Living in Neglect: What Local Citizen Consultations Reveal About Daily Life in Madagascar

When discussing governance and public policy in Madagascar, official statistics often conceal a much harsher reality. To understand the true extent of structural failures, one must look where daily life actually unfolds: in the fokontany.

On January 28 and 29, 2025, grassroots citizen consultations were conducted across several fokontany. A total of 409 citizens formally participated in the consultations and signed attendance records to make their voices heard:

• Ankadinandrina: 104 attendees
• Ambodivoanjo: 96 attendees
• Ifarihy: 78 attendees
• Ankadilalapotsy: 53 attendees
• Antsahasoa: 35 attendees
• Ambohibahiny: 22 attendees
• Antanetisoa: 21 attendees

The findings of this local citizen consultation report are undeniable: severe water shortages, chronic power outages, rising crime rates, lack of sanitation, and widespread unemployment. This local reality reflects broader national trends: according to Afrobarometer, 82% of Malagasy citizens disapprove of the government’s handling of electricity, while 71% criticize water supply management.

1. Drinking Water and JIRAMA: Daily Hardship and Price Gouging

In almost every fokontany surveyed, securing drinking water has become a physical and financial ordeal.

• The Rush for Water Standpipes: In Antsahasoa (35 attendees), the community lacks a water pump entirely, forcing residents to walk to neighboring Antanetisoa to fetch water. In Ambodivoanjo (96 attendees) and Ankadinandrina (104 attendees), available water pumps remain grossly inadequate. In Ambohibahiny (22 attendees), citizens request that water management be returned to the municipality with additional standpipes installed.
• Price Gouging and Exploitation: In Ifarihy (78 attendees), water scarcity has created a predatory black market: pump operators take advantage of the shortage by overcharging residents for basic water containers.

“To get a few liters of clean water, families must stand in line for hours or pay exorbitant prices to dishonest sellers. It is a direct blow to our human dignity.”

2. Darkness and Fear: How Lack of Street Lighting Fuels Insecurity

JIRAMA’s power outages do more than paralyze small businesses: they plunge neighborhood alleyways into total darkness, creating ideal conditions for crime.

• Broken or Non-Existent Street Lighting: In Ankadilalapotsy (53 attendees), street-light poles line the roads but have been non-functional for years. In Antsahasoa (35 attendees), Antanetisoa (21 attendees), and Ambohibahiny (22 attendees), the lack of lighting between houses exposes residents directly to theft and muggings at night.
• Widespread Insecurity: Public safety was formally cited as a severe problem by residents in Ankadilalapotsy, Antsahasoa, Ifarihy, and Ankadinandrina.

As reported by L’Express de Madagascar, members of Parliament frequently emphasize that “the true measure of a policy’s success is a tangible improvement in people’s daily lives”. On the ground, the lack of public safety remains a burning issue for families.

3. Poor Sanitation and Health Risks: The Curse of Blocked Drains

Basic public sanitation is almost non-existent in most low-income neighborhoods:

• Absence of Public Toilets and Washing Basins: Ankadilalapotsy (53 attendees) and Ankadinandrina (104 attendees) lack public toilets and washing facilities altogether. In Antsahasoa (35 attendees) and Ambohibahiny (22 attendees), the lack of public toilets and showers is heavily criticized, while in Antanetisoa (21 attendees) and Ifarihy (78 attendees), existing facilities are in poor condition.
• Flooding and Disease Risks: The drainage channel beneath the CSB II health center in Antsahasoa is filthy and clogged. In Ifarihy, the drainage network at MADERA is completely blocked, while in Ankadilalapotsy, rainwater routinely floods residents’ homes due to broken drainage canals.
• Compromised Healthcare: Essential medicines are missing at the Antsahasoa CSB II health center, while cases of child malnutrition are officially reported in Ankadinandrina.

4. Unemployment and Failing Schools: A Sacrificed Generation

The consultation report highlights widespread economic distress: unemployment severely affects youth and adults in Ifarihy (78 attendees), Ankadinandrina (104 attendees), Antanetisoa (21 attendees), and Antsahasoa (35 attendees).

Compounded by damaged roads and dilapidated school infrastructure (such as the public primary school in Ankadilalapotsy), this economic hardship forces many children out of school in Ankadilalapotsy and Ankadinandrina. Yet, community willingness to improve exists: in Ambohibahiny (22 attendees), residents are requesting the opening of a public primary school in an existing building left unused by authorities.

5. From Consultation to Action: The Rise of Local Popular Committees (CPL)

A key lesson from these consultations is the strength of civic self-organization. Refusing to remain passive in the face of state neglect, residents across all 7 fokontany validated community agreements (Dinam-piaraha-monina), proving that direct democracy is alive at the grassroots level.

These neighborhood assemblies embody the core mission of Gen Z Madagasikara’s Local Popular Committees (CPL). Designed to organize civic engagement across neighborhoods and universities, CPLs serve to raise awareness, document local grievances, and convert grassroots frustration into actionable, constructive solutions.

By signing community covenants and taking responsibility for neighborhood sanitation and safety, the 409 participating citizens demonstrate that CPLs are not just theoretical constructs, but essential engines for bottom-up democratic reform[cite: 3, 4.4].

However, as noted in a report by the NGO Tolotsoa, grassroots participation must move beyond consultative meetings toward institutional recognition and concrete participatory budgeting.

Conclusion: Restoring the Fokontany to Rebuild Madagascar

Madagascar’s crisis is not abstract: it is measured by yellow water jerrycans lined up in front of dry standpipes, dark unlit alleyways, and children out of school.

Thanks to the mobilization of these 409 citizens from Antsahasoa, Antanetisoa, Ankadilalapotsy, Ambodivoanjo, Ifarihy, Ankadinandrina, and Ambohibahiny, the message to decision-makers is clear: rebuilding the nation must start from the ground up, relying on Local Popular Committees to restore dignity and essential public services to every fokontany.