Madagascar: President Rajaonarimampianina Applauds SADC For Peace Efforts
By Staff Writer
Madagascan President Hery Rajaonarimampianina has applauded Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) intervention in brokering peace in his country which paved way for the December 20, 2013 elections that restored stability in the southern Africa island country in the Indian Ocean.
Rajaonarimampianina, former finance minister won the presidential elections, the first in the country since the 2009 coup that plunged Madagascar into a political turmoil which sharply slowed economic growth leading to high rates of poverty.
Addressing the Heads of States and Government at the just concluded 34TH SADC Summit, Monday August 18, he said that his country’s return to the regional bloc following the four-year long strife was a giant step towards restoring peace and development for his people.
“The meaning of this summit for Madagascar and its people is great, and we’re back in the SADC family after five years hiatus,” he said. “This summit constitutes the ideal platform to express our solemn gratitude to SADC efforts in helping us come out of a political crisis through a process that led to free elections.”
Rajaonarimampianina said his country will always remember that “it was SADC that brokered the lifting of sanctions in Madagascar” in January 2014 after the elections.
He said Madagascar was committed to abide by the shared regional ideology and common economic approaches for enhancement of improved livelihoods for a majority.
The president said establishing decentralized, robust economies, was key for SADC and urged improved local industrial production, infrastructure development and sustainable exploitation of natural resources.
He also said efforts were underway to foster the return of political exiles through a reconciliation process so they participate in nation building.
“Some of the exiles are being freely integrated into our institutions. I met former president Marc Ravalomanana in Johannesburg, South Africa in July and he is keen to come back home within the framework of reconciliation and I have granted his children free movement home,” said Rajaonarimampianina.
Rajaonarimampianina said Madagascars 2009 suspension from SADC had a negative impact on the country, economically, politically and socially and now they have to catch up for lost time.
“We hope to tap opportunities offered in SADC from 2015 to 2020,” said
Madagascar, joined other African countries that have experienced pre and post election violence such as Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Zimbabwe which claimed thousands of lives, homes, businesses and displaced of millions of people thus setting back the economic and social recovery process as they seem to reoccur with each election cycle in the various countries.