Madagascar has water to resell, debate on

The party Hasin’i Madagasikara wants to mark its entry on the national stage by starting a debate that should have taken place long before: the Great Isle, sanctuary of nature, should not sell water to a foreign country. For chairwoman Saraha Georget Rabeharisoa, this interdiction must be official: it must be mentioned in the constitution that Madagascar cannot sell its water” she protested.

Why is selling water as much a taboo as selling ancestors’ lands? The argument of the environmentalists is simple: the deduction of merely 1% from the output of the Faraony river in the northeast of the country could cause an ecological chaos. This part of the island is otherwise among its most preserved zones.

The minister of water, Nirhy Lanto Andriamahazo is willing to achieve the project planned by the previous regime. He insured that a 1% deduction from this output won’t have any ecological consequences. The money from water sale in Saudi Arabia are destined to finance projects of drinking water introduction in arid zones, in the southern part of the country.

The “green” party certainly found a cause but its position seems too radical to be heard. In any case, the waters of the big Faraony river flow in the sea, what about retrieving a single percent of them. To solve the problem of drinking water access, the pipeline solution is finally considered to the detriment of traditional drillings. This leads up to a better sharing of the country’s natural resources.

Why sell not 1% of the output of a too big river for the adjacent residents to help a million people in another region access the drinking water. We can greet the arrival of the party Hasin’i Madagasikara that puts ecology and environment to the heart of political preoccupations.