A new law in the Comoros has sparked concerns among the 20,000 Malagasy nationals living in the Indian Ocean island nation. The law, promulgated in July, bans foreign nationals from certain jobs, including small-scale commercial activities. Larissa Razafitiana, a 37-year-old Madagascar national, is worried about the future of her shoe-selling business in Volo Volo, the largest market in the Comoros. She sends 50 to 100 euros ($56 to $112) a month to her family back in Madagascar's small town of Ambilobe.
The law, published on July 21, reserves certain small-scale commercial activities exclusively for people who are Comorian by birth. Although it is not yet enforced, it has alarmed many among the Malagasy community, who are mostly women who have come to earn a living. The Comoros has a poverty rate of around 45 percent, while Madagascar's poverty rate stands at 75 percent, according to the World Bank. The new law has sparked concerns that it may exacerbate economic hardship in both countries.
Supporters of the new law emphasize "economic sovereignty" and the "defence of Comorian citizens". Hamidou Mhoma, vice president of employers' organisation Nouvelle Opaco, said that the law is not xenophobic or discriminatory, but rather a law of social justice. He argued that the country has the right to choose the type of investors who should come to the Comoros. However, critics argue that the law will only drive Malagasy workers further into precarity.
Prominent lawyer Faizat Said Bacar said that making the Malagasy working in the country "illegal" would only reinforce their vulnerability. She argued that the law would affect a "very large number of Malagasy women who, even before coming to the Comoros, were already relatively precarious in their own country, with little support". Bacar also noted that the law excludes people who have earned Comorian citizenship through naturalisation.
Public law scholar Mohamed Rafsandjani criticised the law, saying that it has a "xenophobic dimension". He argued that the republic guarantees equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin. Rafsandjani also questioned the effectiveness of the measure from an economic and political standpoint.
Relations between the Comoros and Madagascar have been tumultuous for years. Direct flights between their capitals only resumed in July after a five-year break prompted by a dispute linked to the trafficking of gold bars from Madagascar via Comoros to Dubai. In August, hundreds of members of the Malagasy community gathered in a Moroni stadium to demand, among other things, Madagascar diplomatic representation in the country.
The new law has also sparked concerns about the impact on remittances to Madagascar. For Malagasy immigrants, part of the attraction of the Comoros islands is that remittances to Madagascar are in euros, to which the Comorian franc is pegged. Malagasy community leader Moussa Ravelomantso said that for Malagasy who are back home, the Comoros is like France, and that they see the Comoros as a source of economic opportunity.
Key points
- The Comoros' new law reserves certain small-scale commercial activities for citizens by birth, affecting 20,000 Malagasy nationals living in the islands.
- The law has sparked concerns about economic hardship and xenophobia, with critics arguing that it will drive Malagasy workers further into precarity.
- The new law has also raised concerns about the impact on remittances to Madagascar and the economic relationship between the two countries.
