Appointed on 15 March, Madagascar’s new Prime Minister Rajaonarison Mamitiana Jeannot Ruffin wasted no time in making his mark: on 17 March, just two days into the job, he signed his first major act – the official lifting of restrictive measures that had for five months required civil servants to seek the prime minister’s personal authorisation before traveling abroad or committing public funds.
Under the new directive, civil servants’ travel abroad is no longer subject to the prime minister’s personal authorisation and will henceforth follow “standard mission order procedures.”
The commitment of credits within ministries, institutions and public establishments will be carried out “in accordance with applicable regulations,” without a prior request to open an account with the General Secretariat of the Government.
Travel bans issued by the Ministry of Interior, however, remain in force.
A Prime Minister Committed to Fighting Corruption
The decision to lift the restrictions came just two days after Rajaonarison’s appointment by the President of the Refoundation of the Malagasy Republic, Colonel Michaël Randrianirina.
On 15 March at the Iavoloha State Palace, the head of state had tasked him with
forming a government, making him the second prime minister since the advent of the Refoundation.
The appointment followed the dismissal of his predecessor, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, on 9 March as part of an executive reshuffle.
Rajaonarison was selected on the basis of his “honesty and integrity.”
A former gendarmerie officer, he had been heading Madagascar’s Financial Intelligence Unit since 2021, responsible for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The president also commended his courage, citing his past resignation from the Tetezamita under hierarchical pressure.
At the handover ceremony on March 16 at Mahazoarivo Palace, Rajaonarison announced his intention to lead a “transparent cleansing of the administration” and declared that “there is no option but to succeed in the interest of the Malagasy people.”
Randrianirina came to power in October 2025 following the vacancy of power declared by the Constitutional Council after the abrupt departure of Andry Rajoelina, who had been forced from office by a popular protest movement led by Generation Z.
Instruction No. 117 of October 2025 – now repealed by Rajaonarison’s measure – had been put in place to tighten executive oversight of the administration during the transitional period.
The prime minister instructed the relevant services to ensure the “widest possible dissemination” of the new directive and its “strict implementation.”
AC/Sf/lb/jn/APA