Bhavna Haulooman scooped Rs50,000 for filing her 2011 tax returns electronically. She is one of the twenty to have won the lottery organised by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA).
The lots were drawn on Monday in the presence of the the minister of Information and Communication Technology, Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum.”The government vision is to make ICT an affordable tool that profitably shapes the lives of the citizens. Among the strategies to realize this vision, there is the ICT adoption in society by embracing electronic means of governance. I must say that the MRA has fully collaborated to implement an E-government system that aims at enhancing citizen convenience and improving internal efficiencies and effectiveness in a government”, declared the minister.
He stressed this breakthrough initiative of the MRA was in accordance with the green IT concept and electronic governance (E-Government) governments worldwide are implementing. He described this move as not a change, but “a transition process from conventional to people-oriented proactive electronic system”.
Chedumbrum added that ICT was one of the strongest pillars of our economy and much effort is being put into making Mauritius a Cyber- Island, by making ICT an affordable and accessible tool to all. As of now, more than 50 e-services are available on the government website.
Some of them are applications for learner’s license, scholarships, vacancies at the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Local Government and Staff Commission (LGSC). Around 73,000 returns were sent electronically this year. The director general of MRA, Sudhamo Lal, said that they are expecting 100 per cent e-filing net year.