Public function: hardly depoliticized

For decades, the depoliticization of the public administration has been the denting topic for the Madagascan civil servants. Today the theme appeared again, among those who monopolized the attention of State agents gathered in an assembly on July 9th and 10th in the international conference center, on the initiative of the leaders of the Transition.  

The depoliticization remains, at present, a true myth in the public function. Only the fact that the assembly is organized by the new leaders of the Transition is already reminiscent. In spite of some protests from scratch, the assembly finally united the state    agents favorable to the erection of the High Authority of Transition. 

In order not to give credit to mid-March’s Coup, another group of civil servants, composed of those that joined the legalistic ranks which support Marc Ravalomanana, organized some days earlier a reflection day which entirely looks like a counter assembly.  

The organization of two opposed assemblies simply symbolizes the difficulty of any depoliticization of the administration. The state agents are naturally, in the context of the present political crisis, divided at least in two clans,: pro-HAT and pro-Ravalomanana.  

In a general manner, the power takeovers have traditionally been based on a wink to the civil servants during the last decades in the Great Isle. In 1991, in 2002, and in 2009, the  street demonstrations have always been accompanied with a call to the civil servants’ contribution to a general strike or to what is usually called in Madagascar” the blockage of the administrative machine “.  

The public function was thus traditionally a major political tool. In spite of all, the assembly constituted an opportunity for the state agents to bend on their main preoccupation: beside the depoliticization, have been evoked the retirement, the salary, the recruitment and the professional formation.