2023-08-15 08:50:24
Romy Andrianarisoa was relieved of her duties yesterday afternoon after her arrest on suspicion of corruption in London last Thursday.
The Presidency of the Republic published a press release yesterday indicating that Andry Rajoelina’s chief of staff has officially taken leave from Wednesday August 9 until August 22. The authorities would thus ignore the reasons for his trip to the United Kingdom, according to the Presidency.
For its part, Transparency International – Initiative Madagascar (TI-MG) also published a press release yesterday morning. The organization claims to follow closely and with interest the development of the case involving Romy Andrianarisoa.
Since 2019 and on the basis of extensive research, TI-MG has constantly alerted public opinion to the risks of corruption prevailing in the process of granting mining permits in Madagascar; risks to the actual prevalence, as illustrated by this specific case, underlines TI-MG in its press release.
Pending the holding of the trial of the defendants in the United Kingdom on September 8 and while respecting the presumption of innocence, TI-MG wishes to recall that it is in such circumstances that the provisions of article 9 of the law n°2016-020 of 01 July 2016 against corruption should have applied, if they had been promulgated. This stillborn article 9 indeed provided that “The exercise of an elective mandate or of a function in high state employment is incompatible with criminal prosecution for any of the offenses provided for in this law. Any public official as defined in article 1 of this law, must be suspended from his duties or his mandate until a final court decision, notwithstanding the principle of the presumption of innocence (…)”.
“Madame Andrianarisoa is indeed a public official, and the Malagasy State is expected to take the necessary measures as a result, but which ones? This legal vacuum, this article 9 torn from the pillar of the fight against corruption in Madagascar, calls into question the lack of political will (very upstream of the present case) to sanction those in power, at all levels, suspected or charged with corruption and the like. », continues TI-MG.
Why bother to protect such people? Why promote impunity in this way? In recent years – and this affair only confirms it, numerous successive scandals linked to corruption involving State agents and elected officials of the Republic, criticizes TI-MG.
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