Home Communiqués des ministres COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2025

COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2025

On Wednesday 12 February 2025, a Council of Ministers was held from 11:00 to 13:15, at the Palais de la Présidence de la République in Abidjan, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Mr Alassane OUATTARA, President of the Republic, Head of State.

The deliberations of the Council focused on the following points:

A/-General measures,

B/-Individual measures

C/-Communications

D/-Miscellaneous

A/- GENERAL MEASURES

DRAFT ORDINANCES

The Council adopted an ordinance on the creation, remit, organisation and operation of the Côte d’Ivoire Rural Land Information System, abbreviated to SIFOR-CI, and the related ratification bill.

This ordinance is part of the implementation of the National Rural Land Tenure Security Programme, which is designed to ensure the full application of Law No. 98-750 of 23 December 1998 on rural land tenure by 2033, by significantly integrating dematerialisation and information and communication technologies into the programme.

Set up within the Rural Land Agency (AFOR), SIFOR is both an information system designed to automate the management of all workflows and a digital register to guarantee the diligent conservation and production of data and deeds relating to rural land.

Deploying SIFOR will remove difficulties in the intervention circuit, significantly reduce intervention times and costs, and speed up rural land tenure security operations.

The Council adopted an ordinance extending the rules relating to the regulation, control and monitoring of activities in the Hevea and Oil Palm sectors to activities in the Coconut sector, and the relevant ratification bill.

The aim of the ordinance is to revitalise the Coconut industry and reposition our country as a major producer and processor of coconuts, in line with the Government’s policy of efficient management of public finances.

Thus, instead of a whole new legislation and a new structure dedicated to the activities of the Coconut sector, this ordinance extends the scope of Law No 2017-540 of 03 August 2017 laying down the rules relating to the regulation, control and monitoring of activities in the Hevea and Oil Palm sectors, to the activities of the Coconut sector. As a result, the missions of regulation, development, control and monitoring of the activities of the Hevea and Oil Palm sectors devolved to the Hevea-Oil Palm Council are also extended to the activities of the Coconut sector.

In this context, the ordinance reconstitutes the deliberative body, specifically the Board of Directors of the Conseil Hévéa-Palmier à Huile, so as to take into account the representatives of the interprofessional Coconut sector.

DRAFT DECREES

The Council adopted a decree applying the provisions of decree no. 2023-160 of 22 March 2023 laying down the terms and conditions for the marketing of Hevea and Oil Palm products and by-products and decree no. 2023-161 of 22 March 2023 laying down the terms and conditions for issuing approvals to carry out supervision activities on village plantations and the marketing of Hevea and Oil Palm products and by-products to activities in the Coconut sector.

The two (02) aforementioned decrees were issued as part of the restructuring of all segments of the Hevea and Oil Palm value chain. They reorganise the two sectors, from collection to export of the products, with the introduction of a new marketing model, clarification of the role of each player and adjustment of the conditions for issuing approval to operators.

As part of the drive to revive the Coconut industry and regulate standards in this area, this decree extends the scope of the provisions of Decree no. 2023-160 of 22 March 2023 and Decree no. 2023-161 of 22 March 2023 to Coconut industry activities.

The Council adopted a decree amending decree no. 2013-279 of 24 April 2013 on the pricing of legal fees and costs in civil, commercial, administrative and social matters, as amended by decree no. 2014-259 of 18 May 2014.

Pursuant to Law No. 2024-362 creating the Register of beneficial owners of legal persons and legal arrangements, this decree determines and inserts into the regulations in force on the pricing of legal fees and costs, the costs of declaring the beneficial owner of legal persons and legal arrangements in the register of beneficial owners as well as the costs of amending or supplementing the declaration of information concerning beneficial owners.

For all formalities relating to these two types of declaration, the decree sets a fixed amount of 10,000 CFA francs.

The Council adopted a decree amending decree no. 2023-960 of 23 December 2023 on the organisation of the Ministry of Finance and Budget.

This decree amends the organisation and operation of the Ministry of Finance and Budget to ensure the deployment of supervisory authorities in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as provided for by Order 2022-237 of 30 March 2022 determining the system of administrative sanctions applicable in the fight against money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

To this end, a new body has been set up within the Ministry of Finance and Budget, called the Financial Monitoring Group (Groupe de Surveillance Financière – GSF), which is responsible for organising and managing the monitoring of taxable persons and for enforcing the sanctions falling within the remit of the Directorate General of Customs.

In addition, the dematerialisation of public procurement and the ISO 9001 certification of the Public Procurement Directorate General have necessitated the reorganisation and adaptation of several departments dedicated to the Integrated Public Procurement Management System (SIGOMAP).

The Council adopted a decree ratifying Loan Agreement No. 2023057/PR CI 2024 22 00, for a total amount of thirty billion (30,000,000,000) CFA francs, signed on 14 May 2024, between the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, for the partial financing of the Bouaké-Kanawolo motorway construction project: Bouaké-Kobo section (69.5 km).

The project involves the construction of a 69.5 km 2×2 lane motorway linking Bouaké and Kanawolo, with a view to supporting the growth in road traffic on the corridor linking Bouaké, Kanawolo and the hinterland countries.

The Council adopted a decree ratifying Loan Agreement N° 2000200006753, for a total amount of twenty-four million six hundred and thirty-four thousand (24,634,000) Euros, i.e. sixteen billion one hundred and fifty-eight million eight hundred and forty-four thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight (16,158,844,738) CFA francs, signed on 18 December 2024, between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, to finance the Competitive Aquaculture and Sustainable Fisheries Value Chain Development Project (PRODECAP).

The project aims to significantly increase the contribution of the fisheries and aquaculture sector to the development of local economies. More specifically, it plans to support the management of maritime, lagoon and continental fisheries, and the development of aquaculture, with the strengthening of broodstock, the establishment of hatcheries, the commercial production of fry and the formulation of fish feed.

The Council adopted a decree ratifying Loan and Implementation Contract No BMZ-NO.2017 65 288, for a total amount of twenty-eight million (28 000 000) Euros, i.e. eighteen billion three hundred and sixty-six million seven hundred and ninety-six thousand (18 366 796 000) CFA francs, signed on 05 December 2024, between KREDITANSTALT FÜR WIEDERAUFBAU (KFW) and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, under the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme-Phase I Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Interconnection: Abidjan Loop.

The financing under this agreement will be used to build the 400-kilovolt Abidjan backbone as part of the above-mentioned programme. This electrical facility is intended to reinforce the electrical network in the District of Abidjan, meet forecast demand from the new industrial zones of Bingerville and Akoupé-Zeudji, increase the transit of energy to the interior of the country, and generally guarantee the security and stability of the electricity supply.

The Council adopted a decree on the creation, remit, organisation and operation of the National Public Hospital Establishment known as the Bouaké Heart Institute, abbreviated to ICB, and a related communication.

The ICB is designed to be an establishment of excellence with a national and sub-regional vocation. It occupies a built area of 15,000m2, with an estimated average annual capacity of 12,000 consultations, 4,750 hospitalisations, 3,800 cardiological emergencies, 520 intensive care patients and 290 open-heart surgeries.

The ICB also has a training centre for national and foreign doctors, in partnership with the Montreal Heart Institute and the Nantes University Hospital, with a view to significantly increasing the number of cardiologists in Côte d’Ivoire and ensuring that medical and paramedical staff receive ongoing training in technological innovations.

The ICB is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2025. It will be phased in gradually, reaching full operating capacity by 2027.

The operation of the ICB, in tandem with the Abidjan Heart Institute (ICA), will undoubtedly improve access to high-quality cardiology diagnostics and care, actively prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce the mortality rate and the number of premature deaths linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke in our country by at least 25%.

B/- INDIVIDUAL MEASURES

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Ivorians Living Abroad;

The Council approved the appointment of three (03) Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire:

C/- COMMUNICATIONS

The Council adopted a communication on the Summit of African Heads of State on energy in Dar es Salaam, as part of the “Mission 300” initiative.

A high-level delegation led by the Prime Minister took part in the meeting, held from 27 to 28 January 2025, on the “Mission 300” initiative of the World Bank (WB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), launched in April 2024 to provide access to electricity for some 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.

On this occasion, twelve (12) of the pilot countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, presented a national energy pact defining the reforms and actions essential for universal access to electricity by 2030 and an operationally and financially reliable energy sector.

The main commitments made by the government include rehabilitating and extending energy infrastructure at competitive costs, adopting decentralised renewable energy solutions and encouraging private sector participation to unlock additional resources.

Implementing these commitments will require the mobilisation of 6.56 billion US dollars, or 3,980 billion CFA francs over the period 2025-2030, including 1,177 billion CFA francs of private investment.

The Council adopted a communication relating to the expression of interest by Eni Côte d’Ivoire Limited in oil block CI-707.

Block CI-707 covers an area of 2,926 km² and is located in the western margin of the national sedimentary basin. The Board gave its approval to start negotiations for a Production Sharing Contract with Eni Côte d’Ivoire Limited in this hitherto little explored area.

The award of this new block to Eni should eventually enable an integrated assessment of the area’s oil potential to be made.

The Council adopted a communication on the signing by Côte d’Ivoire of the Treaty establishing the African Energy Bank (AEB).

The BAE was set up in May 2022 by the Organisation of African Petroleum Producing Countries, in partnership with Afreximbank, to provide financing for African projects and infrastructure and thus reduce the dependence of African states on external financing in the hydrocarbons sector.

The Council gave its approval for the signature and initiation of the ratification process of the Agreement establishing the BAE.

The Council adopted a communication on the assessment and measures to accelerate the implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy (SNSR) 2021-2025.

The SNSR was adopted in July 2021 with the aim of significantly reducing the number of road accident victims throughout the country. It is essentially based on anticipation and prevention through awareness-raising measures, civic commitment to involve all road users and the general public, and improved care for accident victims.

The actions undertaken to implement the SNSR have resulted in a downward trend in road accidents over the period 2021-2023. This means a 24% fall in the number of accidents, from 10,054 to 8,089, a 9% fall in the number of deaths, from 833 to 765, and a 1% fall in the number of people injured, from 14,075 to 13,897, over the period in question.

However, this trend was reversed in the last quarter of 2024, with a resurgence in road accidents and an increase in the number of people killed and injured of 14% and 17% respectively over the period, compared with 2023.

A number of measures have also been adopted to speed up implementation of the SNSR, including strengthening the governance and funding of road safety policy, raising user awareness, dealing with accident-prone roads and eliminating mechanical causes.

D- MISCELLANEOUS

The next Council of Ministers meeting will be held on Wednesday 26 February 2025 in Abidjan.

Abidjan, Wednesday 12 February 2025
Mr Amadou COULIBALY

Minister of Communication,

Government Spokesman

porteparolat@communication.gouv.ci