Air Madagascar in receivership
The Tananarive commercial court officially declared the receivership of Air Madagascar and its subsidiary Tsaradia on November 18. The cessation of payments was set for October 19 for the national company, until October 14 for its subsidiary. Creditors have two months to declare themselves. November 10th, the council of ministers had approved the recruitment of the Rothschild cabinet & Co as government financial advisor. The French firm's mission will be to propose solutions for restructuring the capital of Air Madagascar and to seek possible investors..
Hydroelectricity : the giant Sahofika project launched
The concession contract for the future Sahofika hydroelectric power station and the purchase of the energy produced by the unit was signed on November 15 by the Malagasy State and the NEHO company. (New Hydroelectric Energy of Onive), who carries the project. The plant will be the largest in the country, with a production capacity of 192 megawatts. It will be built on the Onive River, about a hundred kilometers southeast of Tananarive. The project was announced since 2016. Long negotiations on the electricity purchase prices were necessary to bring it to fruition.
NEHO brings together three main investors : the French group Eiffage and two pan-African groups specializing in water and electricity, Themis and Eranove. Sahofika production will be injected into the future interconnected network of Tananarive, Tamatave and Fianrantsoa and should allow a reduction in the price of electricity.
Electric fraud is plaguing Madagascar
In a country where less than 17% of the population has access to electricity, the non-governmental organization Transparency International has just published a report on massive fraud which taints electricity production in Madagascar. The study particularly points to the exorbitant cost of electricity purchased from private producers by the state company Jirama, unable to invest in the maintenance of its own power plants or the creation of new units. Furthermore, private producers would only deliver part of the energy billed, which would imply complicity at the highest level of the State. “Jirama pays huge sums to these companies (…) Who, in their turn, financially support the electoral campaigns of presidential candidates », affirme Transparency International.
Political financing : opacity reigns
Transparency International-Initiative Madagascar also made public in mid-November an investigative report on the opacity of political financing in the Big Island., referring to “state capture by private interests”. “In certain sectors, decisions taken by the current regime suggest that there is a return of favor vis-à-vis entities, people or private companies who have or could have financed the last presidential campaign », a Transparency International official told Radio France International.
