ISSN 2045 -4236 Dece mber 2014 Issue no. 86

Society activities Politics 1

At the Society’s daytime event on Saturday 18 th October there Economy and social 4 were a variety of talks, from Mialy Andriamahefazafy on

environmental policy in ; from a team of Tourism 8 four Newcastle University zoology graduates Rachel Blow,

Jessica Fisher, Camilla Blasi Foglietti and Donna Marie Minerals 9 Wintersgill on their recent expedition to study lemurs in the

Tampolo forest; and from Franco Andreone on the conservation Wildlife 9 strategy for amphibians in Madagascar, while his partner Olga

performed songs from her latest album. Publications 10

The dates for our meetings in 2015 are Wednesday 25th March, Events 11 Wednesday 24 th June and Saturday 24 th October. We will have

more details in the new year on our website at www.anglo- Charities & NGOs 12 malagasysociety.co.uk , which also has a summary of previous talks for those unable to attend, together with much other useful information. This includes directions to the venue for our meetings, which is the Upper Vestry Hall of St George’s Church, Bloomsbury, London WC1A 2HR, two minutes’ walk from the British Museum.

The next newsletter will be published in March 2015. Please send any material for inclusion as well as any changes in your contact details to the editor Julian Cooke, whose e-mail address is [email protected] .

Politics in Madagascar

The last three months has seen some further change in Madagascar and most notably the return of former president Marc Ravalomanana from five-and-a-half years of exile in South Africa.

Ravalomanana returned to a country that remained in something of a political quandary with the current President struggling to cope with a series of challenges, not least because of the make-up of the National Assembly. The Haut Cour Constitutionelle (HCC) ruled that to be legitimate the opposition should be parliamentary; it was responding to

1 a request for an opinion from the prime minister Roger Kolo, given that none of the parties in the lower house had formally adhered to the opposition. Ravalomanana himself in early October rescinded his support for the current regime and was followed by most deputies in his TIM party, although the leader of his movement Roland Ravatomanga remained in a position of power as Minister of Agriculture. Jean-Pierre Lasoa, the deputy for Antalaha and an architect of the Plateforme pour la Majorité Présidentielle (PMP), resigned from his party on 10 th October. That day also marked six months since Roger Kolo became prime minister, and he was due to report on his government’s progress by the end of the month. While it was expected that the team would be exonerated of any shortcomings, on 22nd October Richard Fienena was sacked as Minister of Energy owing to the persistent problems at the state utility JIRAMA, which raised issues on the continuing support for the PMP from his party VPM-MMM with its sixteen deputies. The President appeared to have little confidence in the government of Kolo and had fragile support from the PMP. He appointed a number of special advisers, particularly economic ones including Léon Rajaobelina from Conservation International. One of his ministers and the head of the presidential party HVM, Rivo Rakotovao, attempted to construct a ‘14 th October Convention’ to establish a new basis of government or perhaps a new way to secure positions of influence; the initiative received little support and was cancelled on 9th October.

Over the weekend of 11-12th October Ravalomanana returned unexpectedly at the airport at Antsirabe; although he had indicated two days previously that his return was imminent, he had tried returning to Madagascar several times since 2009 but had each time been prevented by the authorities, who cited fears of instability. The former president spoke to crowds from the balcony of his house in the capital. While he said that he had returned not to bring trouble but to bring peace and work for Madagascar's development, he did say that although the new regime had the backing of the international community it lacked legitimacy and that he himself would not wait until the presidential elections due in 2018 to put into effect his own plans. After the speech special forces fired tear gas at the crowd and took him into custody. He was detained but not arrested nor imprisoned but rather kept safe from various threats, according to Rajaonarimampianina, who reiterated the importance of a spirit of reconciliation.

Ravalomanana was taken by helicopter and held at an Admiralty villa on the naval base at Antsiranana, far from the capital. His family, his supporters at the Magro complex in Behoririka and the Protestant church FJKM criticised the nature of his detention, as did Raymond Ranjeva and the Comité de Réconciliation Nationale led by another former president, Albert Zafy. The international group GIS-M met at the offices of the African Union (AU), which condemned Ravalomanana’s balcony speech and any questioning of the legitimacy of the regime; the French government and the European Union endorsed this view, with the EU saying the unexpected return had the support of neither the AU nor the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The United States also supported the democratically- elected government. Gert Grobler, the South African ambassador, met Arisoa Razafitrimo, the

2 Malagasy foreign minister; the ambassador said later that his country had not known of nor helped the return.

Members of Ravalomanana’s family visited him and said that while he had not been mistreated he was a virtual prisoner. His supporters threatened to extend their protest meetings, which were at first banned then broken up; opponents, including the Association des Victimes du 7 Février (AV7), called for him to serve the sentence of life imprisonment to which he had been condemned. There was also debate on whether by using an unauthorised foreign aircraft in Malagasy airspace he was liable to conviction for treason following a 2005 law that had been established in his presidency to prevent the return of Didier Ratsiraka.

The presidency said on 19 th October that it expected events to move quickly and for Ravalomanana to participate in a dialogue, while the head of the FJKM, Lala Rasendrahasina, was not allowed to visit him. The next day Ravalomanana’s wife Lalao said that it was a time for dialogue and national reconciliation, and that the only enemy was poverty. and his supporters, however, said they would not participate in a reconciliation process. Lalao and her family made a second, brief visit on 24 th October while their former chief bodyguard Jean-Marc Koumba (originally from Gabon and a German citizen) was taken in for questioning. Ravalomanana was allowed to leave to attend the funeral of his sister.

At the end of October a judicial enquiry was opened apparently at the bequest of Aviation Civil Madagascar (ACM), the operator of various airports including Antsirabe, the director and three employees of which had been detained. The Ravalomanana movement suggested that there was no basis for the enquiry and that it was a personal vendetta by James Andrianalisoa, the head of the ACM, who had been sacked as head of Air Madagascar for supposedly letting it fail in a bid to take it private. Christine Razanamahasoa, a staunch supporter of Rajoelina and the Minister of Justice in his transitional régime, said Ravalomanana should be jailed for five years for an unauthorised return, which would preclude his standing in elections in 2018. There was confusion over a possible trial and a representative of the AU went to Antsiranana to hold discussions, while Lalao met Rajaonarimampianina. Over the course of November the possible inquest failed to materialise and the five remained in detention while Ravalomanana’s lawyers were unable to meet with him. At the end of the month the South African government said that it would hold its own enquiry into the affair.

The Assembly was due to debate the budget or Loi des Finances, which had been delayed according to the finance ministry by the uncertain timing of external aid, and deputies were apparently concerned to secure the 4x4 vehicles they believed they were due to them. Parliament was in a state of flux, after the 21 deputies in Ravalomanana’s TIM party left the PMP but did not all back a much-discussed motion of censure, under persuasion from two key leaders Hanitra Razafimanantsoa and Guy Rivo Randrianarisoa. It was not the first time that rumours of such a motion had arisen and the picture was uncertain; censure would need the signatures of half the deputies and the support of two-thirds of them to pass. On 24 th October the motion was said to have failed with 101 deputies against and 76 in favour, a little confusing given that there are only 151 in total.

3 Jean-Eric Rakotoarisoa, a professor of constitutional law, was elected as the president of the HCC at the end of October, the first time a non-jurist had taken the role. His two fellow members are due to replaced when the new under the Fourth Republic is established.

A member of MAPAR, the party supporting Rajoelina, called on the President to dissolve the National Assembly due to persistent reports of corruption and he laid accusations against Laisoa, who had been behind the original censure motion. The ordinary session of parliament was due to consider the budget, the proposed National Development Plan and a law to create the new Haute Cour de Justice. MAPAR called for Kolo to face a vote of no-confidence and did not vote for the budget; the Loi des Finances was nonetheless adopted unanimously at the end of November by the 103 deputies present.

The council of bishops in the Catholic Church denounced in November the inertia of those in power in the face of increased insecurity, which they blamed in part on power cuts as well as a growing population and unemployment; they also called for a plan to end the illegal exploitation of resources. The head of the Army Chief of Staff, General Béni Rasolofonirina, said on 18 th November that there were further indications of a putative coup.

Following an AU mission to Madagascar in October, the SADC sent a delegation to assess the political situation in mid-November, which was led by the South African minister for state security, David Mahlobo, who said its main purpose was to help the process of national reconciliation and to help to complete the road-map. The delegation held discussions with Ravalomanana and all the other main protagonists except Rajoelina, although it did meet a delegation of MAPAR led by Christine Razanamahasoa.

On 16 th November the combined churches of Madagascar, the FFKM, held a service of reconciliation attended by Lalao Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka and Zafy, but not by Rajoelina, on holiday, nor Rajaonarimampianina, although Roger Kolo said that he was also representing the President. The following day the FFKM hosted discussions between representatives of the four former presidents and the current presidency as part of its efforts to promote a spirit of repentance, forgiveness, truth and reconciliation (4F in Malagasy). The President said that he was less concerned with the first two given his limited involvement and that he should lead the process alone; Rajoelina’s delegation insisted on the trial of Ravalomanana; and the latter’s team demanded his return to the capital. Rajoelina himself, who returned from his prolonged trip the following week, said that he would participate in the process and was prepared to meet everyone.

The new head of the Bureau Indépendant d’Anti-Corruption (BIANCO), Jean-Louis Andriamifidy, was criticised by the National Assembly for being ineffective, and made the point that deputies should lead by example and declare their wealth (only two having done so). The bureau has now been in existence for ten years and has had only a limited impact.

The Assembly adopted a bill to end the death penalty for all crimes on 10 th December, which was World Human Rights Day, this making Madagascar the eighteenth country in the African Union to do so.

4 On 12 th December the electoral commission CENIT confirmed the date of the much-delayed municipal elections as 17 th July 2015; it expects to ratify the number of communes by the end of January. The contest for the capital Antananarivo is likely to be key.

Economic and social matters

Finance and aid The African Development Bank has announced two loans worth $59m to finance the second phase of an irrigation scheme in the south-west while USAID has released $75m to help to combat poverty. In November Canada announced that it would contribute $6.4 million for two years to the World Food Programme’s school project. The EU promised €95m to improve essential public services such as health and education; it also confirmed its support for the Gendarmerie. China gave €13m to help re-build social infrastructure. Abu Dhabi will fund with $30m the rehabilitation of 123 km of the road linking Soanierana Ivongo and Mananara-Nord on the east coast. The German ambassador, Harald Gehrig, said in early October that the Malagasy government needed to accelerate the publication of its National Development Plan, which would enable the release of EU funds, to which Germany contributed a fifth of the total.

The national currency, the Ariary, has depreciated in 2014 (it is now a rate of Ar. 4040:£), while the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Madagascar (BCM) Bank have reduced to two months of imports (US$658 million), at the lower end of its required amount. Alain Rasolofondraibe, the Bank’s governor, attributed the depreciation to an inflation rate still around 7% although it also reflects the end of heavy investment in mining projects. The recent lower oil price will help Madagascar’s economy, at least until it becomes a producer itself, although any weakening of the currency diminishes the benefit.

An International Monetary Fund mission at the beginning of November, while commenting positively on the first signs of economic recovery and a growth rate of 3%, expressed concern at the burden on the budget of fuel subsidies and of support for the ailing state utility JIRAMA, as well as the low level of tax revenues and receipts.

The issues at JIRAMA remain significant with frequent power cuts and water shortages, which have been blamed on disgruntled supporters of the previous regime and also on the company Galana having stopped its supply of oil given how much it was owed by the utility. In October one of the President’s special advisers, Rachidy Mohamed, assumed control, replacing former supporters of Rajoelina on the board such as Mamy Ravatomanga and Haja Resampa. The World Bank gave $1.3m from its wider energy programme to help JIRAMA buy spares, carry out an audit of suppliers and establish a new business plan. The Hydelec Madagascar company, which is part of the Italian Tozzi Group, has started construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the River Ikopa which once completed in eighteen months should have 18MW of capacity and generate electricity to help meet the capital’s needs.

The FAO expects Madagascar to import only 235,000 tonnes of rice in the current season, down from 540,000 in the last, owing to better weather and the campaign to eradicate locusts. The

5 Ministry of Agriculture has ambitious plans to double the level of rice production to 8m tonnes by 2018, helped by a new hybrid seeds from China.

Madagascar came 163 rd out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s report on Doing Business 2015 , down from 157 th the previous year. In December Transparency International placed the island 134 th out of 174 countries, down from a rank of 127 th the previous year. The Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which was published in late September, ranked Madagascar 33 rd out of 52 countries on the continent (Sudan and South Sudan are excluded), with a score of 48.2/100. It had improved notably in terms of safety and the state of law and a little in terms of human rights recently, but showed the worst deterioration of all countries over the last ten years. Mauritius scored best and Somalia worst in the survey.

The start of the school year in October was marked by confusion over whether parents had to pay subscriptions, as the President and the Minister of Education Paul Rabary had said not, and by protests from FRAM, whose personnel had been on strike and whose influence is growing as more are recruited to schools (although only a tenth hold a teaching certificate). At a three-day convention on education later in the month, the 2500 participants agreed a list of 204 resolutions to go to the government, which some suspected as an attempt to politicise the profession.

6 Threats A second military offensive against the dahalo or bandits was said to have seen 2,282 surrender and over 2,000 zebu recovered; at the end of October the head of the Gendarmerie said 4,000 had now given up their arms and the prime minister offered a broad amnesty. However, there were concerns on whether the threat had been eradicated, over the behaviour of the armed forces and at the £5.5m cost of the amnesty; there have been continued reports of incidents.

In early October the FAO in Rome reported that strong efforts by the Malagasy government with the support of its technical partners had contained the locust plagues that had threatened food production since April 2012, although a gap in funding precluded further progress. The FAO called for a further $14.7m for aerial surveys, control operations, equipment and pesticides, as well as the recruitment of key staff to carry out the second and third parts of the current campaign. The African Development Bank gave $1m but locusts were reported to be still in the capital, near Ivato.

Health Maternal and neo-natal tetanus is no longer present in Madagascar according to UNICEF, whose ambassador Emma Bunton, the former Spice Girl, visited the country. The organisation has had a campaign since 1999 to eliminate tetanus among mothers and their babies using primarily an inexpensive vaccine as well as education on safe birthing practices and health worker training. In June the World Health Organisation declared that Madagascar had become the 35 th country free of such tetanus since the campaign started.

©Kiwanis International/2013/Kasey Jackson In late October the hospital ship Africa Mercy docked in Toamasina for a stay of eight months and was welcomed by the President and Prime Minister. The ship’s crew of 400 volunteers will provide both medical training and particular services onboard, at a clinic onshore and elsewhere in the country. The last time a Mercy Ship docked in Madagascar was in 1986; the organisation has treated more than 2.5 million people since it was founded in 1978.

There have been a number of health issues. By mid-December there had been some 180 cases of the plague, of which forty had been fatal including the first death in the capital. Press coverage was feared to have had an impact on trade and tourism. The WHO issued a statement in December to stress that the plague was endemic to the country with a seasonal peak from September to March and that the cases had nearly all been of bubonic plague in rural areas; as this form was not transmissible between humans it should not be the basis for any travel restrictions. Poor sanitation, deficient rubbish collection and the overall weakness of the healthcare system are contributing factors.

7 One concern has been insufficient vaccination, with a report in October indicating that 112,541 out of the 568,670 babies under one year of age had not been innoculated. This tallied with a worrying report from UNICEF which described how Madagascar was the fourth worst country in the world for retarded growth in children under five; that 44,000 children died each year from avoidable diseases; that after progress between 2003 and 2008, from then to 2012 the rate of vaccination fell back from 55% to 38%; that over 1.5m children aged 6 to 12 had no access to primary schools; that 14% of girls aged 15 to 19 had been victims of sexual violence; and that a quarter of children aged between 9 and 17 had to work to help out their families.

Business Madagascar’s exports of lychees for the current season are estimated to reach some 18,000 tonnes, a similar level to the previous two years. The majority of exports go to Europe, where economic conditions have not helped demand, but a new market in Russia has. Producers have also benefited from sales to the South African market as bad weather has affected sales from La Réunion, its main supplier.

The Chinese company SUCOMA, which operates three sugar mills, expects to produce over 106,000 tonnes of sugar in 2014, up from 98,000t in 2013 and 54,000t in 2009; consumption in the country has increased from 150,000t to 167,000t in the same period. In December at least two people were killed in violence that followed a dispute between the owners and work-force at SUCOMA’s Morondova plant.

Madagascar is once again on the list of countries benefiting from the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which offers preferential tariffs on products including textiles, coffee and precious stones. The Malagasy government expressed hopes that the re-admission might help to treble the level of exports to the US and create 200,000 jobs.

Chocolaterie Robert won a gold award in November of a 50% cocoa bar under its Chocolat Madagascar brand, which is available in the UK (and sells for around £4.50).

Tourism

In another change of plan, Air Madagascar will not now replace two of its current Boeings with Avro ARJ-85s when contracts expire at the end of the year but instead take on an ATR 72-600 in December and a different Boeing in the first quarter of 2015. The company remains heavily indebted.

The incidence of plague has had some impact on tourist numbers although the European Union in December said that the risk of travellers contracting the disease was very low.

8 Minerals

Madagascar is reported to be preparing to issue licenses for three onshore and up to fifty off- shore exploration blocks in 2015 once the Assembly has approved a new petroleum law. Only 24 of a total of 249 exploration blocks have so far been licensed to exploration companies. Madagascar Oil only raised £0.1m of the possible £3.8m from its open offer to existing shareholders after its previous share placing with institutions; it has overall raised £12.4m of extra capital. In its AGM statement on 3rd December it said that it was in discussions with the Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Strategiques (OMNIS) with regard to its Tsimiroro Development Plan and that sales were taking longer than previously expected. Stirling Oil is due to carry out further seismic studies in the Ambilobe bloc situated on the north-western coast and has met opposition from environmental campaigners. The initial report under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) showed the state had received 115bn Ariary (£28.5m) in 2012 and 141bn Ariary (£35m) in 2013 with five companies accounting for four-fifths of the total. The British CWC Group has been awarded the contract to run an Oil and Gas Summit in Madagascar in mid-2015.

Energizer Resources raised $4.8m in late September through a private placement of shares to fund the production of graphite concentrate samples from the Molo Project in southern Madagascar and to provide working capital. Malagasy Minerals has started a maiden drilling program to test four priority targets at its Maniry graphite project nearby.

Sherritt International, which operates the Ambatovy mine, announced that production in the calendar year to end November had been 13,520 tonnes of nickel and 1,090 tonnes of cobalt, ahead of the figures for 2013 of 9,023t and 740t. There was a slow-down in production in November due to a major planned maintenance programme at the plant. The company still anticipates taking production up to an annual rate of 54,000t.

Wildlife and conservation

Forests

The value of illegal exports of precious woods in the years 2010-13 was put at $750m, along with $250m of sales in 2009 when they were for a time permitted. There were reports in October of increasing bush fires in part as a form of protest at the government, while the Ministry of the Environment said that twelve of the country’s 22 regions, representing 31% of the country’s surface area, were suffering from desertification.

Species A study by Sarah Zohdy of Emory University and Patricia Wright, published in PLOS ONE , has found that the brown mouse lemur Microcebus rufus can live for eight years, twice as long as previously believed. The research also found no difference in the life span of male and female lemurs, which had similar levels of testosterone.

9 Scientists led by Dr Frank Glaw of the Bavarian State Colllection of Zoology have discovered a new species of gecko Paroedura hordiesi as described in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution . The gecko lives in the limestone massifs in the region of northern Madagascar.

A team led by David Krause of Stony Brook University in New York has found a fossil skull in Madagascar from the second heaviest mammal known from the dinosaur era, which ran roughly from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago, and the largest from the Southern Hemisphere at an estimated 20-24 inches, as reported in the journal Nature . The team has named the creature Vintana sertichi , from the Malagasy for luck given its chance discovery and Joseph Sertich, who collected the sandstone block in which it was found in 2010. The first World Lemur Festival was held in Antananarivo in late October and to celebrate the event the Lemur Conservation Foundation produced a short video celebrating the creatures which is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSEJ4he3QFI&feature=youtu.be .

Marine President Rajaonarimampianina has committed to treble the country’s marine protected areas and to establish a legal framework to protect community management of fishing grounds. He told the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney that “Our natural capital is one of our greatest assets. This is why we are placing biodiversity and natural resources at the heart of our new national development plan.” Madagascar’s Minister of Environment, Ecology and Forests, Anthelme Ramparany announced that the country's largest locally-managed marine protected area would be established in the Barren Isles archipelago and cover 4,300 km2.

Awards Herizo Andrianandrasana, Durrell’s head of Landscape Conservation in Madagascar, has won the Tusk Award for emerging leaders in conservation and a grant of £15,000 in recognition of his achievements, in particular for his work on ‘participatory ecological monitoring’, in which members of local village communities are rewarded for collecting data on endangered species The charity’s patron, the Duke of Cambridge, made the awards at Claridge's in London in late November. Hery is working on his doctorate at Oxford University’s Biodiversity Institute and there is an article that describes his work at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/safariandwildlifeholidays/11216308/Tusk-Conservation- Awards-Making-a-difference-in-Madagascar.html .

Durrell and the University of Kent, where the charity’s Institute of Conservation and Ecology is based, have set up a scholarship fund in memory of Alison Jolly. There is scope to make a contribution to the fund at http://www.durrell.org/donate/ .

10 Publications

The fourth edition of the full-colour book ‘Madagascar Wildlife’ was released by Bradt in November with ISBN 9781841625577. The authors Nick Garbutt and Daniel Austin took many of the several hundred colour photos. The lavishly-illustrated book presents an overview of Madagascar's extraordinary flora and fauna, including sections on mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and invertebrates. The chapter on habitats and hotspots has been thoroughly updated and expanded, now covering 22 of the key parks and reserves for wildlife-watching in Madagascar.

For the month of December only, the book is available from the publisher's website at a special half-price Christmas offer by which you can save £8.50 off the RRP of £16.99. If you would like to take advantage of the offer please go to: www.bradtguides.com/madagascar-wildlife-pb-2362.html .

The newly-formed Madagascar PHE Network has produced a report that highlights the history of integrated conservation and development initiatives in the country, known as Population-Health-Environment and stretching back over 25 years.

Events

On Thursday 29th January, Natasha Dyer, a member of the Society, is hosting a Malagasy- themed dinner to raise funds for a medical scholarship initiative she started in 2007, enabling a rural student to study medicine in Madagascar. She is now working with local partners to expand this opportunity to others, including work placements in rural hospitals to enable students to improve healthcare in their own communities. The dinner will take place at 101 Grosvenor Avenue, London N5 2NL near Highbury and Islington. Each ticket will cost £35 and include dinner and drinks; there will be a presentation, Malagasy music and art for sale by Natalie Priest. Formal invitations will be sent shortly; if you would like to receive an invitation, please write to Natasha at [email protected] .

The Friends of Madagascar will hold their annual meeting on 9th May 2015 at Leek Wootton in Warwickshire.

Further to the success of this year’s event, the next Durrell London Lecture will take place at The Royal Geographical Society, Kensington Gore, London SW7 on 3rd September 2015.

11 Charities and NGOs

TASC Madagascar has had its best year yet, sending over £30,000 to support the Children’s Home at Tanjomoha and many other projects. The charity has broadened its scope and while continuing to tackle individual acute problems is now participating in long-term sustainable development in areas including education. It has plans to build a new primary school in Vohipeno, where the Home is situated; details are at http://www.tascmadagascar.org/ .

The charity OPT IN has completed its mid-level training for doctors in Rehabilitation Medicine in Madagascar who are running several of the regional and national rehabilitation centres. In addition they have formed their own association and organised a highly successful meeting on the management of children with cerebral palsy, in which the OPT IN Leeds team taught. Its website at http://www.optin.uk.net/ has more information.

The Andrew Lees Trust (ALT) is marking the 20th anniversary on 31 st December 31st of the untimely death of Andrew whilst filming the forest of Petriky, one of the remaining littoral forests in the south-east of Madagascar that was under threat from mining. The Trust began its work in 1995 and has since worked to empower local communities in southern Madagascar through education, training and direct support to improve their food security, natural resource management, health and livelihoods. Having strived to ensure the capacity of the country’s professionals, especially its own local team, to take on the challenges of regional development, in 2009 the Trust successfully handed over its assets and know-how to the Malagasy NGO, Andry Lalana Tohana (ALT MG). Under its own identity ALT MG has continued to deliver social and environmental projects over the last five years. The UK Trust has supported and mentored the Malagasy NGO and partnered with it to deliver emergency relief projects in the drought-affected Androy region, and, more recently, a new radio for good governance initiative, Village Voices for Development (VVD). For updates, please go to their website at www.andrewleestrust.org/blog .

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