Anglo-Malagasy Society Newsletter 100: June 2018 |
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Society activities
The Society’s meeting on 14th March 2018 heard Timothy Smart, the former British ambassador to Madagascar, provide a series of fascinating insights into the country during his tenure from his personal perspective.
At the next event on 27th June 2018 there was a talk by Hanta Randrianarimalala, the director of the Akany Avoko Foundation, and Irenee Rajaona-Horne, the director of Money for Madagascar.
There will be a further meeting in the daytime on Saturday 27th October 2018.
Details of the events are on Facebook and our website, which also has a summary of some of the previous talks for those unable to attend, together with much other useful information. This includes directions to the venue for our meetings, which is the Upper Vestry Hall of St George’s Church, Bloomsbury, London WC1A 2HR, two minutes’ walk from the British Museum.
This is the hundredth newsletter produced for the Society and the wider community, and it owes an enormous debt to Sir Mervyn Brown. The next newsletter will be published in September 2018. Please send any material for inclusion as well as any changes in your contact details to the editor Julian Cooke, whose e-mail address is [email protected].
At the next event on 27th June 2018 there was a talk by Hanta Randrianarimalala, the director of the Akany Avoko Foundation, and Irenee Rajaona-Horne, the director of Money for Madagascar.
There will be a further meeting in the daytime on Saturday 27th October 2018.
Details of the events are on Facebook and our website, which also has a summary of some of the previous talks for those unable to attend, together with much other useful information. This includes directions to the venue for our meetings, which is the Upper Vestry Hall of St George’s Church, Bloomsbury, London WC1A 2HR, two minutes’ walk from the British Museum.
This is the hundredth newsletter produced for the Society and the wider community, and it owes an enormous debt to Sir Mervyn Brown. The next newsletter will be published in September 2018. Please send any material for inclusion as well as any changes in your contact details to the editor Julian Cooke, whose e-mail address is [email protected].
Politics in Madagascar
The political position in Madagascar has deteriorated in recent months ahead of the elections, which are due to be held in November.
In the second half of March the opposition (which comprised Marc Ravalomanana’s TIM party, MAPAR, which supports Andry Rajoelina, and a number of independents) called a press conference to express their suspicions that the government would attempt to push through changes to the electoral law. A vote due on 20th March was postponed and the council of ministers decided to convene a further extraordinary session of parliament to vote on the law on 3rd April. In that vote 79 of the 151 deputies approved the law with twelve amendments, while opposition deputies left the National Assembly in protest, alleging that votes had been bought. The anti-corruption agency BIANCO opened an investigation into the allegations.
A delegation from the SADC visited the country and announced at the conclusion that it was reassured by the political environment, saying that it was a pre-election dispute rather than a crisis in the country. Ravalomanana presented the delegation with his objections to the passing of the electoral law, which might yet exclude him. The law was passed by the Senate on 10th April by a vote of 53 of its 55 members.
On 12th April the minister of defence, General Beni Rasolofonirina, said that the international community should have no role in the political future of the country while the next day there was a protest organised by Wake-up Madagascar against the alleged corruption in the National Assembly. Opposition deputies laid charges of corruption at the Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (HCC) while seven of those who had not voted for the law were barred from an event in Toamasina.
There was an indication of the tension and violence to come with a car bomb attack in late March on the headquarters of the presidential party HVM, which at least caused limited harm.
A planned visit to Mahajanga by Rajoelina, at the invitation of the mayor, was prevented by the prefecture and over the course of the April the moves by the various candidates in the election led to further tension. President Hery Rajaonarimampianina said that he should have been allowed to give a speech at a ceremony at Vohipeno for the beatification of Ramosa Lucien Botovasoa, who was killed in 1947. After the ceremony Ravalomanana’s convoy was barred from entering Ambalavao; he said he had called various ambassadors to complain and warned the authorities that restricting freedom of expression was a sword of Damocles.
On 11th April a number of retired senior military officers expressed their concern that the country was heading into crisis and warned the armed forces to avoid being politicised, a call that was echoed by the former prime minister under the Transition (and general) Camille Vital.
In mid-April the electoral commission estimated it would still be $6m short of the funds it would need, in part given the changes in the law such as a shorter period between the two rounds of presidential elections and the increased number of polling stations. It also said it was only a little short of its target of 10m inscriptions even if the lists had closed previously.
Opposition deputies in the capital called for a protest rally to be held there on 21st April saying that the permission from the mayor was sufficient, whereas the prefect forbad the meeting. A delegation of opposition deputies met the ambassadors of the US, France and the EU on 19th April. There were rumours of agitators being paid to disrupt the event and the senators for the province of Antananarivo called for calm. The president left for Mauritius two days prior, which his office said was coincidental.
The demonstration soon turned into a confrontation with the forces of law and order who used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protestors, and two of them were killed by real bullets. The opposition deputies said that the town hall would continue as a centre of protest against the current regime. The prime minister, Olivier Mahafaly, said he would launch an enquiry while the leader of the Senate again called for calm in expressing his condolences for the victims. The EU’s response, endorsed by the US, was to call again for credible, transparent and inclusive elections as well as a respect for freedom of expression. The African Union pressed for dialogue.
On his return from Mauritius on 22nd April the president said the events had the look of a coup and that the authorities would react robustly against future demonstrations. Angelo Ravelonarivo, the capital’s prefect, said that he would allow further meetings and the military withdrew to help to avoid a further confrontation from a gathering the next day, which Rajoelina and Ravalomanana attended. Ministers responsible for the police and armed forces maintained an ostensibly neutral position.
On 24th April Hanitriniaina Razafimanantsoa, the vice-president of the National Assembly, called for the president and the government to resign, while some members of the opposition proposed a military caretaker rule until the election. The police arrested 23 people, then released the six minors among them.
An opposition protest on 25th April passed quietly and ended with a meeting at the HCC, which was presented with a number of demands including the overdue creation of the Haute Cour de Justice. The international community continued their discussions and the opposition appeared to move from a call for the government to resign to a call for a repeal of the electoral law. Nonetheless the 73 deputies lodged a formal charge against the government. They also declined a meeting with the HVM, the president’s party, as proposed by the international community and rejected the role of the SADC, although Ravalomanana said his party would stay within the law.
The 73 deputies said they would mobilise a general strike and take their protests to the provinces. A delegation from the international community met the president at the state palace at Iavoloha. The SADC said it would send a new delegation including Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, although he faced a mixed reaction. The opposition deputies declined to meet him or with HVM as proposed by the international community. The electoral commission CENI acknowledged that it would need a consensus for the new laws while the country’s churches again offered to mediate. On 27th April the United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said he would send the Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as an envoy.
At a rally on 28th April opposition deputies said they would seize the radio and TV outlets RNM and TVM to stop what one TIM deputy said were broadcasts in support of HVM. The station director said he would provide coverage of the opposition movement. Protest rallies and strikes continued while the conference of churches FFKM formally started its mediation. The president in an interview with Le Monde said he was convinced that the security forces had not fired the bullets which killed the protestors on 21st April but he would await the outcome of the enquiry.
On 1st May there was a further rally in the capital which combined trade unions and political protestors. The 73 opposition deputies, calling themselves the ‘deputies for change’, boycotted the opening of parliament, which they said was in support of the workers, and pressed the HCC to respond promptly to its depositions; they also did not attend the first rendez-vous arranged by the FFKM and declined to participate in a televised debate.
Michaëlle Jean, the head of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, called for an inclusive dialogue while on a visit to the country. On 2nd May the ministers for defence and national security with the secretary of state for the Gendarmerie called for political leaders to find a solution to the crisis and said that the armed forces wanted to ensure security.
On 3rd May the HCC gave its judgment on the proposed changes to the electoral law. It rejected many of them, noting that private media could not be subject to the same rules as state (helping Rajoelina) and that candidates would not need to declare criminal charges (the bulletin no. 2 du casier judiciaire, which helped Ravalomanana). It also decided that the proposed period of one week between the first and second rounds of the election was too short and that President Rajaonarimampianina would need to stand down between 25th September and 25th October if he were to contest the election. The opposition still argued for a return in full to the previous electoral law and for the government to resign. Jean-Max Rakotomamonjy, the head of the National Assembly, met church leaders and maintained his call for Rajaonarimampianina to end his mandate.
The opposition held protest rallies in cities across the country on 6th May while the UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said after a meeting with the president that it was in the hands of the Malagasy to find a solution, with the international community there to help. The opposition deputies rejected any such involvement and said they would aim to stop the government from functioning. A number of civil servants objected to the pressure the opposition placed on them while the head of the civil service was dismissed for publicly supporting a strike.
The electoral commission said that the atmosphere was not conducive to the holding of elections and that there was much to do to finalise their organisation. Its head suggested that there might be an early election in August as well as the possibility of deferring it to 2019.
Ramtane Lamamra, an African Union envoy, said at the end of his mission that the basis existed for reconciliation and representatives of the main protagonists met in mid-May. On 15th May the HCC said that the president had a case to answer on calls for his resignation and should provide his defence while the opposition deputies held a sit-in at the court the next day, when there was also tension at the University of Antananarivo. The president’s lawyers delivered the defence document two days later, accompanied by 79 deputies and 85 senators who nonetheless said they would respect the decision of the HCC; the opposition deputies declined to provide their own counter-challenge to the defence to speed up the process.
On 22nd May CENI gave the political parties until 13th June to find a solution so as to avoid a postponement in the election. In an interview with Paris Match published on 24th May the president said that he had no intention of excluding Ravalomanana and Rajoelina from the election, that discussions had started with them and that soldiers had not been ordered to open fire at the rally on 21st April. He was reported to be ready to set up the Haute Cour de Justice which the HCC said in its judgment should have been in place; it said Rajaonarimampianina would not need to resign but should appoint within seven days a new consensus prime minister from a proposed list of three from the largest elected party, and that he should stand down sixty days before the election if he were to contest it, with the head of the Senate taking his place.
Olivier Mahafaly duly offered his resignation as prime minister; the opposition deputies continued to demand that the president resign and said they would not join a consensus government. There was an issue on whether MAPAR, which had most deputies elected in 2013, or HVM, which had most currently including a number who had moved from MAPAR should present the list of candidates for prime minister.
The meeting convened at end May by the Conseil du Fampihavanana Malagasy (CFM) ended in some disarray and with little success; only Didier Ratsiraka of the former presidents attended.
On 1st June the HCC gave the political players until 5th June to find a solution and said that its stipulations of 25th May should be enforced in full. The eleven members of the new Haute Cour de Justice were sworn in at a ceremony which the prime minister attended.
The MAPAR deputy Christine Razanamahasoa, Hanitriniaina Razafimanantsoa of TIM and Roberto Tinoka were the three names put forward; the first list was said to have been rejected by the president and from a second one he selected Christian Ntsay, who had been born in Antsiranana in 1961, had served in various state enterprises, was the minister for tourism in 2002-03 and had represented the country in various agencies. Among opposition deputies, especially those in TIM, there was some consternation at the choice which was reported to have been coordinated by France to weaken Ravalomanana and which the president later revealed followed a political accord, as yet undetailed, although Rajoelina in turn denied this as did Ravalomanana.
The new prime minister met opposition deputies to discuss the allocation of ministries in a new government. CENI suggested that the election be held in mid-October before the rainy season instead of November, which MAPAR supported but HVM opposed.
On 11th June a new government of ‘national unity’ was announced, with seven members of MAPAR becoming ministers including Christine Razanamahasoa while TIM took four positions, leaving the majority still with HVM. Seven ministers remained in the same role, including finance and defence; university students protested at Monique Razoazananera staying in her role as minister for higher education. The opposition deputies and their supporters expressed their discontent and there were calls for the prime minister to go, although he received support from the EU ambassador and stressed the need for peaceful co-operation on 15th June, which Rajoelina echoed in a television broadcast.
The opposition deputies announced their intention to petition the HCC again for the president to resign and were reported to have been fewer in number at the protest rallies on the Place du 13 Mai, with a split emerging between MAPAR and TIM. Protestors renewed their visits to ministry buildings, not so much now to disrupt them and to recruit supporters but in an apparent attempt to remove those ministers belonging to HVM.
In his address marking Madagascar’s independence on 26th June the president described a silent war being waged in the country by those looking to profit from chaos and said that false prophets were deceiving the population. Ravalomanana and fellow former president Didier Ratsiraka attended the ceremony while Rajoelina continued a tour of the north. The ministry of finance said there were no further funds available for the elections, which would make it harder to hold them early. CENI proposed holding the first round on 7th November with one month to campaign before and then the second on 19th December.
The prime minister, Christian Natsy, said in an address to both houses of parliament that his government’s priority was to hold elections in 2018 that would be free and transparent, with no candidates excluded, and he noted the difficulty of holding them unless the country was more peaceful. He said there would be a focus on improving security, fighting corruption and improving the business environment.
The prime minister also confirmed the latest dates proposed by CENI, which Ravalomanana among others welcomed, saying TIM would focus on campaigning rather than protesting.
Further to the appointment in January of Lala Razafitrimo Arisoa as ambassador to the United Nations in New York Eric Robson Andriamihaja, the former director-general of the Economic Development Board of Madagascar was named as the ambassador in Washington and then Véronique Resaka in Switzerland as the country’s representative at the UN in Geneva and Vienna. On 13th June Dr Philip Boyle was received in audience by the Queen on his appointment as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Madagascar. On 27th June Monsignor Désiré Tsarahazana was appointed by Pope Francis as a cardinal, the fourth such Malagasy.
In the second half of March the opposition (which comprised Marc Ravalomanana’s TIM party, MAPAR, which supports Andry Rajoelina, and a number of independents) called a press conference to express their suspicions that the government would attempt to push through changes to the electoral law. A vote due on 20th March was postponed and the council of ministers decided to convene a further extraordinary session of parliament to vote on the law on 3rd April. In that vote 79 of the 151 deputies approved the law with twelve amendments, while opposition deputies left the National Assembly in protest, alleging that votes had been bought. The anti-corruption agency BIANCO opened an investigation into the allegations.
A delegation from the SADC visited the country and announced at the conclusion that it was reassured by the political environment, saying that it was a pre-election dispute rather than a crisis in the country. Ravalomanana presented the delegation with his objections to the passing of the electoral law, which might yet exclude him. The law was passed by the Senate on 10th April by a vote of 53 of its 55 members.
On 12th April the minister of defence, General Beni Rasolofonirina, said that the international community should have no role in the political future of the country while the next day there was a protest organised by Wake-up Madagascar against the alleged corruption in the National Assembly. Opposition deputies laid charges of corruption at the Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (HCC) while seven of those who had not voted for the law were barred from an event in Toamasina.
There was an indication of the tension and violence to come with a car bomb attack in late March on the headquarters of the presidential party HVM, which at least caused limited harm.
A planned visit to Mahajanga by Rajoelina, at the invitation of the mayor, was prevented by the prefecture and over the course of the April the moves by the various candidates in the election led to further tension. President Hery Rajaonarimampianina said that he should have been allowed to give a speech at a ceremony at Vohipeno for the beatification of Ramosa Lucien Botovasoa, who was killed in 1947. After the ceremony Ravalomanana’s convoy was barred from entering Ambalavao; he said he had called various ambassadors to complain and warned the authorities that restricting freedom of expression was a sword of Damocles.
On 11th April a number of retired senior military officers expressed their concern that the country was heading into crisis and warned the armed forces to avoid being politicised, a call that was echoed by the former prime minister under the Transition (and general) Camille Vital.
In mid-April the electoral commission estimated it would still be $6m short of the funds it would need, in part given the changes in the law such as a shorter period between the two rounds of presidential elections and the increased number of polling stations. It also said it was only a little short of its target of 10m inscriptions even if the lists had closed previously.
Opposition deputies in the capital called for a protest rally to be held there on 21st April saying that the permission from the mayor was sufficient, whereas the prefect forbad the meeting. A delegation of opposition deputies met the ambassadors of the US, France and the EU on 19th April. There were rumours of agitators being paid to disrupt the event and the senators for the province of Antananarivo called for calm. The president left for Mauritius two days prior, which his office said was coincidental.
The demonstration soon turned into a confrontation with the forces of law and order who used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protestors, and two of them were killed by real bullets. The opposition deputies said that the town hall would continue as a centre of protest against the current regime. The prime minister, Olivier Mahafaly, said he would launch an enquiry while the leader of the Senate again called for calm in expressing his condolences for the victims. The EU’s response, endorsed by the US, was to call again for credible, transparent and inclusive elections as well as a respect for freedom of expression. The African Union pressed for dialogue.
On his return from Mauritius on 22nd April the president said the events had the look of a coup and that the authorities would react robustly against future demonstrations. Angelo Ravelonarivo, the capital’s prefect, said that he would allow further meetings and the military withdrew to help to avoid a further confrontation from a gathering the next day, which Rajoelina and Ravalomanana attended. Ministers responsible for the police and armed forces maintained an ostensibly neutral position.
On 24th April Hanitriniaina Razafimanantsoa, the vice-president of the National Assembly, called for the president and the government to resign, while some members of the opposition proposed a military caretaker rule until the election. The police arrested 23 people, then released the six minors among them.
An opposition protest on 25th April passed quietly and ended with a meeting at the HCC, which was presented with a number of demands including the overdue creation of the Haute Cour de Justice. The international community continued their discussions and the opposition appeared to move from a call for the government to resign to a call for a repeal of the electoral law. Nonetheless the 73 deputies lodged a formal charge against the government. They also declined a meeting with the HVM, the president’s party, as proposed by the international community and rejected the role of the SADC, although Ravalomanana said his party would stay within the law.
The 73 deputies said they would mobilise a general strike and take their protests to the provinces. A delegation from the international community met the president at the state palace at Iavoloha. The SADC said it would send a new delegation including Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, although he faced a mixed reaction. The opposition deputies declined to meet him or with HVM as proposed by the international community. The electoral commission CENI acknowledged that it would need a consensus for the new laws while the country’s churches again offered to mediate. On 27th April the United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said he would send the Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as an envoy.
At a rally on 28th April opposition deputies said they would seize the radio and TV outlets RNM and TVM to stop what one TIM deputy said were broadcasts in support of HVM. The station director said he would provide coverage of the opposition movement. Protest rallies and strikes continued while the conference of churches FFKM formally started its mediation. The president in an interview with Le Monde said he was convinced that the security forces had not fired the bullets which killed the protestors on 21st April but he would await the outcome of the enquiry.
On 1st May there was a further rally in the capital which combined trade unions and political protestors. The 73 opposition deputies, calling themselves the ‘deputies for change’, boycotted the opening of parliament, which they said was in support of the workers, and pressed the HCC to respond promptly to its depositions; they also did not attend the first rendez-vous arranged by the FFKM and declined to participate in a televised debate.
Michaëlle Jean, the head of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, called for an inclusive dialogue while on a visit to the country. On 2nd May the ministers for defence and national security with the secretary of state for the Gendarmerie called for political leaders to find a solution to the crisis and said that the armed forces wanted to ensure security.
On 3rd May the HCC gave its judgment on the proposed changes to the electoral law. It rejected many of them, noting that private media could not be subject to the same rules as state (helping Rajoelina) and that candidates would not need to declare criminal charges (the bulletin no. 2 du casier judiciaire, which helped Ravalomanana). It also decided that the proposed period of one week between the first and second rounds of the election was too short and that President Rajaonarimampianina would need to stand down between 25th September and 25th October if he were to contest the election. The opposition still argued for a return in full to the previous electoral law and for the government to resign. Jean-Max Rakotomamonjy, the head of the National Assembly, met church leaders and maintained his call for Rajaonarimampianina to end his mandate.
The opposition held protest rallies in cities across the country on 6th May while the UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said after a meeting with the president that it was in the hands of the Malagasy to find a solution, with the international community there to help. The opposition deputies rejected any such involvement and said they would aim to stop the government from functioning. A number of civil servants objected to the pressure the opposition placed on them while the head of the civil service was dismissed for publicly supporting a strike.
The electoral commission said that the atmosphere was not conducive to the holding of elections and that there was much to do to finalise their organisation. Its head suggested that there might be an early election in August as well as the possibility of deferring it to 2019.
Ramtane Lamamra, an African Union envoy, said at the end of his mission that the basis existed for reconciliation and representatives of the main protagonists met in mid-May. On 15th May the HCC said that the president had a case to answer on calls for his resignation and should provide his defence while the opposition deputies held a sit-in at the court the next day, when there was also tension at the University of Antananarivo. The president’s lawyers delivered the defence document two days later, accompanied by 79 deputies and 85 senators who nonetheless said they would respect the decision of the HCC; the opposition deputies declined to provide their own counter-challenge to the defence to speed up the process.
On 22nd May CENI gave the political parties until 13th June to find a solution so as to avoid a postponement in the election. In an interview with Paris Match published on 24th May the president said that he had no intention of excluding Ravalomanana and Rajoelina from the election, that discussions had started with them and that soldiers had not been ordered to open fire at the rally on 21st April. He was reported to be ready to set up the Haute Cour de Justice which the HCC said in its judgment should have been in place; it said Rajaonarimampianina would not need to resign but should appoint within seven days a new consensus prime minister from a proposed list of three from the largest elected party, and that he should stand down sixty days before the election if he were to contest it, with the head of the Senate taking his place.
Olivier Mahafaly duly offered his resignation as prime minister; the opposition deputies continued to demand that the president resign and said they would not join a consensus government. There was an issue on whether MAPAR, which had most deputies elected in 2013, or HVM, which had most currently including a number who had moved from MAPAR should present the list of candidates for prime minister.
The meeting convened at end May by the Conseil du Fampihavanana Malagasy (CFM) ended in some disarray and with little success; only Didier Ratsiraka of the former presidents attended.
On 1st June the HCC gave the political players until 5th June to find a solution and said that its stipulations of 25th May should be enforced in full. The eleven members of the new Haute Cour de Justice were sworn in at a ceremony which the prime minister attended.
The MAPAR deputy Christine Razanamahasoa, Hanitriniaina Razafimanantsoa of TIM and Roberto Tinoka were the three names put forward; the first list was said to have been rejected by the president and from a second one he selected Christian Ntsay, who had been born in Antsiranana in 1961, had served in various state enterprises, was the minister for tourism in 2002-03 and had represented the country in various agencies. Among opposition deputies, especially those in TIM, there was some consternation at the choice which was reported to have been coordinated by France to weaken Ravalomanana and which the president later revealed followed a political accord, as yet undetailed, although Rajoelina in turn denied this as did Ravalomanana.
The new prime minister met opposition deputies to discuss the allocation of ministries in a new government. CENI suggested that the election be held in mid-October before the rainy season instead of November, which MAPAR supported but HVM opposed.
On 11th June a new government of ‘national unity’ was announced, with seven members of MAPAR becoming ministers including Christine Razanamahasoa while TIM took four positions, leaving the majority still with HVM. Seven ministers remained in the same role, including finance and defence; university students protested at Monique Razoazananera staying in her role as minister for higher education. The opposition deputies and their supporters expressed their discontent and there were calls for the prime minister to go, although he received support from the EU ambassador and stressed the need for peaceful co-operation on 15th June, which Rajoelina echoed in a television broadcast.
The opposition deputies announced their intention to petition the HCC again for the president to resign and were reported to have been fewer in number at the protest rallies on the Place du 13 Mai, with a split emerging between MAPAR and TIM. Protestors renewed their visits to ministry buildings, not so much now to disrupt them and to recruit supporters but in an apparent attempt to remove those ministers belonging to HVM.
In his address marking Madagascar’s independence on 26th June the president described a silent war being waged in the country by those looking to profit from chaos and said that false prophets were deceiving the population. Ravalomanana and fellow former president Didier Ratsiraka attended the ceremony while Rajoelina continued a tour of the north. The ministry of finance said there were no further funds available for the elections, which would make it harder to hold them early. CENI proposed holding the first round on 7th November with one month to campaign before and then the second on 19th December.
The prime minister, Christian Natsy, said in an address to both houses of parliament that his government’s priority was to hold elections in 2018 that would be free and transparent, with no candidates excluded, and he noted the difficulty of holding them unless the country was more peaceful. He said there would be a focus on improving security, fighting corruption and improving the business environment.
The prime minister also confirmed the latest dates proposed by CENI, which Ravalomanana among others welcomed, saying TIM would focus on campaigning rather than protesting.
Further to the appointment in January of Lala Razafitrimo Arisoa as ambassador to the United Nations in New York Eric Robson Andriamihaja, the former director-general of the Economic Development Board of Madagascar was named as the ambassador in Washington and then Véronique Resaka in Switzerland as the country’s representative at the UN in Geneva and Vienna. On 13th June Dr Philip Boyle was received in audience by the Queen on his appointment as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Madagascar. On 27th June Monsignor Désiré Tsarahazana was appointed by Pope Francis as a cardinal, the fourth such Malagasy.
Economic and social matters
Finance and aid
In April the government wrote off nearly half of the outstanding debt of Air Madagascar helped by a loan from Deutsche Bank and the investment by Air Austral. It also allocated further funds to the state utility company JIRAMA given higher oil prices and high levels of debt; the entity is still meant to reach break-even by 2020.
At the end of April President Rajaonarimampianina, who was under considerable political pressure, announced an 8% increase in salaries for civil servants.
China’s Exim Bank announced in June that it would provide $185m of funding for works on the RN5A between Ambilobe and Vohemar. The World Bank committed $40m to help to improve Madagascar’s electricity supply.
There was an article in the FT by David Pilling on the overall position in Madagascar.
At the end of April President Rajaonarimampianina, who was under considerable political pressure, announced an 8% increase in salaries for civil servants.
China’s Exim Bank announced in June that it would provide $185m of funding for works on the RN5A between Ambilobe and Vohemar. The World Bank committed $40m to help to improve Madagascar’s electricity supply.
There was an article in the FT by David Pilling on the overall position in Madagascar.
Energy
In June the new solar park at Ambohiphaonana opened. Green Yellow will operate for twenty years the 33-hectare site in the Ambatolampy district, which should generate 20Mw of power.
Health
The Pasteur Institute noted in April that malaria was again present in the high plateau, if at a low incidence of less than 1%, in an area where it had been thought to be eradicated. A number of deaths were reported in the Betroka and Mahajanga districts.
In June Madagascar was officially declared as a country from polio although there were still reported incidents and the campaign of eradication continued.
In June Madagascar was officially declared as a country from polio although there were still reported incidents and the campaign of eradication continued.
Education
In April the World Bank and Global Partnership for Education confirmed $100m of funding for Madagascar’s national education plan for 2018-22 which was intended to benefit 4.7m children by providing more schools and a further 35,000 teachers.
Agriculture
The commercial season for vanilla starts in mid-July amidst continued concerns over security. An article by Time described how the price per kilogramme at $515 in June was higher than that for silver.
Insecurity
The high level of insecurity in Madagascar has continued. In early April there were a number of attacks by bandits or dahalo, a number of whom were killed in summary justice (a practice supported by 41% of the population according to a poll in June). The private sector called for a round table with the prime minister, Olivier Mahafaly, who held such a discussion on 9th April when he stressed the importance of improving the position in an electoral year, although the move was seen as inconclusive.
In June the Gendarmerie Nationale noted that they had a new strategy and would benefit from a doubling of funds to deal with the issue, which they indicated had seen the deaths of some 5,000 people over the last five years. There was a resurgence in June in kidnappings of karana business people and their families.
In June the Gendarmerie Nationale noted that they had a new strategy and would benefit from a doubling of funds to deal with the issue, which they indicated had seen the deaths of some 5,000 people over the last five years. There was a resurgence in June in kidnappings of karana business people and their families.
Prisons
There was a strike in April over the implication of two staff in the escape in December 2017 of Houcine Arfa, whose sentence to three years in jail was confirmed by the court of appeal.
Media
In the 2018 survey by Reporters Sans Frontières Madagascar was ranked 54th of 180 countries, an improvement of three places on the previous year.
Madagascar was estimated to have 1.9m internet users as of December 2017 of whom 1.7m were on Facebook, while several media sites were reported to be among the world’s most visited.
Madagascar was estimated to have 1.9m internet users as of December 2017 of whom 1.7m were on Facebook, while several media sites were reported to be among the world’s most visited.
Tourism
Increased insecurity has remained a concern for tourists and operators, especially in the south-west and following a number of incidents in the quarter.
Minerals
Madagascar Oil said in April that production of heavy oil at Tsimororo remained suspended as it still has 180,000 barrels to clear, with sales not helped by poor communication.
Legal gold exports continued, running at 717kg as of mid-April; exports had been 2,833kg in 2016 having been as low as 6kg in 2008. The majority is sold to Dubai.
Illegal exports continue to dominate sapphire production, which the anti-corruption body BIANCO estimated in June to be twenty tons of which only two tons were traded officially.
Legal gold exports continued, running at 717kg as of mid-April; exports had been 2,833kg in 2016 having been as low as 6kg in 2008. The majority is sold to Dubai.
Illegal exports continue to dominate sapphire production, which the anti-corruption body BIANCO estimated in June to be twenty tons of which only two tons were traded officially.
Wildlife and conservation
Forests and protected areas
A study by the French research group CIRAD published in May calculated that Madagascar had lost 44% of its forests between 1950 and 2010 while much of what remained was heavily fragmented.
Species
The continued pressure on Madagascar’s tortoises from trafficking was still apparent in April when eight separate incidents were reported, including one in which 10,976 were found in a small house in the Toliara district.
Madagascar was hailed as a hotspot for whale sharks in May when research showed more of them visited than previously thought.
Researchers from Munich discovered three new species of chameleon as reported in April.
Madagascar was hailed as a hotspot for whale sharks in May when research showed more of them visited than previously thought.
Researchers from Munich discovered three new species of chameleon as reported in April.