Daniel RAJAKOBA was the Malagasy Labour Secretary during three regimes (from 1972 to 1975) :

• Government of Major General Gabriel RAMANANTSOA
• Government of Colonel Richard RATSIMANDRAVA
• Military Directoire headed by Major General Gilles ANDRIAMAHAZO.

His achievements :

• He has reformed the Labour legislation and on Social Security. He also reformed the general statute of the workers  through dispassionate dialogues with the trade unions of the public and private sectors.
• He set justice in the Public Service entry examination, and more fairness in the posting of officers (e.g. that couples should never be separated).
• He established the National Institute For Training Promotion with the support of the International Labour Organisation  (ILO): a great number of Malagasy workers still takes advantage from that Institute.

That he has been and appointed at the same office during three regimes has much to do with his sense of communication and his integrity as a man of Faith.

This is what he said in an interview for a Christian university magazine of French-speaking Africa “Découvertes” in 1979 :

Découvertes – You say that Christ has a solution for any human problem, be it a social or economic problem. Can you please give illustrations of how He helped you in dealing with the difficulties you encountered, especially when you were the Labour Secretary ?

Daniel Rajakoba – General Ramanantsoa’s government had first to face social upheavals which were the causes and immediate consequences of the strikes in May 1972. Restoring the public order was a priority so that the country go back to work. As a Labour Secretary, I was much more concerned by the strikes, because I was responsible for the workers of the public and private sectors.

The trade Unions claimed for a revision of the civil servants general statute and their grading, a revision of the labour legislation and of social security. They claimed for the use of the Malagasy language at any level of the administration, often with a shade of xenophobia, and for a structural change of the society according to a Marxist vision of it… As I had no political experience at that time and being recently converted, I relied on the Lord alone in facing these difficulties.

I sat up and prayed once a week with three other Christian brothers. We expounded our problems to the Lord and asked Him to go ahead of us, convince the minds of justice, and inspire our words when we meet the people. For more delicate subjects, I set some nights apart for prayers and sometimes fasting. And I saw that the Lord had never forsaken me: I saw problems being solved harmoniously without any resort to force. The relevant claims of the unions could be satisfied with the cooperation of the unionists themselves after we assessed the realities and potential of the country.