LCA Graduation Speech 9 Dec 2011

7/27/2019 LCA Graduation Speech 9 Dec 2011

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Speech London College of Accountancy 9 December 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me indeed great pleasure to be associated with you on at the second Graduation and

Prize giving ceremony honouring the best from the London College of Accountancy, Mauritius

branch.

Dear Graduands

Let me first pay tribute to your parents, friends and relatives who have provided a positive

environment by boosting confidence when the going was tough and shared your joys when

things were going well. Their financial and moral support and commitment are of inestimable

value and I can feel the pride in you, dear parents, of their achievements.

LCA (Mauritius) is doing a very fine job since its opening in 2008 and I am made to understand

that it has currently a population of more than 1600 students representing more than 2700

entries in terms of subjects. The students from LCA have excelled and the average pass rate

has usually been above the worldwide pass rates in most of the papers .One of your friends

namely, TajmaNafeesa Begum Emamally has ranked first in the world in the Advanced Audit

and Assurance paper in June 2011 and I take this opportunity to congratulate her, her parents,

teachers and friends who have taken an active part in her success.


Our human resources are our greatest asset. They are at the base of our economic and


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social progress. Their intelligence and skills as well as their dedication to hard work have

made our nation what it is today. My Ministry, in its Strategic Direction, 2012-2014 aims at

making Mauritius a knowledge society and position the country as a Knowledge Hub, and a

Centre of Higher Learning and Excellence to serve both local and regional needs. Already,

the Mauritian tertiary education landscape has witnessed significant progress. From a

single institution in 1968, the country today counts some 66 education providers (11

publicly-funded institutions; 55 private institutions), where 700 programmes are delivered

on full-time, part-time and flexible distance learning mode basis.

We want to give everyone in this country "equal educational opportunity" for upward social

mobility and progress. Attainment of the Government vision of one graduate per family

will profoundly influence the quality of life of all Mauritians in the future, through the

availability of more remunerative jobs for our young people.The decision of the

Government to introduce student visas for foreign students and giving them the possibility

to work part-time will impact positively on the number of foreign students coming to

Mauritius in the future.


Over the years, Mauritius has built its reputation as a safe, trusted and secure jurisdiction.

Today the Mauritius financial platform is recognized by international institutions like the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International

Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), International Organisation of Securities

Commission (IOSCO), Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Islamic Financial


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service Board (IFSB). Financial Services remains one of the most important contributors to

the Mauritian economy, representing 13% of GDP and directly employing over 15,000

highly skilled professionals. The sector comprises of major local and international players

in banking, insurance, capital markets, fund administration and management, international

legal services and investment advisory amongst others. This sector has navigated

cautiously through the global financial turmoils and has proven its resilience.

Apart from its strong track record as a financial centre of choice for emerging markets'

investment, Mauritius' business environment is equally recognized by a number of

institutions, including the World Bank. The latter, in its latest Doing Business Report, ranks

Mauritius first in Africa and 23rd globally for its ease of doing business. Mauritius also tops

the classification in a number of other rankings. The Mo Ibrahim Index on Good

Governance positions the jurisdiction 1st in Africa and so does the Index of Economic

Freedom.

Nowadays, Mauritius is opening itself to the world by offering business friendly platforms. A

foreign investor can settle hassle-free in Mauritius and be operational in just 3 days. Add to

this, Mauritius has one of the world's most generous tax regimes, where personal and

corporate tax are harmonized at a low 15% and where dividends are tax free. A country

with no exchange control. A country where export-oriented operators enjoy duty-free

privilege for their inputs and equipment. In the same vein, Mauritius has signed non-double

taxation agreements with 39 countries so far and is signatory to a number of Investment

Promotion and Protection Agreements, namely with 36 countries.


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We are confident that the post crisis economy is on the way to full employment. And when

we get there, the most decisive factor for rapid growth will be the productivity of our

workforce. We will need to shift our manpower from low value-added sectors to the

services industries, like financial services, ICT and knowledge and health centres of

excellence. This shift will require considerable efforts in education and training.

Government is doing its share, but for this plank of our strategy to succeed, the private

sector must double its efforts in the area of human resource development and I am proud

to say that the Mauritius branch of the London School of Accountancy is playing a major

role.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me conclude by again congratulating the graduands for their

hard work in achieving success.

Thank you for your attention.


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Documents

LCA Graduation Speech 9 Dec 2011