Mikama - Aug 7, 2017

Dans WORLD POLITICS REVIEW

While respected by international donors, Rakotoarimanana was not as beloved by other members of the government, and the private sector also viewed him warily. In an email interview, Richard R. Marcus, professor and director of the Global Studies Institute and the International Studies Program at California State University, Long Beach, describes the politics behind Rakotoarimanana’s resignation (..) Rakotoarimanana had some remarkable achievements as a result of his punctiliousness. He secured $304 million in International Monetary Fund Extended Credit Facility funding and a new World Bank Country Partnership Framework that provided $1.3 billion in spending between 2017 and 2021. (..) This is a tremendous challenge in Madagascar, where the private sector plays an important public sector role. While bribery and other overt forms of corruption do exist, the larger issues in Madagascar are challenges to regulatory and systemic norms such as the taxation of illicit goods, contracting and customs controls. Limiting activities disadvantages critical interlocutors. (..) The new finance minister, Vonintsalama Andriambololona, is appropriately trained and comes with a thick resume. However, she served as secretary-general of the Finance Ministry when President Rajaonarimampianina was finance minister during the transitional government of President Andry Rajoelina. With a few notable exceptions, international donors were critical of financial decision-making under the Rajoelina administration, cast doubt on the credibility of fiscal policy because of the government’s illegitimacy, and saw financial oversight as at best lax and at worst complicit in extracting rents from both legal and illegal sectors. As a result, the international community respects her training and work history—she sits on the board of the Central Bank of Madagascar—but questions her credibility. (..) However, core institutional reforms still have not been sufficiently addressed. Social sector institutions are feeble and lack vertical accountability. High-rent sectors such as mining have strong legal codes but weak enforcement and accountability. The justice system has continued to deteriorate and fails to serve the public interest or business. Police lack authority and are seen as corrupt. The National Assembly lacks public trust. Madagascar was once characterized by relatively high transparency but relatively low accountability. Today both transparency and accountability are deeply lacking, holding the potential to undermine fiscal policy, investment and political processes.  (..) However, core institutional reforms still have not been sufficiently addressed. Social sector institutions are feeble and lack vertical accountability. High-rent sectors such as mining have strong legal codes but weak enforcement and accountability. The justice system has continued to deteriorate and fails to serve the public interest or business. Police lack authority and are seen as corrupt. The National Assembly lacks public trust. Madagascar was once characterized by relatively high transparency but relatively low accountability. Today both transparency and accountability are deeply lacking, holding the potential to undermine fiscal policy, investment and political processes.