Nirintsoa Jaona Clément is calling for state budget allocation to ensure payment of housing allowances for municipal agents. The Ministry of Interior and Decentralization has clarified the implementation terms for housing allowances intended for agents of decentralized territorial collectivities. While the decree now authorizes amounts up to 200,000 ariary, implementation will depend on decisions by municipal councils and the financial capacity of each collectivity.
Adopted by the Council of Ministers on June 10, 2026, Decree No. 2026-1476 sets this allowance between 14,000 ariary and 200,000 ariary for civil servants, agents of decentralized territorial collectivities, and those of public institutions. During a press conference, Interior and Decentralization Minister Hanitra Velonjara Tiaray Rakotonandrasana recalled that decentralized territorial collectivities have administrative and financial autonomy. The allowance amount will be set by the municipal or city council, based on each collectivity's resources. The ministry also published an explanatory note detailing payment procedures.
Vote
Among municipal agents, concerns remain about the feasibility of this measure. The president of the Autonomous Union of the Urban Commune of Antananarivo (CUA), Nirintsoa Jaona Clément, believes the central state should provide specific financing for this allowance. According to him, a municipality cannot create new budget resources during the fiscal year to cover this new expense. Otherwise, they must wait for the next municipal council budget vote, which could decide to increase certain revenues, particularly through local taxation.
He also notes that CUA has approximately 4,000 agents, including 250 employees on fixed-term contracts (ECD). According to him, only permanent agents with a public service registration number should benefit from this allowance, while ECD employees would not be eligible.
For the ministry, this reform aims to improve working conditions for public agents and progressively strengthen decentralization. Its effective implementation will now depend on each municipality's budget choices.
Lucia Rabarijaona