Andry Rajoelina leads the presidential election
The day after the first round of the Malagasy presidential election, which was held on November 16, and even before the results are announced, the outgoing president had every chance of retaining his chair. Ten of the thirteen candidates ultimately called for a boycott of the vote. According to very fragmentary results, the official turnout figure was 40%, three days after the vote, but would be half as much according to independent observers. In 2018, it was 55% in the first round of the previous election.
The NGO Transparency International, for its part, assessed the campaign expenses of the three candidates participating in the election.. Those of Andy Rajoelina were estimated at the equivalent of 26 million euros, dont 9,3 million who may have fueled corrupt practices. The expenses of the main opponent in the running, Siteny Randrianasoliniaiko, suspected of being supported by Russian interests, were estimated at 6,7 million euros.
Madagascar Airlines refocuses on domestic flights
Madagascar Airlines has only been flying on the country's domestic routes since the beginning of November and until further notice. The company born in April 2022 from the merger of Air Madagascar, dying, and the domestic subsidiary of the latter, Good luck, operated on the Antananarivo-Paris line by chartering planes with contracts including crews, fuel, insurance… The formula turned out to be ruinous, with monthly losses estimated at more than two million euros. The Malagasy company led by Thierry de Bailleul has chosen to codeshare with Corsair, which serves the Malagasy capital from Orly, via Reunion.
Gold exports resume
Suspended since 2020, official gold exports can resume in Madagascar, since the establishment of a single window where exporters will have to carry out all their formalities. The State is banking on the new system to actually collect the revenue that is legally due to it. The Malagasy Court of Auditors estimated the shortfall in public finances from gold exports at nearly 40 million euros per year., due to the numerous malfunctions of the system until its shutdown in 2020.
A solar power plant for a graphite mine
The Canadian mining company NextSource Materials commissioned a 2-meter photovoltaic plant in October.,69 megawatts on the Molo graphite mine site, which it has been operating since last March in the south of Madagascar. The power plant is coupled to a storage system with a capacity of 1,37 MW/h. It will be able to provide up to 35% of the mine’s electricity needs., which also has a diesel thermal power plant of 3,1 megawatt.
71% of Malagasy people do not have access to electricity
Electricity remains reserved for a minority of the population of the Big Island, reveals a study carried out by the United Nations and the National Institute of Statistics. 71% of adults do not have access to it, wherever the energy comes from (distribution network, Generator, solar panel or others). This proportion reaches peaks in rural areas. Among the children, less than one in five benefits from electricity. The study also highlights the impossibility of accessing basic water and sanitation services for the majority of Malagasy people..
