Anglo-Malagasy Society Newsletter 92: June 2016 |
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Society activities
The Society’s first meeting for 2016 on 30th March had a talk by Hannah Russell, James Penney and Corty Linder on the medical expeditions to Madagascar they make to run a programme that screens for schistosomiasis in the remote district of Marolambo.
On Wednesday 22nd June in the evening, an event to commemorate the country’s Independence Day on 26th June, the meeting talks will be from two students at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, by Zohasina Razafinjatovo on social development in Madagascar and by Lalaina Randriarimanana on political engagement. There will be a daytime gathering on 22nd October.
There will be further details on 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.
The next newsletter will be published in September 2016. Please send any material for inclusion to the editor Julian Cooke, whose e-mail address is [email protected].
On Wednesday 22nd June in the evening, an event to commemorate the country’s Independence Day on 26th June, the meeting talks will be from two students at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, by Zohasina Razafinjatovo on social development in Madagascar and by Lalaina Randriarimanana on political engagement. There will be a daytime gathering on 22nd October.
There will be further details on 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.
The next newsletter will be published in September 2016. Please send any material for inclusion to the editor Julian Cooke, whose e-mail address is [email protected].
Awards
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Two members of the Society have received notable awards. Irenée Rajaona-Horne was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National for her work in the country, which was presented at one of the schools that Money for Madagascar (MfM) has supported.
In the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June Theresa Haine was awarded an MBE for humanitarian services in Madagascar, reflecting her significant work at MfM. |
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Politics in Madagascar
The last three months in Madagascar have seen the appointment of another prime minister and new government as well as a visit by Ban Ki-moon. There has been some continued tension and the country has continued its preparations for the summits of COMESA in October and the Francophone countries in November.
The former president Marc Ravalomanana announced his intention to stand for election again in 2018. There will be some debate on his eligibility, given his sentence in absentia and the fact that a president can only be re-elected a single time under the constitution, although he was elected under the previous constitution. He continued to keep a high profile with his wife Lalao, the mayor of Antananarivo, while also in dispute with the government over plans to develop a site at Andohatapenaka in the capital that he claimed for his TIKO company.
The fragmentary and personality-led nature of politics in Madagascar was evident in a report by the Ministry of the Interior in early April showing that while 31 parties had registered properly a further 156 had yet to do so, risking a fine or their dissolution (as befell 37 such in 2015). They are serving a wider electorate as a further 976,000 voters have registered since 2013.
In early April there were persistent reports of an imminent change of government as the rift widened between President Hery Rajaonarimampianina and the prime minister, Jean Ravelonarivo, who had not attended a recent EU-Madagascar summit. Relations had seemed to deteriorate over a government enquiry into Claudine Razaimamonjy, a special adviser to the President. Ravelonarivo said on 7th April that he would never resign and could only be dismissed constitutionally. The next day the Presidency announced that it had accepted Ravelonarivo’s resignation; he said that he would not step down until an opportune moment.
The former president Marc Ravalomanana announced his intention to stand for election again in 2018. There will be some debate on his eligibility, given his sentence in absentia and the fact that a president can only be re-elected a single time under the constitution, although he was elected under the previous constitution. He continued to keep a high profile with his wife Lalao, the mayor of Antananarivo, while also in dispute with the government over plans to develop a site at Andohatapenaka in the capital that he claimed for his TIKO company.
The fragmentary and personality-led nature of politics in Madagascar was evident in a report by the Ministry of the Interior in early April showing that while 31 parties had registered properly a further 156 had yet to do so, risking a fine or their dissolution (as befell 37 such in 2015). They are serving a wider electorate as a further 976,000 voters have registered since 2013.
In early April there were persistent reports of an imminent change of government as the rift widened between President Hery Rajaonarimampianina and the prime minister, Jean Ravelonarivo, who had not attended a recent EU-Madagascar summit. Relations had seemed to deteriorate over a government enquiry into Claudine Razaimamonjy, a special adviser to the President. Ravelonarivo said on 7th April that he would never resign and could only be dismissed constitutionally. The next day the Presidency announced that it had accepted Ravelonarivo’s resignation; he said that he would not step down until an opportune moment.
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After a short period of considerable confusion Olivier Mahafaly was appointed prime minister on 10th April, having been chosen from a list of fourteen candidates presented by the National Assembly, although neither Ravalomanana’s Tiako-i-Madagasikara (TIM) party nor MAPAR, the party supporting Andry Rajoelina, backed the proposal, choosing instead to contest the appointment. Mahafaly, 52 years of age, had his origins in Toliara and had converted to Islam; he had been Minister of the Interior and Decentralisation under Ravelonarivo and was said to have been influential if not instrumental in securing the election of the President, as well as being close to the President’s wife.
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At his swearing-in ceremony Mahafaly said that he would preside over a government that would combat poverty, insecurity, corruption and the illegal exploitation of natural resources. His new government comprised 32 ministers, thirteen of whom continued in their previous post, six of whom had changed ministries and thirteen of whom were new. The prime minister retained his previous portfolio; the EU ambassador Antonio Benedito-Sanchez expressed his approval that the Minister of Finance was unchanged.
Against an increasingly febrile background, attributed to industrial unrest and the scheming of members of the former régime, the head of the Gendarmerie Nationale, General Florens Rakotomahanina, imposed a ban on 20th April on all unauthorised assembly. There was a series of demonstrations later in the month led by transport operators.
On 4th May, for the first time under the Fourth Republic, both houses of parliament sat together to consider an extensive programme (as well as to ask as usual for 4x4s). The government agreed to give a sum of 200m ariary (£41,500) to each region as part of its decentralisation policy.
In May the NGO International Crisis Group expressed its concern that while the recent elections had marked a restoration of democracy much needed to be done to eradicate the causes of political instability. Rajoelina was reported to have described the President’s team as traitors and to have said the country had been auctioned off, in a call from France on 8th May that marked the anniversary of the founding of his TGV party. The former head of the Transition régime was said to be close to returning to the country, for business matters but also to profit from the increased union protests against the government.
Against an increasingly febrile background, attributed to industrial unrest and the scheming of members of the former régime, the head of the Gendarmerie Nationale, General Florens Rakotomahanina, imposed a ban on 20th April on all unauthorised assembly. There was a series of demonstrations later in the month led by transport operators.
On 4th May, for the first time under the Fourth Republic, both houses of parliament sat together to consider an extensive programme (as well as to ask as usual for 4x4s). The government agreed to give a sum of 200m ariary (£41,500) to each region as part of its decentralisation policy.
In May the NGO International Crisis Group expressed its concern that while the recent elections had marked a restoration of democracy much needed to be done to eradicate the causes of political instability. Rajoelina was reported to have described the President’s team as traitors and to have said the country had been auctioned off, in a call from France on 8th May that marked the anniversary of the founding of his TGV party. The former head of the Transition régime was said to be close to returning to the country, for business matters but also to profit from the increased union protests against the government.
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Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, visited Madagascar over 11-12th May and gave a frank assessment in his speech to parliament and meeting with the President. He called on the government to do more to tackle malnutrition which he estimated cost the country $1.5bn per annum, equivalent to over 10% of GDP and called for inclusive, lasting development. He also stressed the need for dialogue and a consensual process and called on deputies to fight corruption and the illegal use of resources.
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Colonel René Lylison, the former head of the Force d’Intervention Spéciale (FIS) under the Transition who had continued his agitation against the current régime during events to commemorate the uprising on 29th March 1947, was said to be targeting a position as the vice-president of the Senate. He called for the capital to be closed down on 23rd May and while there was a co-ordinated effort to erect barricades the actions were short-lived. The prime minster criticised such actions at a time when the country was negotiating with the IMF while the next day members of the armed forces searched Lylison’s residence; there was confusion over whether he was due to be arrested. There was also a raid on the house of Mamy Ravatomanga, a businessman who had advised Rajoelina, while at the end of May the former prime minister Jean-Omer Beriziky was reported to be under investigation for alleged involvement in a coup plot. Six political parties (including the PLD of Saraha Rabeharisoa, MMM led by Hajo Andrianainarivelo and the Freedom party of Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy) called for early presidential elections.
On 19th June the FFKM, the association of Protestant churches, added its voice to that of the Catholic church in criticising the current régime given the difficult living conditions faced by many in the country. South Korea announced on 19th June that it might open an embassy in Madagascar as early as July; it has had an acting ambassador since 2015 and is keen to develop links especially in the commodity sector. The Malagasy government has been under pressure to announce its own new ambassadors to represent it overseas. Regional and provincial elections are due in 2016, even in June, but they have yet to be confirmed.
On 19th June the FFKM, the association of Protestant churches, added its voice to that of the Catholic church in criticising the current régime given the difficult living conditions faced by many in the country. South Korea announced on 19th June that it might open an embassy in Madagascar as early as July; it has had an acting ambassador since 2015 and is keen to develop links especially in the commodity sector. The Malagasy government has been under pressure to announce its own new ambassadors to represent it overseas. Regional and provincial elections are due in 2016, even in June, but they have yet to be confirmed.
Economic and social matters
Finance and aid
The International Monetary Fund visited the country again from end May to 8th June when it announced it would be able to make available an extended credit facility amounting to $320m up to the year 2019. It was satisfied that Madagascar had met most of the necessary conditions and anticipated economic growth of 4% in 2016. The government is targeting economic growth of 4.5% in 2016, continuing the improvement in recent years following the relative stagnation of 0.6% growth per annum in 2009-13.
The World Bank said it would facilitate $65m of financing to improve the electricity sector, given that only some 12% of the population have access to the grid; the majority of the money would go to improve production and distribution under the state utility JIRAMA.
The EU ambassador said that there had been no particular block to the distribution of €518m under the Union’s Fonds Européens de Développement (FED) programme. The funds would be in part allocated to improving road links to the north of the country while the Japanese Agency for International Development allocated $3m for a study into improving the RN2 between the capital and Toamasina; this is part of a planned $500m financing of the port’s redevelopment. The German government signed an accord in May that would provide €63m.
The government has budgeted 115bn ariary (£25.5m) to improve roads ahead of the Sommet de la Francophonie. A new 11km road linking Ivato and Tsarasaotra has opened and was built by the Chinese company China Harbour Engineering Corporation.
The World Bank said it would facilitate $65m of financing to improve the electricity sector, given that only some 12% of the population have access to the grid; the majority of the money would go to improve production and distribution under the state utility JIRAMA.
The EU ambassador said that there had been no particular block to the distribution of €518m under the Union’s Fonds Européens de Développement (FED) programme. The funds would be in part allocated to improving road links to the north of the country while the Japanese Agency for International Development allocated $3m for a study into improving the RN2 between the capital and Toamasina; this is part of a planned $500m financing of the port’s redevelopment. The German government signed an accord in May that would provide €63m.
The government has budgeted 115bn ariary (£25.5m) to improve roads ahead of the Sommet de la Francophonie. A new 11km road linking Ivato and Tsarasaotra has opened and was built by the Chinese company China Harbour Engineering Corporation.
Health
A report in April indicated that 63% of public health spending had been funded by foreign aid. The World Food Programme said it was seeking $6.9m to fund school meals in the drought-affected south of the country in 2016-17. USAID announced a further $8m of support.
The United Nations estimated in April that Madagascar’s population had grown by 700,000 in 2015 to reach a total of 24.2m, a near five-fold increase from the level of 5.1m in 1960. Some 8.5m are estimated to live in cities with 2.6m in the capital. The government is short of the $32m said to be necessary to complete a full census. The country has seen a sizeable reduction in the number of deaths in childbirth, from 97 per 1000 births in 1997 to about 40 in 2015, thus reaching one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.
In May Madagascar’s Minister of Health, Lalatiana Andriamanarivo, denied rumours that the Zika virus was present in the country, and the French embassy corrected a website mention.
The United Nations estimated in April that Madagascar’s population had grown by 700,000 in 2015 to reach a total of 24.2m, a near five-fold increase from the level of 5.1m in 1960. Some 8.5m are estimated to live in cities with 2.6m in the capital. The government is short of the $32m said to be necessary to complete a full census. The country has seen a sizeable reduction in the number of deaths in childbirth, from 97 per 1000 births in 1997 to about 40 in 2015, thus reaching one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.
In May Madagascar’s Minister of Health, Lalatiana Andriamanarivo, denied rumours that the Zika virus was present in the country, and the French embassy corrected a website mention.
Business
President Rajaonarimampianina attended a business forum in Singapore, which also coincided with debate over the seizure of 30,000 rosewood logs there.
Since the ban on thin plastic bags in Madagascar in October 2015, a local company has made them out of cassava, which only takes three to six months to decompose unlike polyethylene.
The BBC produced a film on an enterprise called the Atelier de Violette et Dieudonné that forges hand-made ironwork that it now exports over the world.
Since the ban on thin plastic bags in Madagascar in October 2015, a local company has made them out of cassava, which only takes three to six months to decompose unlike polyethylene.
The BBC produced a film on an enterprise called the Atelier de Violette et Dieudonné that forges hand-made ironwork that it now exports over the world.
Security
The President officially inaugurated a first Unité Spéciale Anti-Dahalo (USAD) in Mahabo in the district of Betroka; the deployment of an elite unit of the Gendarmerie is the latest effort to deal with the continued issues with banditry and cattle-thefts primarily in the country’s south.
In April, the US government in its annual report on human rights in Madagsacar highlighted its concerns over the threats to freedom of expression, abuses committed by the security forces including extra-judicial killings, social discrimination, violence against women and the abuse of minors. The US embassy had also raised concerns over the trafficking of people to Kuwait and the Gulf. The French ambassador, Véronique Vouland-Aneini, raised concerns in April over the kidnapping of French citizens and the threat to security ahead of the Francophone summit.
In May thirty-seven inmates escaped from a jail in Toliara during a strike by prison warders.
In April, the US government in its annual report on human rights in Madagsacar highlighted its concerns over the threats to freedom of expression, abuses committed by the security forces including extra-judicial killings, social discrimination, violence against women and the abuse of minors. The US embassy had also raised concerns over the trafficking of people to Kuwait and the Gulf. The French ambassador, Véronique Vouland-Aneini, raised concerns in April over the kidnapping of French citizens and the threat to security ahead of the Francophone summit.
In May thirty-seven inmates escaped from a jail in Toliara during a strike by prison warders.
Tourism
On 16th June, after a ban of five years, Air Madagascar was removed from the European Union’s blacklist which should enable it to resume direct flights and will help it to find a partner – Air Mauritius has expressed its interest - as well as to improve revenues, necessary to address a deficit of some $76m. The airline has faced some increased competition and further industrial unrest.
Minerals
In late April Sterling Energy confirmed its plans to pull out of the Ambilobe block offshore Madagascar, which had been a joint venture with Pura Vida. The company had held an interest since 2004 and had carried out a 3D survey in 2015 but cited the challenging commercial landscape.
The Chinese company Madagascar Southern Petroleum Company announced in April that it had discovered commercial quantities of gas in the district of Sakaraha.
There were a number of protests in May in the Diana region against the operations of Tantalus Rare Earths and their impact on local communities.
In May Australia’s Bass Metals said it would buy the 93.75% it did not own in the GraphMada mine from StratMin Global Resources.
In June Bushveld Resources, the AIM-listed mining company, announced that its subsidiary Lemur Resources had ended a long- running legal dispute over assets in Madagascar with Mme Rahajasoamampionona Ramiaramanana, which it said would pave the way for Lemur to develop its Imaloto Coal and power projects.
The Chinese company Madagascar Southern Petroleum Company announced in April that it had discovered commercial quantities of gas in the district of Sakaraha.
There were a number of protests in May in the Diana region against the operations of Tantalus Rare Earths and their impact on local communities.
In May Australia’s Bass Metals said it would buy the 93.75% it did not own in the GraphMada mine from StratMin Global Resources.
In June Bushveld Resources, the AIM-listed mining company, announced that its subsidiary Lemur Resources had ended a long- running legal dispute over assets in Madagascar with Mme Rahajasoamampionona Ramiaramanana, which it said would pave the way for Lemur to develop its Imaloto Coal and power projects.
Wildlife and conservation
Forests
In May Milena Schmidt, a representative of the committee on CITES (the convention on trade in endangered species) criticised the Malagasy government’s policy of repatriating rosewood logs including those that had been seized in Singapore.
The work by Charlie Gardner and Louise Jasper on the pressure on Madagascar’s spiny forest from charcoal-makers was published in April in The Conversation.
The work by Charlie Gardner and Louise Jasper on the pressure on Madagascar’s spiny forest from charcoal-makers was published in April in The Conversation.
Species
Researchers have uncovered the fossils of a young Rapetosaurus, a genus of long-necked sauropod dinosaurs, in the Upper Cretaceous formation of rocks at Maevarano in Madagascar. The findings, published in the journal Science in April, revealed that the baby Rapetosaurus weighed about 7.7 pounds.
In terms of man as a species, new studies including one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences have traced a wave of Austronesian colonisation between 700 and 1200 AD. The evidence is in crops distinctive to Austronesia found across Madagascar and its neighbouring islands. A team led by Nicole Boivin, an archaeologist and director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, collected more than 2400 samples of botanical remains at twenty sites on the African mainland and on offshore islands as well as Madagascar, and obtained 43 radiocarbon dates from crop seeds. These showed a clear boundary between sites dominated by African crops such as pearl millet, cowpea and sorghum and those with Asian rice, mung bean and cotton.
In terms of man as a species, new studies including one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences have traced a wave of Austronesian colonisation between 700 and 1200 AD. The evidence is in crops distinctive to Austronesia found across Madagascar and its neighbouring islands. A team led by Nicole Boivin, an archaeologist and director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, collected more than 2400 samples of botanical remains at twenty sites on the African mainland and on offshore islands as well as Madagascar, and obtained 43 radiocarbon dates from crop seeds. These showed a clear boundary between sites dominated by African crops such as pearl millet, cowpea and sorghum and those with Asian rice, mung bean and cotton.
Events
On 5th November there will be a screening of Songs for Madagascar which is directed by Cesar Paes in collaboration with the artists involved and with researchers at the University of Southampton. Following the screening there will be a Q&A session with Cesar Paes and the producer Marie-Clemence Paes as well as Professor Ulrike Meinhof from the University of Southampton, a member of the Society.