In Madagascar, in the Ampefiloha district, a popular district in the capital, there were about fifty construction workers protesting against the government. The reason: almost two hundred small and medium-sized construction companies (SMEs) in construction (BTP) have not been paid by the state in eight months for road works commissioned and for which the contract has been awarded to them. .
as reported from Antananarivo, Laure Verneau
Jerry Rakotomanana is angry. Yellow vest on his back and construction helmet, he came to collect his money. To date, the state owes him 192 million ariary, or 43,000 euros.
“We are really closing down our business because we can not pay our employees, our suppliers and even the bank to replace what we owe. We are really in trouble, he explains.
Jerry is not the only one in this case. He survives on his other service company, but many have gone out of business.
Since October 2020, the Treasury, on the orders of the Prime Minister, has stopped payments from the Road Fund, the unit responsible for replacing companies. Some companies stopped work and others got into debt with the banks to deliver on time.
Ziza Rabeharisoa, 55, also an entrepreneur, explains that all measures have already been exhausted. The state owes him 400 million ariary, or 90,000 euros. He has carried out road works in the Melaky region, one of the most isolated on the island.
“We can not issue an ultimatum. We are people who have no power to deter these people. We have no coercive force and that is why we are there waiting for justice so that we can get paid, he explains.
In total, there would be almost 20,000 households in difficulty, as these companies support many workers, workers or masons … and this in the midst of a pandemic.
In a press release dated 17 February 2021, the CFO assured that there was no “blockage either at the Treasury level or at the road fund level”, and that the delay “is due to the need for more in-depth controls to ensure good governance in the management of public funds.”
Read also: Madagascar: facing the second wave of Covid-19, an exhausted and overwhelmed healthcare staff
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