automate existing activities, the employment dividend will be limited. If we simultaneously create AI companies, train developers, strengthen cybersecurity, develop data expertise, support digital finance, GovTech, HealthTech and AgriTech and help existing sectors increase productivity and exports, entirely new opportunities emerge.

That is why skills are central to our policy.

The National AI Strategy provides for workforce reskilling, tiered certifications, practical programmes, vocational pathways for mid-career professionals, bootcamps, hackathons and stronger links between industry and education.

The Budget’s commitment to enable and train 50,000 Mauritians must be understood in this context. We are preparing for people before disruption becomes displacement.

The objective is not humans versus AI. It is Mauritians who know how to work with AI competing successfully against those who do not.

* What skills will therefore Mauritian workers and young people need to acquire to remain competitive in an AI-driven economy, and do you think our education and training systems are keeping pace?

The first skill is obviously AI literacy — understanding what AI can and cannot do, how to use it productively and how to recognise its risks.

But the skills agenda goes much further: data literacy, coding, cybersecurity, cloud technologies, robotics, critical thinking, prompt engineering, digital ethics, problem-solving, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Interestingly, the more powerful AI becomes, the more valuable distinctly human capabilities also become judgement, communication, empathy, leadership and the ability to question an automated output.

This is why AI4AI — AI for ALL and Inclusive is an important component of the National AI Strategy. We treat AI literacy increasingly as a civic and economic competence. The programme is designed for students, teachers, workers, professionals, entrepreneurs, citizens, retirees, public officers and regulators.

The Strategy provides for AI and data-science modules in education, vocational training for mid-career professionals and practical industry exposure. We are also creating physical environments where learning becomes experimentation. That is precisely the role of the AI Innovation Lab.

Are we moving fast enough? We must keep accelerating. Technology will not wait for curriculum cycles.

That is why Government is using several channels simultaneously — schools and universities, online learning, community programmes, innovation labs, industry partnerships and targeted training.

* Given the ambition to make artificial intelligence an economic pillar, can Mauritius transition from a mere consumer to a producer of AI solutions — and where do we hold a realistic competitive advantage to attract serious investment without becoming overly dependent on foreign technology companies?

Absolutely — but Mauritius should not attempt to compete with the United States or China in building trillion-parameter foundation models.

Our opportunity is applied AI.

We have a sophisticated financial-services sector, tourism, multilingual capabilities, a strong services economy, established regulatory institutions, access to African markets, links with India and Europe, and a strategic Indian Ocean location.

That gives us realistic niches in FinTech, tourism intelligence, GovTech, smart agriculture, climate technologies, logistics, HealthTech and multilingual public-service technologies.

We are creating an ecosystem around this ambition. The Regional AI Marketplace is intended to connect solution providers, start-ups, businesses and public institutions.

Our ambition is not technological isolation. It is technological sovereignty through capability.

* Let’s tie this discussion on AI with the Prime Minister’s recent complaint about “blocages” in the Civil Service. Can AI and digitalisation genuinely overcome institutional inertia — such as by identifying pending files or enabling citizens to track applications in real time — and how do we ensure digitisation doesn’t simply reproduce existing bureaucratic inefficiencies electronically?

This is precisely where digital transformation can have one of its greatest impacts.

A paper file can sit somewhere without visibility. In a properly designed digital workflow, we can know when it was submitted, where it is, how long it has remained at a particular stage and what action is outstanding.

AI can go further by identifying bottlenecks, prioritising cases, flagging unusual delays and providing management with real-time performance information. Our Strategy specifically envisages automated workflows, predictive governance and integration of AI into Government dashboards for performance monitoring.

However, there is a need for underlying digital services. AI sits on the digitalisation layer and integrates within it. Before digitisation, we need re-engineering process: ask why each step exists, whether data can be reused, whether agencies can exchange information securely and whether approvals can be simplified, by way of digital system.

Technology also creates accountability. Citizens should progressively have greater visibility over the status of their requests, while managers should be able to identify where delays are accumulating.

AI will not substitute leadership or administrative responsibility. But it can make inefficiency visible and once a blockage is visible and measurable, it becomes much harder to ignore.

* Regarding data, privacy, and trust — what specific data will the Government use to train or operate AI systems, who owns that data, and how will personal data be protected? Furthermore, will citizens have a right to know when an AI has assisted in an important decision affecting them, and if such a decision is wrong, where does accountability ultimately lie?

Our position is clear: AI does not create a suspension of existing rights.

Under the Mauritian Data Protection Act 2017, Section 23(2)(h) provides for the key transparency provision. It stipulates that “Where personal data are processed, the data controller must inform the data subject of the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and provide information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and envisaged consequences of that processing for the data subject.”

The Data Protection Commissioner’s own guidance confirms that the controller must inform the data subject about automated decision-making/profiling, the logic involved, and its significance and envisaged consequences.

Finally, there must be clear accountability: where an AI-assisted decision is incorrect or causes harm, responsibility should ultimately remain with the relevant government authority or human decision-maker, rather than being attributed to the AI system itself.

* Equally important is the issue of digital divide. As we expand the use of AI and technology, could this leave vulnerable and older people further behind? Should the government ensure that essential public services remain accessible through non-digital means, while also providing targeted digital literacy programmes?

Our philosophy is digital first, but human-centred.

The National AI Strategy explicitly recognises this risk. AI4AI provides for multilingual and accessible learning, community workshops, offline material, radio, print, community facilitators and mobile outreach so that people without high digital literacy or reliable connectivity are not excluded.

The Strategy specifically includes citizens, caregivers and retirees within its AI-literacy model.

For essential services, there must be appropriate assisted channels during the transition, particularly for older people, persons with disabilities and citizens who require support.

At the same time, we should not condemn vulnerable groups permanently to analogue services. The better solution is to bring them into the digital transition through training, assisted access and inclusive design.

Technology should reduce inequality of access, not create a new form of it. Building a trusted digital State is not only about protecting systems from attacks. It is also about ensuring that citizens can actually access those systems. For the new Government Portal, accessibility is being integrated into its development through compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This is important because Government’s digital platforms must be designed from the outset to be usable by the widest possible range of citizens, including people with disabilities. Security, resilience, accessibility and inclusion therefore have to be treated as part of the same philosophy of digital-by-design.

* The Government has announced an ambitious digital and AI agenda. By 2029, what three measurable changes should allow us to say that Mauritius has genuinely become a more efficient, innovative and digitally capable country?

I would judge our success by three transformations.

First, the transformation of the citizen experience. By 2029, the majority of high-volume Government interactions should be accessible through an integrated digital environment, with secure identity, interoperable services and far greater ability for citizens to obtain information and follow transactions without moving repeatedly from one institution to another. KOREK!, DIVA and our Digital Public Infrastructure are building blocks towards that objective.

Second, the transformation of our human capital and economy. We should have a significantly AI-literate workforce, a strong pipeline of trained young people, professionals and public officers and importantly a visible Mauritian AI ecosystem producing solutions, companies, intellectual property and exportable services. The immediate commitment to train and enable 50,000 Mauritians is an important starting point, but by 2029 skills development must be institutionalised throughout education and lifelong learning.

Third, the transformation of the State itself. Citizens should see measurable reductions in processing times and administrative friction, while Government should be using data more intelligently to allocate resources, anticipate problems and measure performance — all within stronger cybersecurity, privacy and accountability frameworks.

That is the standard I would set.

The objective is not for Mauritius to say in 2029 that we have more applications, more servers or more AI tools.

The objective is to be able to demonstrate that our economy is more productive, our people are better equipped, and our State works better for its citizens. Our vision is for Mauritius to emerge as a regional leader in artificial intelligence and digital transformation, particularly for Africa and the Indian Ocean region.

For Mauritius, digital transformation is no longer about putting Government online. It is about redesigning how the State works, how our economy competes and how our people participate in the opportunities of the next decade. AI is a powerful instrument in that transformation, but people, trust and measurable results will remain the ultimate test of success.

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Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 31 August 2026

Tags:AI Innovation Lab, AI Literacy, AI Training Laboratory, AI Unit, Applied AI, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Data Protection, Digital Divide, Digital Intelligence, Digital Interactive Virtual Assistant, Digital Skills, Digital Transformation Blueprint 2025–2029, Digitalisation, DIVA, FAIR Guidelines, FinTech, Govtech, Healthtech, Interview Dr Avinash Ramtohul, KOREK!, Mauritius Times, National AI Strategy, National Data Governance Strategy, Robotics, Technological Sovereignty, Workforce Reskilling