Published on : 02/06/2022 – 02:03
Growth is slowing, and Madagascar needs a new impetus of reforms to redress the bar. This is essentially the message of the World Bank’s latest report, titled “Madagascar Economic Outlook: Weathering the Storm” released on Wednesday. The country needs profound changes to cope with the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the organization believes.
2.6% growth in 2022 against 4.4 in 2021. Poverty rate of 81%. Unsurprisingly, Madagascar is suffering the blows of several exogenous shocks such as the Covid and more recently the war in Ukraine after a semblance of recovery last year.
But not only: the lack of foreign investment, the structural lack of governance make the economy all the less resilient, says the report. Result: the recession currently hitting the Big Island is three times greater than on the mainland. It will take around 70 years for Madagascar to catch up with Rwanda, a country which was at the same economic level as the Big Island at the dawn of the 2000s.
What has happened since? For Marc Stocker, the World Bank economist in Madagascar and one of the authors of the report, the diagnosis is clear. “ Unlike in Rwanda, there was no consensus among donors, civil society, the private sector and political power around a growth program. »
According to the economist, the problem in Madagascar is not lack of knowledge. “ There are miles of analysis on the reform of Jirama, the national water and electricity company. The problem has persisted for decades. But it’s implementation doesn’t work. »