Three Mobile Applications, namely the Smart Traffic, Smart Police and Consumer Protection were launched yesterday in EbAne by the Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Yogida Sawmynaden, in the context of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of Mauritius.
In his address, Minister Sawmynaden underpinned the indispensable role of the smart phone in the daily life of people. Its usage cuts across all walks of life and help to make life more comfortable, easier and more productive, he said. More importantly, he added, the availability of Mobile Applications has undoubtedly brought forth a whole level of new and innovative experience that has considerably changed the way smart phone users lead their lives.
On that note, the Minister highlighted that this initiative is in line with the 2017-2018 budgetary measure of developing Mobile Applications to provide information on Government services as part of Government’s strategy to move towards a fully-fledged digital society. The conceptualisation of the Mobile Applications, he said, forms part of Government’s aim of moulding Mauritius into a modern country by harnessing a digital economy and society. He emphasised that as Mauritius is celebrating its 50th anniversary of Independence, Government seeks to promote a new mindset so that the country marches towards a new era of development.
Minister Sawmynaden further pointed out that multiple endeavours are being undertaken to yield significant advances in the technological landscape for the betterment of both the country and the population. In this regard, he announced that the Info Highway Project conceptualised by the Ministry has been selected among the top 5 by the International Telecommunication Union in the E-Government category of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2018.
He listed out other measures which include: the installation of more than 353 Wi-Fi spots and 250 more that will be added shortly; launching of several E-services, among which the Citizen Support Unit Portal and the My.t Weather Application; and a better internet connection system in Rodrigues. Mr Sawmynaden announced that his Ministry is working on other Mobile Applications namely for reporting child abuse and for emergencies and alerts.
Also present on this occasion, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection, Mr Ashit Gungah, underscored the pivotal need of a country to innovate and adapt to the evolution of technology. He pointed out that the conceptualisation of these Mobile Applications demonstrates Government’s intent of harnessing digitalised services to provide a more customised and efficient service to the population.
According to him, the Mauritius Consumer Rights Mobile Application is an important milestone for his Ministry’s interaction with the population. This will enable to learn about the core needs of consumers and help to constantly enhance services offered to them.
The Mobile Applications
The Smart Traffic Application serves to inform the public about traffic information, including police notifications of congested and closed roads as well as accidents. It also supports visual representations of the road, using Google maps.
The Smart Police Application gives access to emergency numbers and a list and phone numbers of police stations, hospitals and fire stations, private clinics nearest to your location.
The Consumer Protection Application allows consumers to report to the Consumer Affairs Unit any complaints such as defective products and poor service from suppliers and goods. They will receive updates regarding their complaints
The mobile applications can be downloaded on Google Play and App Store.
Source: Government of Mauritius