Madagascar’s president just told every minister to go on national TV and publicly explain how they’re fighting corruption.
Colonel Michaël Randrianirina ordered it during the cabinet meeting on October 21. Each minister has to present their anti-corruption plan and defend their record live on TVM. Citizens can ask questions too. He basically said no more running things in the shadows — everyone has to show the public what they’re doing.
This comes right in the middle of a big scandal. Eleven Chinese nationals who were locked up for online scamming were quietly released from prison in late August. Five of them were transferred to another prison and walked out 50 minutes later. Six more left after just 32 minutes. No proper papers, no real procedure followed. They were part of a larger group of about 200 Chinese arrested earlier for cyber fraud, with help from the FBI and Chinese police. Some got two to five years.
Authorities have since suspended the prison director, put 15 people in custody, and fired two senior officials. The prime minister is promising harsh punishment for whoever is responsible. A prison union official has publicly accused the justice minister of ordering the releases (he says it came from higher up), claiming big money was involved. She denies it completely, says four of the men have already left the country, and the other seven are still being hunted inside Madagascar.
Randrianirina has said he’s personally following the case. He’s also been criticizing airport controls and saying the country can’t keep trusting the system that handles these scamming cases.
Transparency International wants an independent probe, saying the problem goes beyond just prison staff.
The TV presentations are supposed to start soon.