the Transition’s Institutions: stumbling block more than ever

Hope was the outcome of the last chance meeting held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. A consensus over the sharing of seats and governmental responsibilities is definitely a different story. The national unity Prime minister Eugene Régis Mangalaza officially entered in Mahazoarivo as such on Monday November 16th. There has been a meeting with the palace’s personnel completed, a meeting with the office’s staff to be planned, but no Cabinet meeting. The official move, however, was meant to be done after a first Cabinet meeting, that is to say following the publication of the new government’s members’ names proposed by the four political mobilities. 

Eugene Mangalaza is losing patience and denouncing with a tougher tone the mobilities’ struggle for ministries, an attitude which irretrievably hampers the transitional charter and agreements’ implementation process. He regretted that his government still fails to be shaped up, and blamed the decision makers’ « insufficient patriotism ». International sanctions were supposed to be lifted after the Addis Ababa stage; here they are hovering above the country again, could the Maputo Charter and the Additional Act fail to be properly implemented. 

Prime minister Mangalaza would have allegedly refused to operate power transfer with the deputy Prime minister Cécile Manorohanta, appointed as such following the deposition of Monja Roindefo, previous transitional government’s chief. In any case, power transfer between both Prime ministers, the national unity one and the one reluctant to leave before the final whistle in spite of Andry Rajoelina’s rejection, has been officially completed in Mahazoarivo .  

And yet, there would be no stumbling block at all in the build up of the national unity government, could the politicians’ speeches be believed. According to the Transition’s Co President Fetison Andrianirina, « the government’s build up is an emergency in order to have public order restored, and one first agreement signed in Addis Ababa implemented, which is very important « . For the president of the Transition, Andry Rajoelina, « the sharing of ministries is not a problem ». His mobility is, however, holding on its position, trying to keep in control of the sovereignty ministries and strategic departments as national education. 

Emmanuel Rakotovahiny, the other President of the Transition, emerged from his silence to denounce the « seats war » led by the three other mobilities. The Albert Zafy mobility is showing no signs of concerns about its granted seats, rather some of impatience and irritation. Mamy Rakotoarivelo, the President of the Convention from the Ravalomanana mobility, received no feed back for his request for proposed names addressed to mobilities. « Some nominees might not be entered in the government but redirected in the Convention or the CST instead », he explained. The last minute to implementation of international sanctions will have to be expected again in order to make the sharing of ministries a genuine emergency.