The Malagasy government’s ambitions to reform mining legislation have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, following a failed attempt to introduce a new mining code in November 2019. Madagascar has good competitive advantage – a resource-rich country endowed with cobalt, nickel, ilmenite and chromium and a wide diversity of precious and semi-precious metals. Facing a bleak economic outlook in the near term, the Malagasy government would be wise to see what measures they can introduce to restore investor confidence, resuscitate and revitalise the mining industry. Promoting investor confidence remains a stated ambition of the country’s president, which can only be achieved through more transparent, stable and conducive laws and regulations. Madagascar’s minerals can be harnessed to revive the nation’s ailing economy. The cases of Botswana and Chile demonstrate how good governance and skilful management can transform even one of the world’s poorest countries.
