05:00
COMMUNAL ELECTIONS
According to the State Council, holding the communal and municipal elections on December 11th is in accordance with the current legislation. This is one of the two points of the decision made by the State Council yesterday, in response to a submission from the National Independent Electoral Commission (Ceni) on July 30th. According to the current regulations, the elections must be held during the dry season, between May 31st and November 30th, unless there are exceptional circumstances determined by the competent jurisdiction. The State Council believes that the necessary time required for the establishment of the new legislature of the National Assembly and the waiting for the formation of a fully functioning government constitute reasons for exceptional circumstances. However, in its decision, the State Council emphasized that the aforementioned elections must be held by December 31st, 2024, at the latest.
06:00
PROJECT e-FOKONTANY
Just under 400 agents work day and night as part of the implementation of the presidential project e-Fokontany. They are responsible for receiving paper registers from the Fokontany teams at the Ministry of the Interior and recording these registers on a central digital platform. They also ensure compliance verification by a team of qualified supervisors. They handle data cleaning and use metadata from other control sources to verify the integrity of the population data. And finally, they send these lists for printing Fokontany QR CODE booklets. It is only through the QR Code booklets that state aid (hazavana ho anao, tosika fameno, vatsy tsinjo, vary mora, etc.) can be distributed efficiently and transparently, emphasized the Minister of Digital Development, Posts and Telecommunications. Thus, the quality of the digitized data must be as high as possible to have a reliable population database and ensure that all households in Madagascar can possess a correct Fokontany booklet, he said.
07:00
FMI-MADAGASCAR
Kodjovi Mawulikplimi Eklou, the new Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Madagascar, presented his letter of credentials to the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Decentralization and Regional Planning, Naina Andriantsitohaina. He also paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Christian Ntsay. The strengthening of cooperation between Madagascar and the IMF, particularly through the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), was discussed during these two meetings. Before his appointment in Madagascar, Kogjovi Mawulilplimina worked on various files, including Singapore and Malaysia, as well as countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Asia and Pacific Department. He also contributed to capacity building in the Africa division and supervised the economies of Estonia and Latvia in the Europe Department. As a visiting expert, he addressed issues of energy subsidies and competitiveness in developing countries.
08:00
BACCALAUREATE RESULTS-TOAMASINA
For the Toamasina province, the baccalaureate results are scheduled to be available before the end of August. In the city of Toamasina, they will be displayed at LJR, Stella Maris Private High School, CEG Ratsimilaho, Technical High School, and ISPG for other localities. As every year, the results can be accessed on the website of the University of Toamasina, thanks to the PRODIGY project, as well as through SMS in collaboration with mobile operators.
09:00
SOBREBE PROJECT
The SOBREBE project, funded by Japan to the tune of 6.3 billion ariary and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Manakara. This project, launched in January 2023, aimed to urgently assist the victims of the Batsirai and Emnati cyclones in 2022, covering 3 regions of the East Coast, namely Vatovavy, Fitovinany, and Atsimo Atsinanana, benefiting several thousand displaced and accommodated people. All these individuals have received moral support with mental health monitoring and have been able to obtain income-generating activity kits in order to reintegrate into society with dignity.
10:00
SNU-PNUD
A farewell ceremony was organized in honor of Issa SANOGO, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System and Natacha Vqn Rijn, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Madagascar. They were decorated by the Malagasy government for their exceptional leadership and contributions, particularly in the promotion of human rights, peace and security, as well as sustainable development for Issa Sanogo, and democratic governance, the promotion of justice, and the strengthening of national capacities in environmental resilience for Natacha Van Rijn.
11:00
SEASONAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
For the months of August, September, and October, the average temperatures will be normal to warmer than seasonal norms in the Eastern part of the Betsiboka region, as well as in the Analanjirofo, Alaotra Mangoro, Analamanga, Itasy, Vakinankaratra, Atsinanana, Amoron’imanie, Haute Matsiatra, Vatovavy, Fitovinany, Atsimo Atsinanana, Anosy, Ihorombe, and Androy regions. Elsewhere, temperatures will be warmer than seasonal norms during this period, according to the forecasts from Météo Madagascar.
13:00
CUSTOMS SURVEILLANCE
A first customs surveillance patrol was recently carried out by the Customs Authority in the northwestern part of the Big Island, with the objective of creating a risk mapping to improve operations and identify the areas where criminals are prone to committing crimes. The Director General of Customs and the Director of Customs Surveillance accompanied the coast guards on this patrol. Their route started in Analalava, passing through various surrounding islets such as Nosy Lava, Nosy Saba, Nosy Antanimora, and Nosy Valiha, before heading back to Antsiranana. The Customs Authority indicates that surveillance of the Malagasy coasts will continue from now on to prevent cases of illicit importation and exploitation, as well as illegal waste dumping. These efforts will also be enhanced over time, it is explained.
14:00
AFRICAN CAUCUS
Madagascar will be represented at the African Caucus, which will be held from August 1 to 3, 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria, by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Rindra Hasimbelo Rabarinirinarison, in her capacity as Governor of the World Bank for Madagascar, as well as by the Governor of the Central Bank, Aivo Andrianarivelo, as Deputy Governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Great Island. The African Caucus is an annual meeting of the African Governors of the IMF and the World Bank, under the presidency of Wale Edun, Minister of Finance of Nigeria. The theme of this year is “Facilitating intra-African trade: catalyst for sustainable economic growth in Africa.” The main objectives include drafting the Annual Memorandum for the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, strengthening regional cooperation to promote trade in Africa, increasing African influence in the decisions of the IMF and the World Bank, and promoting sustainable growth through inclusive and enduring strategies. The success of this meeting relies on the ability of the African Governors to collaborate and formulate unified recommendations that have a lasting impact on the development of the continent.
15:00
PAN-AFRICAN WOMEN’S DAY
Pan-African Women’s Day was commemorated on July 31, 2024 at the Novotel Ivandry, organized by the National Assembly in partnership with Ipas Francophone Africa. The day included exhibitions and roundtable discussions, fostering concrete discussions and recommendations to promote women’s rights. These activities highlighted current challenges and the necessary progress to ensure true equality and reproductive justice for all.
16:00
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
In order to coordinate and harmonize the communication actions of the Initiative for Citizen Education (IEC), the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) recently organized a workshop with the objective of creating a joint communication plan to strengthen communication activities and consolidate existing efforts. The IEC is a strategic priority of the MEDD to raise awareness among citizens about environmental protection. The workshop included constructive discussions on the coordination of communication and environmental education activities, as well as enriching exchange of experiences.
