The news brought to the forefront Roméo Ramanatanana, the deputy for Soavinandriana Itasy, caught red-handed in trafficking in protected species. He is the former president of the Rotary Club Antananarivo Tsimbaroa. Not only a deputy, the man is a police inspector: a double affiliation with the Law, being responsible for making and applying them. It will be necessary to rewrite the Malagasy saying: The smile meant to pray again became the kite that exploded the chickenbecause here we are not talking about chickens but turtles.
What is the lesson to be learned from this story? The habit does not make the monk and the sash of a deputy does not make the honorable, despite the taste of our parliamentarians for this Anglo-Saxon title: it is entirely possible to be a deputy, a policeman, a Rotarian, and to be a scoundrel. Just like a title of President of this or that, Minister, Director General, Director, Pastor or Abbot etc. does not protect against vices. A press release from Transparency International – Initiative Madagascar (TI-IM) also recalled the scabrous affairs concerning two deputies who were never worried. For once, the weight of civil society (TI-IM and Alliance Voahary Gasy) played a role and prevented the affair from being hushed up, as what often happens when people in power are involved. But perhaps it would have been different if the MP had been elected under the IRMAR label, instead of just being a pseudo-independent MP…
The case of MP Ramanatanana is not an isolated case of questionable behavior on the part of a parliamentarian from the police force. Several years ago, during a session broadcast live on social networks, a deputy and police commissioner had the nerve to complain that his intervention to “pass” a list of candidates for an entrance exam to the national police was ignored by the ministry. Not only the author of nepotism and influence peddling in administrative competitions, he also allowed himself to complain about the refusal to accept him. His time at the head of a central management had also been cut short by a dismissal following a succession of abuses and slip-ups.
A few years ago, a photo of an MP on a boat with a cargo of rosewood made the rounds on social networks. Let us also recall the case of a deputy accused of a pedophile act, and who managed to cover up the affair after the father was “invited” to withdraw his complaint for unknown reasons. These two deputies having since died, they have taken to their graves the possibilities of following up on these files.
Outside of the parliamentary community, a few days ago a department head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was caught facilitating the illicit export of 53.7 kilos of gold bars in a diplomatic bag. Finally, should we recall the Romy Voos affair, caught red-handed in a corruption affair in the United Kingdom? All these examples illustrate the style of behavior of our “elites”. But can we still speak of an elite when these people use their presence in power to abuse it without scruples?
Tsimbazaza, reflection of Tsimbazaza?
Coming back to the deputies, the life of the Tsimbazaza Palace is recurrently the scene of affairs which illustrate the decay of moral values among parliamentarians for decades. We only see them virulent when it comes to fighting for their benefits and compensation. The practice of briefcases and the subject of granting 4x4s favor the variable geometry of political tendencies. The election of the President of the lower house by 100% of the votes is an example of incongruity, when there are opposition deputies among the voters.
How did we get there? Without a doubt, the corruption which is becoming widespread in a country where everything is for sale is also reflected among parliamentarians. The morals of the ruling clan, which has its roots in a coup d'état, have also rubbed off on public life in terms of unscrupulousness in violating democratic values and the principles of good governance. The function of deputy should be a noble function occupied by patriotic, honest and competent people, because they have two vital roles for the country: making laws and controlling the action of the government. Unfortunately, a political system that has become increasingly plutocratic (power to the rich) has favored the entry into the Tsimbazaza Palace of people who have wealth without having class.
In a letter written in 1915, the man who later became General de Gaulle wrote these words in a letter to his mother, which show how detrimental the entry into Parliament of people in front of their seats as deputies with money is: “ Parliament is becoming more and more odious and stupid. Ministers literally have all their days taken up by (…) reading requests or the most absurd injunctions from the first wine merchant who has changed politics to a deputy ».
It will undoubtedly be necessary to relocate the Tsimbazaza Palace so that the behavior of their neighbors at the zoo does not become a source of inspiration for some of our “honorable people”.
