Govt upbeat over economic progress

Following last year's political crisis which crippled Madagascar's already weak economy, the government announced this week there had been significant growth in tax collections, loans to the private sector and foreign trade. Director-General of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Budget, Hajanirina Razafinjatovo, said in a statement: "Regarding sea port traffic in January and February 2003, the [eastern] port of Toamasina handled 418,000 mt, compared to a little more than 200,000 mt both in 2001 and 2002." He added that the number of new businesses had also increased over the year. Madagascar's economy was hit hard by a power struggle when President Marc Ravalomanana challenged the previous incumbent, Didier Ratsiraka, over the result of the December 2001 presidential election. The eight months of political upheaval led to the loss of thousands of jobs, forcing many people onto the streets. While the government was upbeat about progress at the macro-economic level, the majority of people are still finding it difficult to recover from the aftershocks of the crisis. "Although the situation has improved slightly, it is hard to say if people have recovered economically from the crisis or not. There are currently no statistics on how people are coping, but many people are out of work," Antananarivo-based economist, Pepe Andrianomanana, told IRIN. "Most of the factories that closed down during the troubles still have not re-opened. Instead of waiting for these factories to open, some people have found employment in the informal market. But the meagre amount of money they make doesn't compare to the salaried job," he said. The results of a national household food security survey, due in June, should shed light on poverty levels.