I’ve just returned from two weeks in Madagascar, focused mostly on flora and fauna (including the many endemic bird species and, of course, lemurs). It’s a beautiful country, and little known to the rest of the world.
But what struck me the most about this vast island nation (the fourth largest island in the world, behind Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo) is its vast, stifling poverty. A major factor in that is energy poverty. Madagascar has a total electric generating capacity of about 668 MW, according to the CIA factbook for the country. That’s 137th on the list of world installed capacity, alongside Mali and Afghanistan.
What’s more, because of poor maintenance, the capacity factor for the generating capacity is under 60%.
Of the country’s 25 million population, only about 12% have electric access. That’s entirely concentrated in the urban areas, particularly the capital of Antananarivo (routinely referred to as Tana) with a population of 10 million. Only about 8% of the rural population has electricity access.
Even in Tana, electricity use is very spotty. The most recent estimates are that 90% of the energy used for cooking and heating water in urban areas across the country comes from charcoal. The government has encouraged this development since 1999 and charcoal production has become a major business for the country’s rural farmers and a network of wholesalers and retailers.
While some have fretted over deforestation as a result of the charcoal policy (the country has long faced deforestation pressures), there is a positive side. Invasive eucalyptus trees from Australia have grown unchecked in much of the previously denuded area, particularly in the temperature rainforest in the eastern part of the country. The eucalyptus trees have become a prime source of charcoal.
Madagascar has no electric grid. The generating capacity comes primarily from hydro, 350 MW from three stations, according to the USAID. High voltage transmission connects Tana and other cities, including the country’s major seaport of Toamasina on the Indian Ocean about 180 km east of Tana.
The country has a state-owned electric and water utility, Jirama, The utility is widely reported as corrupt and incompetent, and appears to have never recorded a profit, and serves only the urban centers. According to USAID, “The annual consumption of electricity per capita is among the lowest in Africa, and is estimated at 48.53 kWh, less than one-third of the average for Sub-Saharan African countries excluding South Africa.”
A positive development is the rise of independent power producers. According to Energypedia, “With the reform of the energy sector, implemented between 1998-2004; it was decided to promote the private sector participation in the sector of rural electrification. Until today, some 20 operators – mainly small and medium-sized companies — have realized approx. 80 projects in the rural areas. Most of the private operators are associated in the Association des Opérateurs Professionnels en Electrification de Madagascar (AOPEM).”
Madagascar’s energy poverty is a reflection of overall poverty and its consequences. According to a 2017 analysis by the International Monetary Fund, Madagascar’s per capital GDP was $1,504, among the 10 lowest in the world. It ranks ahead of Mozambique, its closest neighbor on the African continent.
As a result of the poverty, and a corrupt and incompetent central government, Madagascar’s total infrastructure, not just for energy, is in terrible shape. The roads are often impassable and the most important, the “National Roads,” are often unpaved and all have suffered from a lack of maintenance. National Road 5 has been called “the world’s most dangerous road.”
Distribution of schools in Madagascar is spotty, with urban areas, particularly Tana, having the most and best-equipped schools. Public education is free (while parents have to buy supplies), but not compulsory. Instruction is in Malagasy, the traditional language, and French, the colonial language. The literacy rate is 64.5%, slightly ahead of India.
Medical care in Madagascar is also a major infrastructure problem. According to USAID, “Over 60 percent of Madagascar’s people live more than 5 kilometers from a health center, often in very remote and difficult to reach areas without roads or communications. Health personnel are unevenly distributed. Drug and medical supplies are prone to stock outs and are unavailable in some areas. Administration of the public health system is weak, and growing weaker: development is undermined by high rates of illiteracy, gender inequity and economic disparity. The 2009 unconstitutional transfer of government further strains public services and threatens social and economic progress.”
Predictably, political instability plays a major role in Madagascar. The Power Technology web site reported, “Since independence from France in 1960, Madagascar has suffered a string of political crises: a coup in 1975 led to sixteen years of rule by military dictator Didier Ratsiraka, and four decades later in March 2009, another military-backed coup d’état ousted then-President Marc Ravalomanana, replacing him with Andry Rajoelina.”
Madagascar will hold a national presidential election on Nov. 7. The election demonstrates the chaos of politics in the country. There are 36 candidates, including the incumbent and four ex-presidents. If no candidate gets 50% of the vote, a good bet, a second round of voting will be Dec. 19.
— Kennedy Maize