The National Endowment for Democracy and International Forum for Democratic Studies published on 15 December 2022 a document titled "Smart Cities and Democratic Vulnerabilities," which contains a contribution (pages 11-17) titled "Is Digitalization Endangering Democracy in Mauritius?" by Roukaya Kasenally, University of Mauritius.
Over the last five years, Mauritius has experienced significant democratic backsliding. Worrying trends include arbitrary arrests of journalists and other citizens, amendments to broadcasting and digital legislation, closures of certain private radio stations, the political weaponization of the police, and the weakening of key oversight institutions.
Adding to this situation is the Mauritius Safe City Project (MCSP), one of more than twenty Huawei-backed smart or "safe" city projects across Africa. In Mauritius, it involved the installation of 4,000 cameras with facial recognition and license plate recognition capabilities. The author argues that the real intent behind the $455 million project financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China remains unclear. But critical questions about how the MCSP will affect Mauritian politics against the backdrop of the country's recent democratic backsliding are unanswered.
