The South African group Shoprite announced on August 23 its withdrawal from Madagascar, where it has 10 stores. Shoprite wants to refocus on South Africa, where it generates 80% of its turnover. It has already withdrawn from Nigeria and Kenya and plans to do the same in Uganda. Management indicates that international development is no longer a priority and that investments outside South Africa will now be made at a minimum.. Shoprite wants to reorient its strategy by targeting online purchasing as well as delivery services, in order to meet new expectations and consumption habits that have developed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
System U is coming
The Système U group announced its arrival in Madagascar on September 16, by the purchase of 10 Shoprite stores, in association with the Malagasy family group Habibo. “The offer to the Malagasy population that Shoprite had built through its 10 department stores will be continued and actively developed thanks to the partnership concluded between the Malagasy group Habibo and the Système U Cooperative. In this context, Habibo guarantees the maintenance of employment by taking over all of Shoprite Madagascar’s 850 employees”, indicate the two partners in a press release. The Système U brand should be displayed in Malagasy stores in early 2022. They will continue to operate during the transition period.
Born in 1936, the Habibo group is a leader in the production of UHT milk, fruit juices and pasta in Madagascar. It is also the exclusive importer and distributor of a wide portfolio of international food brands., drinks and hygiene products. Besides Reunion and Mauritius, Système U is already present in Benin, in Guinea, in Cameroon, in Ivory Coast, and in Senegal.
Mahamasina stadium will be privately managed
Completely rehabilitated and named “Barea”, name of the national football team, the stadium of Mahamasina, in Tananarive, will soon be privately managed. An official press release announced it at the beginning of September : “a new management structure will be put in place to manage the stadium”, it will be a “private management method but in close collaboration with the Urban Commune of Antananarivo and the Malagasy State”.
“Calls for expressions of interest for the management of the stadium in general and for the operation of the various infrastructures within the stadium will be made in a transparent manner”, infrastructure officials sue, “the contracts with the State and the urban commune of Antananarivo will also be perfectly clear”. In its new version, the Mahamasina stadium has new commercial spaces which will be able to accommodate various permanent activities as well as non-sporting events.
Chinese illegal fishing in the crosshairs
Between 2019 and 2021, 84 Chinese fishing vessels are suspected of having operated illegally in Malagasy territorial waters, more precisely in exclusive economic zones, recently revealed the Malagasy press, suspecting the authorities of having turned a blind eye to the presence of certain boats. Selon l’ONG Ocean Mind, based in London, Malagasy territorial waters have been handed over for several years to “predators” from China, but also from Spain, from Taiwan, from South Korea... The Malagasy authorities are also suspected of having secretly issued fishing authorizations to a Chinese company operating large-tonnage industrial boats.
Routes : the World Bank opens its stock exchange
Madagascar will benefit from $200 million in funding from the World Bank to rehabilitate and maintain its roads, following an agreement signed on July 21. 1,200 kilometers of roads are targeted by the program, the “Madagascar Road Sector Sustainable Development Project”. Last year, the Malagasy Ministry of Land Planning and Public Works claims to have built, rebuilt or maintained more than 14,000 kilometers of track, especially on the RN7, which connects Tananarive to Tuléar, and on the RN2, between the capital and Tamatave. This work was financially supported by the French Development Agency and the European Investment Bank.. The State recognizes, however, that only 11% of the country's road network offers good traffic conditions and displays the ambition to increase this percentage to 35% in 2025..
Last September 10, President Andry Rajoelina officially launched the rehabilitation project of the RN6 between Ambanja and Diégo-Suarez, in a disastrous state for years.
