© Laetitia Bezain/RFI
The Fianarantsoa Côte Est railway line is essential for many inhabitants of the Haute Matsiatra and Fitovinany regions, in the south-east of the island.
In Madagascar, the public railway company Fianarantsoa Côte Est, also called FCE, is at an impasse. Employees and residents of this line which crosses two regions are in distress while the economic activity of the area depends on this train. The employees have not been paid for almost ten months (November 2021) and have decided to continue their strike, which began a month ago. The latter are claiming payment of their salaries from the supervisory ministry, the Ministry of Transport.
From our correspondent in Antananarivo,
« President Andry Rajoelina, the train is at a standstill, the population is suffering », « Save the CTF, save the people », can we read on the signs of residents gathered in front of the stations of Mahabako, Fenomby and Manampatrana as well as on the posts published on the facebook page dedicated to the strike of the railway workers.
The approximately 200 employees of this Crown corporation « are exhausted », testifies its acting director, Andriatsisalovanina Michaël Razafimahaleo. These employees who fought to rehabilitate their railway line affected, at the beginning of the year, by two cyclones.
« The employees cleared the obstacles with their hands. We received 0 ariary from the state », he continues. The restrictions linked to the Covid-19 crisis and the damage caused by the cyclones have affected the company’s revenues. The irregular granting of state subsidies over the years has also penalized the company’s financial situation, he said.
Essential transport for a landlocked area
The economic activity of this region and hundreds of thousands of inhabitants depend on this line which connects the city of the Hauts-Plateaux, Fianarantsoa, to that of Manakara, on the south-east coast, and which passes through about fifteen municipalities , most landlocked.
« Only the FCE can transport people and goods: basic necessities, building materials, vehicles and trucks, but also local products that are the pride of the Tanala region, tropical fruits, vanilla, etc. Our train also serves as an ambulance in these areas. »explains the acting director.
« We simply ask for the payment of our salaries which is a fundamental right (…) We ask you, Mr. President of the Republic, to solve this problem because the employees and users of the FCE suffer », the company’s employee and union representatives said in late July.
This train is also the main tourist attraction in this part of the island with its journey through the tropical rainforest to the Pangalanes channel.
« Many travelers cancel their program in Manakara because of this line cut. This tourism also brought income to the inhabitants of the region and the enclaved villages. », deplores Phylis Raphael, executive director of the Fitovinany region tourist office. The sector also wants the government to unblock the impasse in which the company finds itself.
Reached by telephone, the secretary general of the Ministry of Transport and Meteorology, Rado Rajoelison, indicates that the payment of salaries is not the responsibility of the ministry and that the FCE is autonomous in the matter.
« Everything concerning operation, that is to say the payment of fuel, wages, water and electricity, routine maintenance, everything is the responsibility of the FCE. It is therefore rather in relation to their receipts that they make these payments. Grants are not used to pay salaries », he points out.
Help can be provided « as a breakdown, but not the payment of all arrears. It is also necessary to take into account the unpaid bills concerning the suppliers of fuel and spare parts. We must therefore honor all these debts », specifies the Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport.
Lack of investment
In addition to unpaid wages, the company struggles to operate with outdated equipment. If three locomotives were delivered in 2020, the wagons which have not been changed are not compatible with them.
« The old locomotive that we have been using since 2012 is still essential to us at the moment, because the braking system of the new locomotives is not adapted to the hauled equipment, wagons and coaches that we use. There are also our demands from year to year regarding investments on the track or the rails which present risks. We express our needs, especially those concerning the material as well as the investments on the apparatuses and the ways, but that does not arrive and, with the passing of the years, that penalizes us. We ask for nothing but the subsidies we should have », explained Andriatsisalovanina Michaël Razafimahaleo, interim director of the FCE.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport and Meteorology recognizes a delay in the granting of investment subsidies to the company, but indicates that the files are in progress.
« We don’t let society down. This line serves approximately one million inhabitants in this forest corridor. We cannot leave this population abandoned and we must always take care of the line. Only, there is this delay in the payment of the subsidy. We have made the request and prepared all the files, but it has to go through several authorities. So we are waiting for the decisions and once it is paid we can do the necessary within 24 hours »he points out.
CTF employees condition their return to work on the payment of all their salary arrears.