The Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection has embarked on a new initiative to develop a system which is digital, easy to use and fully integrated that will allow officers and other concerned stakeholders to monitor prices of goods. In that context, the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection, the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation and Verde Frontier Solutions Ltd, signed an agreement, this afternoon, at the Sicom Tower in Ebene, under the Public Sector Transformation Scheme (PSTS).
The signing ceremony was held in the presence of the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection and Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training, Mr Soodesh Satkam Callichurn, the Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin, as well as other eminent personalities.
In his address, Minister Callichurn highlighted the unflinching support of the MRIC and the Government which has enabled the ministry to embark on innovative programmes and projects that allow effective price-control monitoring as well as facilitate the collection, record, and cross verification of prices of fixed items at supermarkets and shops.
Furthermore, Mr Callichurn underlined that the PSTS, under which the Price Monitoring and Control application has been developed, has been one of the key initiatives announced by Government in Budget 2020-2021 in order to encourage innovative companies and start-ups to develop high quality applications to be used by ministries to enhance public sector delivery.
This scheme, he pointed out, has attracted numerous Mauritian organisations from different fields to propose practical innovative solutions to common life problems and hence increase the competitive edge of industries for sustainable economic and social growth.
Mr Callichurn underlined that the app will be accessible to retailers, members of the public as well as other stakeholders and appealed to all citizens and stakeholders concerned to make optimum use of the Price Monitoring and Control Application and to contribute in the concerted effort towards consumer protection.
As regards the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister recalled that it has shaken the commercial world adding that over the past months, consumers have been and are still being flooded by rising prices of many essential commodities due to the escalating costs of imports, such as freight and insurance, as well as the appreciation of several foreign exchange currencies compared to the Mauritian Rupee.
In this context, Mr Callichurn indicated that the Government, through a subsidy of around Rs 500 million, took the bold initiative to fix a maximum price for seven essential products such as edible oil, pulses, canned tomatoes, milk powder, margarine, cheese and canned fish in July 2021.
He further stated that as at date, 371 different brands of commodities have been fixed under the Consumer Protection (Maximum Price of Essential Goods) Regulations 2021. In addition, the State Trading Corporation will import milk powder and edible oil to help stabilise prices of these strategic commodities on the local market, he added.
The Minister reiterated Government’s commitment to guarantee good service to the public at large, promote visibility of prices of certain products and protect consumers from profiteering that may be practiced by certain traders through the re-establishment of the former Price Observatory.
This mechanism, he stated, will define a basket of commodities comprising 100 categories, including both food and non-food products, of the most widely used products by Mauritians and will be reviewed regularly.
For his part, Minister Balgobin underlined that this agreement is yet another step forward into innovation. This mechanism, he added, will not only allow the Ministry to monitor and control prices, but also develop a price database that confers a bird’s eye view of the whole supply chain in the country.
He pointed out that the development and implementation of the PSTS aim at supporting innovative collaborative projects that test new approaches and technologies by start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises so as to improve processes and enhance service delivery in the public sector.
Moreover, the Minister indicated that greater efforts to boost our innovation ecosystem are forthcoming. Some activities predicted for the year 2021/2022 are: launching of a National Innovation Campaign with the aim of rekindling the innovative spirit amongst the Mauritian population and making the public aware of the opportunities made available by the MRIC and other partner organisations; and the National Innovation Challenge competition which aims at uncovering and fostering local and professional innovations created by Mauritians from all walks of life is currently ongoing.
Another activity comprises the holding of Les Assises de La Recherche et De L’Innovation next year which will be a nationwide discussion platform to set the foundations for developing the roadmap and enabling factors for innovation for the country.
Public Sector Transformation Scheme (PSTS)
This initiative is funded by the MRIC so as to encourage innovative companies and start-ups to develop applications for the public sector. The objectives of the PSTS are namely to: create opportunities for new partnerships between government and other organisations; allow prototyping or proof of concept by startups and SMEs; strengthen the innovation capability in the public sector by facilitating experiential learning; promote project outcomes and solutions across the public sector to encourage interdepartmental collaboration to solve complex policy challenges and; and share the outcomes of projects and propagate new approaches, tools, and across government.
Through the PSTS, Verde Frontier Solutions Ltd will develop a cloud-based platform that will possess notably, a web-based product information management system for local produce; a mobile-friendly application for price inspectors to record infractions; an Infraction and Fine module for managing defaulters; a ticketing module for complaints logging and follow-up and; an analytical platform for authorities to monitor prices, infractions and complaints.
