Mauritius Sustainable Island Resurfaces: Osman Mahomed Revives an Old Project to Feed Vision 2050

The Mauritius Sustainable Island initiative, long shelved by the government, is now being revived through an unexpected political avenue. Osman Mahomed, who led this project in its early days and is now a minister, has asked his colleague Jyoti Jeetun to draw from this experience to enrich her project, Mauritius: Vision 2050.

At an official event dedicated to Mauritius: Vision 2050 last week, Minister of Land Transport Osman Mahomed did more than just symbolically reference the initiative; he presented the Mauritius Sustainable Island (MID) project along with its Progress Report to his colleague Jyoti Jeetun, who is spearheading the Vision 2050 project.

The Progress Report does not provide a comprehensive assessment of MID but rather an update on the first 16 months of implementation, following the Cabinet's approval of the program on June 14, 2013. In essence, it serves as a snapshot of the start-up phase, not a final evaluation. This snapshot reveals a project that is dense, active, ambitious, but still very much a work in progress: only 11% of actions are reported as completed, 61% as ongoing, and 28% as not started or facing obstacles.

This is precisely what makes the Progress Report interesting today for a national projection exercise. It demonstrates what a large state program can produce in its initial phase: structuring ideas, initiated mechanisms, activated networks, pilot projects, but also delays, resistance, and a clear difficulty in quickly translating vision into tangible results.

MID was not just a slogan. The report highlights several projects that have indeed been initiated: an evaluation of the green economy, preparation of a Green Economy Action Plan, establishment of sustainable development indicators, legal reflections leading to a future Sustainable Development Act, an exercise in Natural Capital Accounting, and a Biomass Scheme that has been declared completed at the design stage.

The Progress Report also reveals that one of the most concrete aspects was the MID Clubs in secondary schools. By the date of the report, 60 clubs were already operational. In the same spirit, the program had led to a series of ground actions: 45 public hearings for the National Energy Commission, launch of MID-PSAP, workshops on the green economy, capacity-building sessions, awareness campaigns, and multisector consultations. Additionally, there was significant financial commitment: the report indicates that the MID Fund had already mobilized Rs 935 million for approved projects.

However, this Progress Report reflects both the promises of a strategic state and the limitations of an executing state. Some initiatives have been launched without fully succeeding. The Vulnerability Resilience Profile, for instance, was initiated but hindered by issues related to the chosen consultant. Other components, such as natural capital accounting or the future sustainable development law, are at an intermediate stage: conceptualized, framed, initiated, but not yet completed.

This is where Osman Mahomed's gesture takes on particular political significance. By handing over the project and its progress report to Jyoti Jeetun, he is not just passing along an administrative archive. He is also imparting a governance lesson. In essence: Mauritius has already produced frameworks, plans, consultations, and transformation instruments. The real question is no longer just about dreaming of a new national vision but understanding why so many promising public projects struggle to transition from launch to completion.

In other words, MID can serve as both a matrix and a warning for Mauritius: Vision 2050. The country has already experienced significant strategic architectures. What is often lacking is not the vision but institutional endurance, ministerial coordination, and the capacity to deliver.