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News tidbits from Madagascar
"to update one's situational awareness"
- 18-25 June: "FestMania" in Ambostira (8 Jun 07):
To promote the Mania region (in the Central Highlands) and its multi-faceted natural and cultural richness, the regional tourism office is joining hands with the Alliance Française and the NGO's Mondo Giusto and Haingonala to organize the week-long FestMania festival which will take place from June 18 to 25 in Ambositra. On the menu: Specialista will emcee the famous "savika"; music and entertainment by Samoela, Fo Hehy and the Sarimbavy tena izy; fashion designers Vida and Ben will present original creations highlighting the region's silk and other local fabrics; several open-meeting discussions/seminars on sustainable development, micro-finance, and the use of fertilizers in agriculture; and for the more active visitors, a cross-country bicycle race is also being planned. Please inquire locally. Several local workshops, including those sponsored by Ambositra's Benedictine convent, are planning a special open-house welcome for visitors during the festival.
- Madagascar 41st in overall "peacefulness" rankings (31 May 07):
Madagascar is one of the most peaceful nations in Africa, along with Tunisia, Ghana and Botswana, according to a study by The Economist Intelligence Unit released yesterday. The nations ranked most peaceful in the world are Norway, New Zealand and Denmark. The study synthesized the results into a Global Peace Index (GPI) which was calculated for each country. About two dozen indicators were factored into the calculations, including incidence of violent crime, wars fought in the last five years, arms sales, political stability, relations with neighboring countries, human rights, overall percentage of state budget devoted to military causes, number of women in parliament, freedom of the press, immigration figures, male-to-female ratio and prison populations. Andrew Williamson, the Economist Intelligence Unit's director for economic research, said that the data were drawn from the United Nations, the World Bank, peace groups and the intelligence unit's own assessments. "We are just mechanics and technicians behind the index," he said, "we are not making any value judgments." The following map displays the GPI for the 121 countries that were studied.
Madagascar ranked 41st overall, ahead of such nations as Greece (44th), the United Kingdom (49th), and Mexico (79th).
The index is the brainchild of Australian IT entrepreneur and philanthropist Steve Killelea.
- Rehabilitation of the Pangalanes canal (17 May 07):
Today marks the start of a project to dredge over half of the Pangalanes canal. Initiated by the state's River and Maritime Harbors Authority (APMF) and the Autonomous Corporation of Toamasina Harbor (Spat), the project entails removing the excess silt and cleaning the shores of about 240 of the 460 km of the canal.
The project is part of a greater effort that includes rehabilitating the berths and operational areas of the port of Toamasina, and to restore minimum navigational depth between Toamasina and Manakara, with a view to concessioning the operational maintenance of the canal to a private operator. The project also includes littoral protection works as well as the rehabilitation of basic coastal navigation aids and services and supplies, to help make Madagascar compliant with the IMO-MARPOL convention.
- 160 villas under construction in Nosy Be (7 May 07):
The "Société Malgache de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie" (SMTH) announced today the start of their project to build 160 villas on a 67-ha site in Andilana, Nosy Be. Tentatively named "Andilana resort 2007", the project is backed by two Italian banks, and represents and investment of about 45 million euros. According to Andrea Aiolfi, director general of SMTH, ground-breaking will take place some time towards the end of this year and construction will be completed in two years' time. "The land is leased from the State and the villas will each have a 15,000 sf garden", added Aiolfi. The complex will also have a 20-shop commercial area, a golf course and a 5,000 sf lake in the middle of which visitors will find a restaurant on its own little island. The construction phase will enlist about 1000 workers, and the project will create 450 permanent jobs when building is completed. Note that the venerable Andilana Beach Hotel was re-opened on March 22 under the name "Andilana Villagio Bravo", and is expected to welcome 6000 guests by the end of the year. Four weekly international flights currently serve Nosy Be, including two Air Madagascar flights, one by Air Italy and one by the Italian holiday specialist Blue Panorama.
- Sambatra festival to take place in October (1 May 07):
Sambatra is a 4-week coming-of-age celebration that is organized by the Antambahoaka people in the Mananjary region once every 7 years. And this year it will take place during October in Mananjary. Each clan performs the traditional ceremonies around their "tranobe". The first part of the festivities recall the epic journey of Raminia (iconic ancestor of the Antambahoaka), with re-enactments, music, ritual dances, drumming and conch calls. The festivities culminate during the last week, where sacred ceremonies eventually lead to the ritual during which all participating Antambahoaka boys who have come of age since the last Sambatra are circumcised.
As preparations for this year's Sambatra are under way, some of the rural population of the district of Mananjary is currently facing a serious malnutrition crisis, which the ministry of health and several NGO's are addressing. In particular, World Food Program (WFP) and Agro Action Allemande are distributing and distributing a total of over 375 tons of food to about 30,000 affected families. Although these relief operations were scheduled to end by mid-April, both programs announced today that they decided to continue distribution to families with malnourished children throughout May and beyond.
- Expansion of Ivato airport (18 Apr 07):
Antananarivo's international airport at Ivato should be able to double its passenger capacity within five years. Indeed, the airports management company ADEMA announced today that this largest of all airports in the country will be undergoing a projected expansion between 2008 and 2012, including an expansion of the passenger terminal and an extension of its single runway. The expansion should allow the airport to process up to three million passengers per year, or double the current 1.5 million ceiling.
The expansion will take place toward the East of the current site. The length of the runway, currently 3,150 meters, will be extended to 3,900 meters, thereby greatly reducing the load restrictions on large aircraft that must be enforced with the current runway. The new runway should allow the operation of the largest long-haul aircraft with maximum cargo and fuel loads.
- 3,600 requiring disaster assistance in Sambava (18 Apr 07):
The Malagasy counterpart of the US FEMA, the national office of risk and disaster management (known by its French acronym BNGRC) released today the official tally of disaster victims in the Sambava area due to the recent passage of Tropical Cyclone Indlala: 3,600 residents of the Sambava district are either displaced or had suffered significant personal and/or property damage. Aid from the government and from assorted NGO's continues to trickle into the area, the latest being a sum of 1,000 euros raised by the Franco-Malagasy Association of Poitou-Charentes (in western France). Commodity prices have risen substantially in Sambava after the passage of the cyclone, most notably the all-important rice which reached 600 Ariary per "kapoaka" (the not-so-traditional Malagasy measure, equivalent to the content of a large can of Nestlé sweetened condensed milk, about 200 g). However this is still far below the record registered in Ambanja (South of Antsiranana/Diego-Suarez), where rice reached 2,000 Ariary per kapoaka the last week of March. BNGRC has already sent 40 tons of rice to Sambava, and residents have started diversifying their diet to take advantage of the large numbers of "soanambo" breadfruit that were knocked off the trees by the cyclone. Power outages currently average between 6 and 12 hours per day.
In addition to the 3,600 in Sambava, another 3,400 disaster victims are still awaiting assistance elsewhere in Madagascar. The latest funds received from foreign donors by BNGRC were a check for US$100,000 in emergency assistance from the South Korean government via its embassy in South Africa. Locally, the recent disaster-aid telethon raised 28,880,000 Ariary.
- "Third-largest temple in the world" to be built in Madagascar (16 Apr 07):
Apocalipsy de Madagascar, a religious association known by its Malagasy acronym "Fam", will have a "great temple" valued at 12.4 billion Ariary raised from the faithful adherents and other donors from collaborating churches. The founder of Fam, the reverend Mailhol, presented the model of the structure today, showing a three-storey building of some 135 meters in length by 73 meters in width. He noted that the length of the cathedral in Amiens (built in 1220) is 145 meters, while that of the cathedral in Metz (built in 1520) is 136 meters. Construction is slated to start in September.
- Start of the project to rehabilitate Route Nationale 2 (11 Apr 07):
Route Nationale 2, wich links the capital with Toamasina, Madagascar's second-largest city and its main harbor, will be undergoing a rehabilitation project starting today, undertaken by the Colas corporation. Heavy equipment could be seen today between Moramanga, Andasibe and Brickaville, as Colas begins the year-long effort which includes re-paving certain sections, re-inforcing others, and repairing the damage caused by the latest cyclones. A total of 317 km will be rehabilitated at a cost of 35 million US$ financed by the World Bank. Several sections, especially between Brickaville and Ampasampito, are in an advanced state of disrepair, with numerous potholes endangering the safety of the large number of vehicles which regularly transit along this axis.
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