In the Mauritius of the 1990s there appeared to be few political incentives for the government to consult seriously with its business community. Not only was the private sector dominated by an ethnic minority, but it was dominated by the very ethnic minority that historically had oppressed the majority group which subsequently assumed political power. Common sense, and much politics literature, tells us that such a setup invites economic and political conflict. Yet, despite a relatively high level of hostility between business and government, business was able to exert a moderate level of influence on economic policy in the 1990s and Mauritius has been described as “a case study in the successful management of an economy.”

This chapter investigates the contribution of the private sector in Mauritius to economic policy-making in the 1990s. While business' level of influence varied across the sub-sectors of the economy, the private sector overall had a high level of political capacity and received a surprisingly receptive hearing from government. Crucially, its challenge to government's leading role in the economy was ignored, but as this leading role has served business well, the outcome was still net positive.

Roland Lamusse, former economic advisor to the prime minister, argued that “if you want to talk about the relationship between the business community and government in Mauritius, you have to start with sugar.”