Rajoelina’s office gave no reason for the dismissals in a statement issued late on Wednesday, August 11.

On Sunday, Rajoelina said the performance of some ministers was unsatisfactory.

“Like in a football team, you have to change when there are failures in government,” he said in comments broadcast on national television. There will be a change and this concerns those who do not carry out the work entrusted to them.”

This also comes days after a senior prosecutor said Madagascar had arrested 21 more suspects, 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.

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.

Attorney General Berthine Razafiarivony said on Thursday, July 22, that the arrests took place on Tuesday, July 20 as part of a months-long investigation “into an attack on state security”.

He said, “According to the evidence in our possession, these individuals had devised a plan for the elimination and neutralisation of a number of people including the head of state.”

Officials did not give details on the extent of the plot or how far advanced it was when the suspects were apprehended.

On Wednesday, a separate statement by the public security minister said that six people had been arrested: one foreign citizen, two dual nationals, and three Madagascans.

The minister said “The police had information for several months, but only now was there an opportunity to arrest them”

Eleven other deputies and 14 senators had also tested positive for the virus, Rajoelina said.

Madagascar had on July 5 placed its capital Antananarivo under a fresh lockdown following a new surge in Coronavirus infections, two months after the restrictions were eased, the presidency announced Sunday.

The country has recorded 2,573 infections including 35 deaths with the government estimating that the peak will not be reached until the end of August.

In April, Rajoelina launched a local herbal concoction he claimed prevents and cures the novel coronavirus. He has since been promoting the brew for export, saying it is the country’s “green gold” which will “change history”.

The potential benefits of Covid-Organics, a tonic derived from artemisia — a plant with proven efficacy in malaria treatment — and other indigenous herbs, have not been validated by any scientific study.

The presidency said “The Analamanga region (under which the capital is situated) is returning to full lockdown, o traffic will be allowed in or out of the region starting Monday until July 20 and a strict curfew will be imposed on street movement by people. Only one person per household is allowed to go out into the street between 6:00 am (0400 GMT) and 12:00 pm (1000 GMT) The measures have been taken because of the spread of the epidemic and the increase of COVID-19 cases,”

Madagascar was used to registering dozens of COVID-19 cases a day, but the country has recently seen a spike in cases after 216 peoples tested positive on Saturday, July 4. According to the country’s health officials, 2,728 positive cases have been recorded including 29 deaths since the virus was first detected on the Indian Ocean Island on March 20.

Mustapha who reacted to claim of the Nigerian government being asked to pay €170,000 for the Madagascar herbal mixture delivered to President Buhari on Saturday May 16, by the visiting President of Guinea Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo, said same mixture was taken to other African countries without an invoice.

He said “In terms of the question of whether it comes with a cost. It was handed to me without an invoice so I assume it doesn’t come with a cost. That’s my assumption. For that, I think the Madagascar issue and the Chinese issue should be laid to rest. I think we have said repeatedly hear that we did not ask for the Madagascar consignment, it was given by the government of Madagascar to African countries as their contribution to wanting to find solution to the COVID-19 pandemic and we have repeatedly said our consignment and those of West African countries, was dropped off at Guinea Bissau and that we were making arrangements to go and airlift it. As God would have it, the President of Guinea Bissau decided to visit our President last Saturday and when he was coming, he came with our consignment of five cartons and those five cartons were delivered to me yesterday in the evening, sealed, without a bottle out of it. I’m going to engage the Minister of Health who has the responsibility of validation, through his institutions that are chartered by law to do that. The President was upfront with that even when he took delivery of it from the President of Guinea Bissau. He said it quite clear of what we are going to do with the consignment would be guided by science, under the processes of validation, we’ll now know where to go.”

The Minister said Nigeria’s consignment of the herbal drug which is currently in transit will be subjected to analysis by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to determine its efficacy and safety before use.

Ehanire said “We are going to get samples of the herb of the botanical product for analyses and also probably use that opportunity to speak with the health authorities there particularly the scientific community on how they use it. We will also give it to the research community here with us to examine and see what they can do with it. We understand that it is something called Artemisia Annua, which also grows here. But we would like to get that sample and compare it with the strain here to know if they are exactly identical or similar and then see what properties it has. It will be subjected to analysis to find out what works in there and how it works and is used in getting a cure. All countries around the world are interested in finding a cure and we are not different; So we’ll look at all options and promises that have been made. Before we give any of these medicines to our people we will make sure they are actually safe and that they work.”

Recall that on April 28, the Chairman of the PTF on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha said the nation was ready to give Madagascar’s herbal drink a trial.

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has been notified of the offer from Madagascar and arrangements are being made to bring Nigeria’s allocation to Abuja.

The Nation source said “The consignments of the drug are being distributed to different countries in Africa based on zonal grouping. We have been told that Nigeria’s consignment is in Equatorial Guinea from where it will be airlifted to Abuja. When the herbal drink is brought into the country, we will know the next step. But some medical and scientific organisations are pressurising that the drug is subjected to a clinical trial. Some countries like Tanzania, Congo-Brazzaville, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea have subscribed to the drugs. Also, while South Africa has offered to conduct a scientific analysis of the drug, Senegal said it will subject it to a clinical trial. I can assure you that the Federal Government will take the best decision on the drug in the overall interest of Nigerians. Before any food or drug can be administered in this country, there are certain protocols that must be followed. The government will not circumvent these protocols. We want a solution; we want the best for Nigerians.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, that helps foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and reduce poverty around the world.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, in a statement in Washington last night, announced debt service relief for 25 poor countries saying the debt relief was to enable the affected countries to better tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The countries that were relieved of the debt include Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen.

She said, ” Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts. The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the UK and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources. Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions. I urge other donors to help us replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.”

Mikel strained his knee in the Eagles’ 2-0 loss to Madagascar and was replaced by Alex Iwobi in the 59th minute. After several checks by the medical staff, it has confirmed that he will be out of their Round of 16 clash, and the 32-year-old could miss the rest of the championship.

It was understood that the problem is not a severe one but coach Gernot Rohr will not risk exacerbating the injury.Therefore, the new Trabzonspor signing may not feature again in Egypt.