The beautiful beaches, as well as ethnic and cultural diversity symbolise present-day Mauritius, which takes over the leadership the of SADC for the next 12 months.

Mauritius joined SADC in 1995 and has since then participated fully in the regional integration process. It has signed various SADC legal instruments including protocols, memoranda of understanding, agreements and declarations as a sign of its commitment to the development process in the region.

Mauritius is also a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the African Union (AU), the Commonwealth and the United Nations, among others.

Over the last five years, the country has recorded an average annual growth rate of 5.7 percent. This year, the Mauritius government expects the economy to grow by more than five percent, surpassing the average world forecast of 4.6 percent.

After several years of reliance on the sugar industry, Mauritius set out to diversify its economy at independence in 1968 by encouraging the establishment of export-oriented companies within its Export Processing Zones (EPZ). It has thus moved successfully from a narrowly based economy to a more diversified one, with manufacturing, tourism, and financial and other services playing prominent roles.

Manufacturing is the largest sector in Mauritius and it contributes up to 23 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The transport, storage and communication sector contributes 14 percent, and the financial sector, 10 percent. Agriculture and tourism contribute six percent each to the GDP.

The tourism sector is the third largest employer in the country after the manufacturing and transport sectors. This sector has grown as an important service sector and continues to be an important foreign exchange earner.

Tourist arrivals have increased by 75 percent since 1994 giving an increase of more than 200 percent in tourism earnings over the same period.

Although Mauritius remains a net importer of goods, it has increased its exports of textiles and apparel. Textiles and apparel have increased from 42 percent of total exports in 2002 to 50 percent in 2003.

Despite being a small island country, Mauritius has implemented effective trade policies for the promotion of exports and the support of various sectors of the economy.

These developments have improved the welfare of the island’s diverse population of about 1.2 million with an annual per capita GDP of almost US$4,000.

Mauritius is a parliamentary democracy, with separation of powers between the legislative, judiciary and the executive.

The President, Anerood Jugnauth, is the Head of State and Commanderin- chief while the Prime Minister, Paul Raymond Bérenger, heads government with full executive powers. There are 70 members in the national assembly of whom 62 are elected from 20 constituencies by popular vote every five years.

Mauritius’ first-past-the-post electoral system uses a complex block voting and “best losers” method of universal suffrage. The block voting system is such that each voter casts three votes for three candidates from each constituency, except the lightly populated island of Rodrigues, which returns two members also by block vote.

A maximum of eight members are allocated from a list of “best losers” based on ethnic minority representation. The block voting and best losers system was devised at independence as a means of ensuring that voters relate to political parties rather than communal or ethnic groupings.

Mauritius attained independence from Britain on 12 March 1968 following four periods of colonial occupation. The country was colonised on two separate periods by the Dutch, lasting 66 years (1598-1618 and 1664- 1710). The French occupied Mauritius from 1715 to 1810 and renamed it the Isle de France. British occupation began after the island was captured during the Anglo-French war in 1810 after which Mauritius and Seychelles were administered as a single colony until 1903.

The diversity of the population has given rise to the flowering of various traditions and cultures in this multiracial nation. The country is made up of descendants of immigrants from India, mainland Africa, Europe and China.

The country has a cosmopolitan culture based on coexistence among the various ethnic groups. Evidence of this coexistence lies in the celebration of festivals and religious events including Cavadee celebrated by the Tamils, Chinese Spring Festival, Divali by the Hindus, and Easter by Christians, to mention just a few.

Sources: SARDC – Democracy Factfile – Mauritius; The Official SADC Trade, Industry and Investment Review 2004; and Website for the 2004 SADC Summit – www.sadcmauritius.mu