Among these questions to clarify, one cites the situation of this sum of MGA 8 378 140 000, or a little more than € 2 million, intended for the realization of the Rova museography. The mission is entrusted to the company Présence France, based in La Madeleine, France. The invoice for this service was issued in November 2019, while the general public only learned about the project in June 2020, when the document was leaked on social networks. The mission is supposed to last 180 days according to this document, starting in November 2019. The call for bids related to this mission is not clearly tracked, nor made available to citizens according to the principle of good governance yet reiterated by President Rajoelina, who moreover declared that the financing of these Rovan’Antananarivo restoration works comes from Malagasy funds. The clarifications of the Ministry of Culture and Communication (MCC) came only after the said invoice was circulated on social networks and in the columns of the Gazette de la Grande île newspaper. Late explanations that did not illuminate the dark areas.
Opaque management of funds and wood dedicated to the Palace
Another case as opaque as the first one mentioned above: the management of the wood intended for the palace reconstruction site. First of all, it is known that 360m3 of rosewood were used to cover the exterior of Manjakamiadana. This cargo was taken out of the Mahajanga port in 2019, and then transported to the Command of Development Forces (Commandement des Forces de Développment -COFOD) on the Digue road in Antananarivo. From there, the wood was moved and deposited at the Tropical Woods premises. This company would have won the call for tenders issued by the MCC for the supply of wood. A call for tenders that is not transparent insofar as the conditions of its publication and the selection process of the provider are unknown to the public.
It is worth noting that the President of the Republic gave himself the challenge of restoring Anatirova before the Independence Day celebration. He gave full authority to the MCC to carry out this work. In 2019, the MCC requested the authorization to collect wood that would be used in Manjakamiadana. A source who wished to remain anonymous explains: “At that time, the Environment Minister refused to cut the wood because it went against his statements when he took office. To my knowledge, advisors convinced him to use the seized wood.” Our source continues : “If I am not mistaken, the Council of Ministers validated the decision that the Environment Ministry must authorize the exit of these woods. The case was brought to the court of Mahajanga, in order to have an authorization to take out the wood seized at the port. The Environment Ministry respected this arrangement. It went so far as to make sure that the smallest details were respected, right up to the transport of the wood to the capital, because any error implied the responsibility of the agents” (of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development – MEDD, Ed).
This same source stated that the 350m3 of wood requested was obtained, and moved to the Tropical Woods headquarters in Mamory, Antananarivo. “This wood has not been transported, even partially, to the Rova and this makes us wonder,” he said. After verification at the site, these rosewoods never reached their supposed final destination. The MEDD did not give us any answer to our requests for an interview on this matter of precious wood.
Non-compliance with the law
Also in the context of Anatirova’s restoration work, there is evidence that MCC is encroaching on other ministries’ responsibilities. On March 30, 2020, a letter referenced N°095-2020/MCC/Min, signed by Minister Rakotondrazafy Lalatiana, gave permission to a civilian, Randrianarison Rondro Harimalala, to transport 265 m3 of wood from Anakaraka. Wood also intended for the reconstruction of Rova.
In accordance with the law, the prerogative of issuing such a timber transport authorization belongs to the MEDD. The MEDD was not notified, nor did it receive a copy of this authorization, even for information. The MCC sent the letter directly to the regional environmental directions of the Atsimo Andrefana and Melaky regions. For various reasons and undoubtedly out of interministerial solidarity, another letter from the MEDD reinforces this authorization from the MCC, for the circulation of the cargo. “Nothing to be surprised about. We have no idea of the negotiations between members of the government, but a new letter dated April 8, 2020 supports that of the MCC, and signed by the Minister of the Environment, Raharinirina Vahinala Baomiavotse. This letter does not really concern the authorization of circulation but rather the follow-up and protection of these woods from Atsimo Andrefana and Melaky”, according to this source.
Favoritism
Another point to clarify is the provider selection, especially in the management of the wood. First, there was no open call for tenders before Tropical Woods was selected as the Project Manager. No record of this document in the computerized procurement management system (Système Informatisé de Gestion des Marchés Publics – SIGMP), where tenders and bidders can be tracked, as required by the Public Procurement Code.
Secondly, the situation of Randrianarison Rondro Harimalala, described as a wood supplier, is also open to question. No trace of the tender on her mandate was found, after checking the websites of the Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry of Finance, the MCC, as well as the daily newspapers. It is also unclear whether the contractor was directly selected by MCC or whether Tropical Woods granted it authority to purchase and gather the timber on its behalf. According to the documents available to us, the company did not give a legal power of attorney to represent it until April 9, 2020. The MCC, on the other hand, as explained above, gave the transport authorization to Randrianarison Rondro on March 30, 2020, and emphasized on that date that this person was indeed in charge of the wood supply. However, it should be noted that after checking her files with the tax department based on the tax identification number (Numéro d’Identification Fiscale – NIF) and the statistical card (Carte Statistique – STAT) used by Randrianarison Rondro Harimalala, the latter does indeed have the function of wood supply: no suspicion of forgery in this regard.
Third, let us note the role of Jean Bardeau, mentioned as the owner of the wood purchased by Randrianarison Rondro Harimalala in Sakaraha. 13,036 m3 of wood have been transported to date. Yet Jean Bardeau’s logging authorization expired on October 12, 2019, according to the latest documents. The reasons for his selection remain unknown: a situation that leads some officials at the Administration as well as entrepreneurs in this field, to ask legitimate questions.
Answers !
In view of these situations that require answers from the MCC, we realize that the restoration of Anatirova calls for a willingness to be transparent on the part of the State, even if it is only this matter of wood that necessitates explanations. What happened to the 350m3 of rosewood available since 2019? On its Facebook page dated March 18, 2019, the MCC made known that ebony and vandrika (not rosewood) will be used to make the flooring inside Manjakamiadana.
What about the funds allocated to the work, the origin of which remains unknown ? The MCC claims that these funds come from the state treasury, but they are not visible in the 2020 budget law. Since the patrimony has international status, is it possible that foreign funds were used ?
Regarding the national funds, the senator of Madagascar elected in Fianarantsoa, Auguste Phillipe, provided some explanations according to the columns of the Express de Madagascar, June 22, 2020. This senator said that MGA 22 billion available for the public investment program were directly allocated to the MCC to ensure the patrimony restoration projects, including MGA 9 billion allocated to the rehabilitation and development of the museum. The senator explains that this fund for Rovan’Antananarivo has been approved by the Parliament and that the details will be known only after the budget is finalized. However, this has not yet been done more than two months later. Yet, we note that expenses have already been incurred and work is already underway.
Even if the health state of emergency diverted attention from this sensitive issue, public opinion continues to follow this case closely, and hopes for plausible and relevant explanations from the authorities.
