“From Aid to Addiction: Why Mauritius must train its own and stop outsourcing its future”

• It’s time to stop applauding donation ceremonies and start demanding centers of excellence.

By Dr Hans Seesaghur, International Affairs Specialist and Sinologist

For decades, Mauritius has been hailed as an “economic miracle” and a model Small Island Developing State. But behind the diplomatic gloss lies a more troubling reality: Mauritius has become increasingly dependent on external aid, grants, credit line and technical assistance from a rotating cast of donors, be it the United Kingdom, France, the United States, China, India, the European Union, the UAE, Japan, and most recently Saudi Arabia. And instead of gradually weaning itself off this dependency, the country appears to have doubled down, normalizing a culture of donor-driven governance.

“It’s time to train thousands of Mauritians in maritime technologies, not just host foreign patrol boats.”

From the construction of roads and hospitals to maritime surveillance equipment and even basic IT systems for ministries, aid flows have filled the void left by weak domestic capacity development. Line of credit after line of credit, millions in concessional loans, and flashy ribbon-cutting ceremonies mask a critical failure, the absence of a long-term strategy to train Mauritians to do the job themselves.

Let’s be clear: aid in itself is not the villain. What matters is whether it helps build capacity, drives innovation, and expands long-term value. Not all countries are caught in an aid crisis. Rwanda, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire, for example, have managed to balance aid with growth and are now considered safer bets. Their success often lies in diversified economies, policy discipline, and effective public institutions.

For us, the irony is striking. We promote ourselves as a “Gateway to Africa,” yet rely on foreign engineers to build most of our projects. We host high-level investment forums, yet need foreign consultants to write our reports. We talk of digital transformation, but import the know-how while neglecting to develop a homegrown tech talent ecosystem.

Individually, many of these initiatives may seem positive. But collectively, they reveal a state model built not on internal resilience, but on external lifelines. While other nations are investing in people, we are still investing in press conferences and protocol.

Instead of investing strategically in training institutes, skilling our youth, and building national capacities across key sectors such as blue economy, AI and digital, renewable energy, and food security, we remain stuck in a cycle of outsourcing. Outsourcing vision. Outsourcing competence. Outsourcing responsibility.

This model is not sustainable. Especially in an era of geopolitical volatility, where aid is no longer guaranteed and donor priorities are shifting fast. What happens when geopolitical winds change and donor money dries up?

Mauritius cannot afford to be a perennial recipient. The nation’s future demands a paradigm shift, that is from charity to capability. It’s time to stop applauding donation ceremonies and start demanding centers of excellence. It’s time to train thousands of Mauritians in maritime technologies, not just host foreign patrol boats. To build export-ready digital startups, not just incubators sponsored by foreign embassies.

We are a nation of brilliant minds and vast ocean resources. But none of that will matter if we remain mentally anchored to handouts. Aid may have helped us in the past to build infrastructure. But only skills and innovation will help us build a bridge to the future.

About the author 

Dr Hans Seesaghur formerly served as the Chief Representative of the EDB in China at its Shanghai office. He also held the position of Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Mauritius in Beijing.