Ministry of Foreign Affairs Antananarivo
March 24, 2022
It’s a pleasure to be with all of you today for the official launch of “Renforcement de la gouvernace à Madagascar,” RINDRA’
For decades, the United States has worked side-by-side with the Malagsy people like “Mpirahalahy mianala,” delivering assistance in health care, resource conservation, agriculture, and critical humanitarian assistance in time of crises.
Today, we launch a major new line of effort to support the Malagasy people’s desire to strengthen governance.
The importance of this kind of work was underscored by the Court of Acounts’ recently-released audit reports on Madagascar’s COVID-19 response. We commend the Court of Accounts for its effort in conducting research and presenting its findings. These audits demonstrate the crucial nature of transparency in governance and the U.S. is proud to have supported the effort USAID’s Tantana project.
Democracies die in darkness. And we all share responsibility for shining a light on government. A lack of transparency and accountability results in financial loss and missed opportunities.
So today, I am happy to announce that the United States is deepening its commitment to strengthen governance in Madagascar.
The $15.5 million RINDRA project, partnering with UNDP, will improve the resilience of the Malagasy people by supporting government accountability, effectiveness, and responsiveness.
The program will promote three goals:
- Judicial reform by modernizing the judicial system and reducing the current backlog of cases.
- Government capacity through hands-on training and coaching officials from 20 urban and 80 rural Communes.
- Education and civic engagement by creating new platforms for public feedback, citizenship education, and youth-led community action in schools and districts across the country.
We sincerely hope this project will lead to tangible benefits toward a more efficient, effective, and responsive government for Malagasy people.
We look forward to working with the Malagasy Government, the UNDP, and all of you as we launch this project together.
Misaotra Betsaka, Tompoko.