and their boards let us move towards a new vision and diversify the composition of boards, so that profits and high returns do not become an obsession let us move towards a vision of banking where financial return is not the only goal and the business and social role of banks is revived let us move towards a vision where the interests of banks are more aligned with those of the wider population let us together embrace a vision where the business of banking is the business of serving a thriving and just society. that is the real test of development government has a role in mediating, to try to ease the problems of various stakeholders of the economy, to make it easier for them to co - ordinate their actions, and to act as an important arbitrator and facilitator to support the optimal course of action for the economy as a whole. but government only acts on the information available. therefore we need a wideranging process engaging the best people and best ideas in the land to develop the vision for all stakeholders. and banks are part of the system ; they should not stand apart, turning a blind eye to financial stability and the impact they are having on the real economy. if we compare ourselves with singapore and hong kong, the top performers in the small economies, we suffer from structural flaws that are inhibiting our progress. i have not seen any positive reaction to the wake - up call from the global economic forum this year and last year. wake - up mauritius and grasp your future with vision and vigour. but now, if i may be permitted a little digression on the demographic time bomb. its fuse is burning steadily, largely un - noticed, with dire consequences if we neglect its import. the population in mauritius over pension age is expected to more than double over the next 15 years, and more than triple over the next 35 years. the ratio of people of working age for each person over pension age is expected to fall continuously over the next 35 years from about 7 now, to 2. 5 by 2045. this demographic time - bomb, which is ticking away relentlessly, has deep significance for our economy, our pension schemes, and our society. dealing with it must be one of the key elements of our future visioning exercise. bis central bankers ’ speeches and now to close, i will share with you another of those whimsical laws of nature that define our frailty. in the past, for some light diversion, i have taken you in the world

the critical ingredients of the recipe to add greater value and to move to the next stage of development. we certainly have the doers. but do we have the forward thinkers, the visionaries, the dreamers? we are in danger of falling in a pedestrian rut. we have just not dreamt big enough. it is a scene reminiscent of einstein ’ s definition of insanity, which he saw as “ doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results ”. i am afraid that if we stick to the beaten path, we would soon be writing our global epitaph : mauritius – the home of the dodo three major ideas spring to mind here : the regional service hub, innovation and excellence. the service centre or hub notion has been bandied around for years : indeed we have so many hubs thrown at us that i am beginning to lose count of the number of wheels on the wagon. the other two are vital ingredients which we largely lack : innovation and excellence. but what is really missing is an overarching vision of where we want to go and how we are to get there. now the vision does not have to come from government : there is a great opportunity for the private sector and the ngos to pick up where we left off with vision 2020 some fifteen years ago. i am sure i am not the only one here tonight who is looking askance at the progressive financialisation of the economy. the “ occupy wall street ” movement, which grabbed the headlines this year, and its equally confused copycats elsewhere, seem to speak to the same concern. citizens are in revolt at the excesses of the lords of finance paying themselves fat bonuses on the back of recent public sector bailouts while the real economy has tanked, spawning retrenchment, bankruptcies and unemployment. the most egregious example is that of a famous bank ceo whose pre - crisis take - home pay was 75 times higher than the average wage : with the crisis, it is a staggering 169 times the average wage. he has had a good crisis. he must be a very rare diamond indeed. but the situation is not all that rare. the same scenario is being played out on the home front. with the crisis now in its fourth year and placing severe strain on our economic operators, you would have thought that it was in the self - interest of our banks to reduce finance costs for their clients to help them adjust to depressed market conditions and declining profit margins. but you would