Died on Monday April 15, 2024, in Nice (France), in his 72nd year, the former Minister of Finance was buried last Saturday May 4 in Bétou, in the Department of Likouala, after the tribute ceremony of the Republic, Thursday May 2, at the Palais des Congrès, in Brazzaville, in the presence of the Head of State, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, presidents of national institutions, Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso, members of the government and other national bodies . The requiem mass took place in the Basilica of Sainte-Anne, before the transfer of the body to Bétou, by helicopter. In the funeral oration delivered at the Palais des Congrès, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, returned to the life of the illustrious deceased, speaking of him as a man who inspired “the ‘humility, modesty, integrity and moral probity’. Below is the full funeral oration.
“Two months ago, to the day, in these same places where the republican ritual usually takes place consisting of rendering the final honors of the Nation to the illustrious compatriots caught up, unfortunately, by the decree of the absolute sovereign, in an atmosphere heavy with emotions , the grateful Nation had engraved in the marble of the collective memory, a name, that of the late Minister Pacifique Issoïbéka, for his good and loyal services rendered to the national community, in particular within the framework of the economic and financial governance of our State .
Even today, as subject to the prescriptions of an implacable law of series, and following the very high instructions of Mr. President of the Republic, Head of State, your humble servant, with a heavy heart, will have to fulfill, at new, the same office as that performed on March 2, namely: to establish, in eternity, the homage and honor that our Nation pays to a singular figure, to a proven patriot, to a great servant of the ‘State; who, throughout his life, also languished under the harness of the world of economics and public finance.
Indeed, when on April 15, 2024, in Nice, France, in its immanent cruelty and blindness, the reaper, again and again, tore away from our affection and our common esteem, our compatriot Jean-Luc Malékat, the Congo suffered a new shock, that of having lost another of his nuggets, bearer of the attributes of a man of value, defined by the thinker in these terms, I quote: “The true value of a man lies, not in this that he has, but in what he is. End of quote.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Before our tearful eyes, on this catafalque, seat of sadness, helplessness and despair, lies, motionless, a man of value, of great values.
Because, in the opinion of all those who had the privilege of approaching him and knowing him, Jean-Luc Malékat was, in his everyday life, the synonym of humility, of modesty, integrity and moral probity.
Jean-Luc Malékat wisely knew how to thwart the lure of undeserved gain. He was able, with prudence, to avoid the trap of superfluous material goods, acquired under the influence of immorality.
In truth, Jean-Luc Malékat lived his life as men of value know how to live it, that is to say, with simplicity, dignity, sociability and with humanity.
As many virtues as the native Brazzaville resident who should have celebrated his 73rd birthday on November 25, holds from the rigorous and balanced education he received from his father, the patriarch Félix Malékat, and from his tender mother, mother Firmine Lézo . Both had the merit of finding, very early on, the necessary springs to guide the steps and the already lively spirit of their little boy, fourth child in a family of thirteen.
This is how the young Malekat will follow a school and university course without fail. This began at the Saint Vincent de Paul primary school in Poto-Poto, Brazzaville, in 1957 and will continue in Dongou, in the current Likouala department.
The secondary cycle took him to the Lycée Chaminade, in Brazzaville, to the Collège de Kinkala then to France where he obtained his Brevet d’études de premier cycle (Bepc) in 1970. He then took up higher studies at the Faculty of Economics. of Grenoble, which will be awarded a doctorate in economic sciences, as well as at the National Tax School of Clermont-Ferrand, where he will obtain the tax inspector diploma.
Returning to the country in the early 1980s, Jean-Luc Malékat immediately responded to the call of duty, through his integration into the tax administration. Here, the brand new servant of the State will experience a meteoric rise. This professional mobility will be matched only by the trust and admiration which his know-how and interpersonal skills arouse among his hierarchical superiors.
Thus, the young tax official will be in turn: audit agent; Head of Division; head of Service; central director; general manager; finally, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Planning, from 1991 to 1992, after having been Secretary of State for the Budget, a few months earlier.
In the context of the governmental instability of the so-called transition period in the early 1990s, marked by the rapid renewal of government teams, Minister Jean-Luc Malékat was one of the few, if not the only minister to be able to keep his presence in the different governments of Prime Minister André Milongo.
An authority in his profession, the tax specialist and statesman Jean-Luc Malékat, in addition to his active participation in the training of the elite at the Marien Ngouabi University as a lecturer, will provide, at the sub-regional level, a significant contribution to the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) in CEMAC countries while offering quality services to international financial institutions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At this level of evocation of the professional career of the illustrious deceased, allow me to point out that, in the 1980s, the bearer of this posthumous tribute, then head of the investments and approvals department, responsible for the National Investment Commission at the Ministry of Planning, had been able to benefit from a long and close collaboration with the man whose work and memory the Republic magnifies today. At the time, the latter was the director of legislation and litigation at the general tax directorate.
What can we say about this wonderful bond on a professional level, if not the feeling of great pride for having been to the school of public service and having learned there that the love of a job well done must be a true cult, the sense of the general interest, a sacred principle.
What can we say about this wonderful experience of symbiosis on a human level which made it possible to meet, regularly, a character endowed with a fascinating aura, if not the immense happiness of having been, in some way, the privileged depositary of a certain philosophy of life based, in particular, on patience, tolerance, a taste for effort and self-sacrifice.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To exalt the life of Jean-Luc Malékat is also to recognize his active commitment in the formulation of offers relating to the management of the city’s affairs; it is a reminder of his great passion for sport and music. It is this double passion which led him to effectively provide technical supervision of the footballers of the Patronage de Poto-Poto team, in Brazzaville, then to embody, not without talent, the center forward position. of the Rennes football team in France.
On a musical level, Jean-Luc Malékat, the tenor voice of the Choir “Les piroguiers du Congo” was also the co-founder and great patron of orchestras both in Congo and in France.
All things considered, ladies and gentlemen, we can affirm with André Malraux that: “Life is worth nothing, but nothing is worth a life”, like that of Jean-Luc Malékat whose life we have tried to reconstruct. frame.
Before ending this republican celebration dedicated to the memory of a compatriot whose passage in this land of men will have left indelible imprints, I would like to invite us to direct our thoughts towards the family of the illustrious deceased. A doubly bereaved family.
Indeed, a week after the death of his son, dad Félix Malékat, consumed by grief, was unable to survive the tragedy. He succumbed, thus joining his dear wife, Maman Firmine, who had preceded him into the afterlife for a very long time. In this way, in unison, they will watch over the soul and spirit of the precious fruit coming from their womb, as they did so well here below.
To the widow Charlotte Malékat, deeply afflicted and the orphan Rosine Malékat, overwhelmed in her flesh and her soul as well as to all the members of the family in tears, the national community, in its diversity, assures you of its support, its solidarity and its comfort, in this very difficult and painful ordeal.
To you, Minister Jean-Luc Malékat, now at rest and in peace in the eternal infinity, the Republic will forever hold you in great esteem. Because, from all of your praiseworthy work, the Congo, your dear homeland, remembers and will remember that you sowed the good seed there. Minister, the grateful Nation says to you: Farewell!”
