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Madagascar President Rajoelina is 'willing to listen', but refuses to resign

Andry Rajoelina, Madagascar's president, said on Friday that he is willing to listen in order to find solutions for the problems of this poor island nation. However, he ignored calls from a youth-led movement to resign.

Since last week, protests in Madagascar have exploded into a wave of unrest that is the biggest in recent years. The protests are based on the "Gen Z" generation, which has been demonstrating in Kenya and Nepal.

The president disbanded his government on Monday night in an effort to calm public anger. However, the move did little to alleviate the grievances which first erupted on September 25, over the worsening of water shortages and outages.

According to the United Nations, at least 22 people have been killed and over 100 others injured in the first days of protests. The government disputes those figures.

"Nobody benefits from the destruction the nation. "I am here. I stand ready to listen. I'm ready to lend a hand. And above all, I'm ready to bring solutions for Madagascar," Rajoelina stated in a Facebook broadcast.

He claimed, without proving it, that politicians were planning to exploit the protests, and had even considered staging a coup, while he addressed the United Nations last week in New York.

"Criticism about existing problems doesn't have to be expressed on the street; it should be done by dialogue," said Rajoelina. He himself came to power through a coup in 2009 after leading mass demonstrations against the government.

Rajoelina posted a message on his X page on Friday saying he met with various groups over the past three day to discuss the current situation.

Real TV Madagasikara aired footage showing that protests in the capital resumed on Friday, after a day-long pause. Police fired tear gas at some marchers to disperse them.

Madagascar is one of the world's poorest nations despite its significant mineral wealth, biodiversity and agricultural land.

The World Bank says that between 1960 and 2020 the income per capita fell by 45%. It blames this on the tight control over institutions and resources of an unaccountable, elite group, as well as a lack competition and transparency. (Reporting and writing by Lovasoa Rabary; Editing by Bate Fesia and Ammu Kanampilly.)

(source: Reuters)