Government-by-Government Assessments: Madagascar
During the review period, the government made its enacted budget widely and easily accessible to the public, including online, but it did not publish its executive budget proposal or end-of-year report within a reasonable period. Information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, was not published in a reasonable period. Budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenue streams. Budget documents contained gaps and omitted details on natural resource revenues and allocations to and from state-owned enterprises. The budget did not accurately categorize expenditures by ministry or government agency, and the government maintained significant off-budget accounts not subject to public oversight. The government issued a revised budget to account for a significant discrepancy between the enacted budget and actual revenues and expenditures. The supreme audit institution did not meet international standards of independence and its reports were delayed. The government did not formally award any natural resource extraction licenses or contracts during the reporting period but specified in law or regulation procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts. Despite the formal suspension of mining permits since 2009, some companies obtained licenses via a loophole in the law allowing the sale of existing permits, and the terms of these agreements were not made public.
Madagascar’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:
- Publishing an executive budget proposal and end-of-year-report within a reasonable period;
- Publishing debt obligations within a reasonable period;
- Breaking down in the budget expenditures by ministry or agency;
- Ensuring actual revenues and expenditures reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget;
- Subjecting off-budget accounts to public oversight;
- Providing greater detail in the budget on revenues from natural resources and allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises;
- Ensuring the supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence and publishes reports within a reasonable period; and
- Ensuring procedures for awarding natural resource extraction practices are followed in practice.