By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Madagascar’s President, Michael Randrianirina says anyone seeking to serve as a minister in the country’s new government will be subjected to lie detector tests, aiming to root out corrupt individuals.
Randrianirina, who took power in a coup in the Indian Ocean island in October, said on Thursday that Madagascar has procured a polygraph machine and a specialist to operate it to screen new government ministers.
“We will know who is corrupt and who can help us,” Randrianirina said. “We are not looking for someone who is 100% clean, but someone who is more than 60% clean.”
Randrianirina, a colonel in an elite army unit, overthrew President Andry Rajoelina after a weekslong uprising last year by mainly young Madagascans frustrated with the lack of government services and opportunities in a 32 million population battling poverty.
Randrianirina fired his entire Cabinet and dissolved the government last week, appointing a new Prime Minister on Sunday.
“After taking the polygraph test, candidates who fail will not proceed to an interview,” Randrianirina told reporters. “Those who pass the polygraph test will have an interview with me and the Prime Minister.”
Randrianirina has promised to hold new elections within two years of him taking power.
