Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has fired all of his ministers.
The ministers’ dismissal comes days after he criticized some of their performance, calling it “below standard,” and weeks after officials claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate the former coup leader.
In a statement released late Wednesday, Rajoelina’s office cited no justification for the dismissals.
Rajoelina stated on Sunday that the performance of some ministers was disappointing.
“When there are failures in government, you have to adjust, just like in a football team.”
In comments broadcast on national television, he remarked, “There will be a change, and this affects people who do not carry out the duties entrusted to them.”
A senior prosecutor announced last week that Madagascar has arrested 21 more individuals, including 12 military personnel, in connection with a plot to kill Rajoelina and topple the government.
Six people, one of them a French citizen, were arrested last month on suspicion of involvement in the plot, after what officials said was a months-long investigation in the Indian Ocean island.
Madagascar, an impoverished former French colony of 26 million, has a history of political violence and instability.
Rajoelina, 44, was sworn in as president in 2019 after a hotly contested election and a constitutional court challenge from his rival.
Rajoelina first took power in a March 2009 coup, unseating Marc Ravalomanana.
He remained in control at the head of a transitional government until 2014.
In the 2019 elections, Ravalomanana challenged Rajoelina, lost, and said the vote was fraudulent.
Reuters