Democracy & Governance

	Official registering the birth of a women's child as part of a Democracy and Governance activity Photo: Aaron Brownell, USAID/Madagascar

The Challenge

Madagascar has many elements of a modern democracy, but its institutions are weak and derive their authority from dominant, central government actors. Laws are selectively enforced by a less than independent judiciary, and a culture of non-accountability for public officials has fostered widespread corruption. Access to public information – for civil society and government actors alike - is inadequate. Civil society is weak and thus unable to counter government excesses, and the poor quality of basic education in Madagascar perpetuates low civic involvement by the citizenry. Weak governance undermines development throughout Madagascar . Some of the major governance challenges are:

• Lack of capacity within the government.
• Weak democratic institutions hampering economic development.
• Lack of information at regional and rural levels.
• Widespread corruption ( Madagascar ranked 97th out of 159 countries on the 2005 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index).
• Inadequate laws ensuring equal rights to women.
• High illiteracy and low primary school completion rates (Each year, 60,000 people enter the workforce who have never been to school)

USAID Response

USAID democracy and governance sector activities support rule of law priorities established under the country's Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan (PRSP) and reinforce the overall USAID Mission portfolio. USAID/Madagascar works across health and environment sectors to strengthen civil society, increase the flow of information, and improve government transparency, accountability and responsiveness to community needs. DG activities include the following objectives: strengthen civil society; expand and improve access to economic and social infrastructure; and promote and support anti-corruption reform.

Focus areas include the provinces of Toliara, Fianarantsoa, Toamasina, and Antananarivo .