Home Communiqués des ministres COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 15 JANUARY 2025

COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 15 JANUARY 2025

On Wednesday 15 January 2025, a Council of Ministers was held from 11:00 to 13:00, 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

BILLS AND ORDINANCES

Ministry of Finance and Budget ;

The Council adopted an ordinance determining the powers, organisation, composition and operation of the Autorité de Régulation de la Commande Publique, abbreviated to ARCOP, and the related ratification bill.

This order reorganises the bodies of the national public procurement regulatory authority and consolidates its powers of control and sanction, with a view to strengthening the national public procurement management system, in line with the WAEMU community strategy.

To this end, it changes the name of the ARNMP to ARCOP, so as to reaffirm the material jurisdiction of the regulatory authority over both public contracts and public service delegation agreements or public-private partnership contracts.

In addition, it gives ARCOP quasi-jurisdictional powers to ensure that the principles of good governance are applied in the public procurement process, and to punish any irregularities relating to the award and execution of public contracts, with a view to eliminating fraud and corruption from the public procurement management system in the long term.

DRAFT DECREES

The Council adopted a decree approving the contract for the transfer of industrial assets and the lease of land and buildings making up the Gagnoa paddy rice processing unit as part of a partnership between the State of Côte d’Ivoire and the economic operator SACA du GOH.

This project forms part of the industrial networking programme currently underway, to ensure national production of good quality milled rice in order to guarantee long-term coverage of the country’s rice consumption needs.

In accordance with current legislation on Public-Private Partnership Contracts, this decree approves the terms of the contract and commits to its implementation.

The Council adopted five (05) decrees, each granting a mining exploration licence:

These exploration licences are issued in accordance with the required technical and environmental conditions. They are valid for four (04) years.

The Council adopted a decree ratifying the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the Government of the Republic of Singapore.

Signed in 2014, as part of the strengthening of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, this agreement aims to guarantee Singaporean and Ivorian economic agents operating in the two States, the protection of their investments based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit.

Ratification of this agreement will help attract more Singaporean investment to our country and contribute to the development of high value-added sectors such as finance and pharmaceutical production.

The Council adopted a decree ratifying Loan Agreement No. 2024054/PR CI 2024 46 00, for a total amount of twenty-eight billion six hundred and thirty-eight million (28,638,000,000) CFA francs, signed on 12 November 2024, between the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, for the partial financing of the project to reinforce the Fresco-Sassandra-San Pedro-Grand-Bereby crossroads section of the coastal road.

The financing, which is the subject of this agreement, will make it possible to reinforce the 180.5 km section of the coastal road with a pavement width of 7.40 m and to develop the necessary shoulders, with a view to improving trade between the regions of San Pedro, Gboklè and the District of Abidjan, and facilitating access to these important tourist, agricultural and mining production areas.

The Council has adopted a decree relating to long leases on urban land in the State’s private domain.

This decree is part of the modernisation of the legal framework governing the construction and town planning sector. It sets out the procedures for concluding and terminating long leases on urban land in the State’s private domain, specifically those located within areas covered by urban planning documents, with the exception of plots intended for industry.

In particular, it sets out the procedure for drawing up the long lease contract, which must now comply with the requirements of the Integrated Urban Land Management System, and provides for the various cases in which the Administration may terminate this particular type of contract.

The Council adopted a decree on the application of the ban on smoking in public places and public transport.

This decree strengthens the protection of citizens against exposure to tobacco smoke, in application of law no. 2019-676 of 23 July 2019 on tobacco control in Côte d’Ivoire. Under the terms of this decree, the ban on anyone exposing others to tobacco smoke is also extended to the smoke from new tobacco products, which regardless of their sophisticated appearance are just as harmful.

It also obliges managers, owners or any person in charge of enclosed or open public places and public transport:

The Council adopted a decree on veterinary pharmacy.

This decree is in application of law no. 2020-995 of 30 December 2020 on the Veterinary Public Health Code. It specifies the procedures for issuing approvals and operating veterinary pharmaceutical establishments, and lays down the conditions for importing, labelling and prescribing veterinary medicines, with a view to creating a health environment that is more conducive to the development of livestock farming and highly resilient in the face of the proliferation of antimicrobial-resistant micro-organisms.

To this end, it is setting up a national veterinary pharmacovigilance mechanism capable of effectively ensuring the safe use of veterinary medicines, monitoring their adverse effects and promoting good pharmacovigilance practices.

B/- INDIVIDUAL MEASURES

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

The Council adopted two (02) decrees appointing two (02) Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.

The following are thus appointed

The Council also approved the appointment of Mr JESÚS ALBERTO GARCIA as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, with residence in Cotonou, Benin.

C/- COMMUNICATIONS

Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Development, in liaison with the Ministry of Finance and Budget;

The Council adopted a communication on the preparation of the National Development Plan (NDP 2026-2030).

Since 2012, three national development plans, namely the NDP 2012-2015, the NDP 2016-2020 and the NDP 2021-2026, have been drawn up and implemented, in conjunction with the “Côte d’Ivoire 2040” prospective study, with a view to ensuring the country’s economic and social transformation, reducing poverty and social inequalities and improving the well-being of the population.

The implementation of these various national programmes has enabled our country to reposition itself as one of the strongest performers, with an average annual GDP growth rate of 9.6% over the period 2012-2015. This development dynamic has continued over the period 2016-2024, despite an unfavourable international economic context, marked in particular by the COVID 19 pandemic and persistent international tensions.

The annual reports on the implementation of the 2021-2025 NDP, in particular, show generally satisfactory macroeconomic performance, with growth rates of 7.1% in 2021, 6.2% in 2022, 6.5% in 2023 and projected growth rates of 7.2% in 2024 and 7% in 2025.

The NDP 2026-2030 is being drawn up with a view to consolidating and strengthening the achievements in economic, social and environmental development initiated by the previous NDPs. The process of preparing the NDP 2026-2030 will begin with a strategic diagnosis to examine the progress made and the major challenges for the future, before drawing up the actual development strategy and its final adoption by Parliament.

The overall cost of preparing the NDP 2026-2030 is estimated at 1.6 billion CFA francs.

D- MISCELLANEOUS

– The Council heard a statement by the Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy on the start of production at phase 2 of the Baleine deposit by ENI CÔTE D’IVOIRE LIMITED and its partner PETROCI HOLDING.

On 28 December 2024, Eni Côte d’Ivoire Limited and its partner PETROCI Holding successfully started production from phase 2 of the Baleine oil field, in accordance with the development schedule validated by the Government on adjacent blocks CI-101 and CI-802.

This second phase of production from the Baleine field consisted mainly of the completion of four production wells and four injection wells, the upgrading of a production and storage vessel, the FPSO Kong, and a storage and offloading vessel, the FSO Yamoussoukro, as well as the work required to transfer natural gas from these new units to the existing FPSO, for use in thermal power plants, at an investment cost of USD 3,147 million, or 2,000 billion CFA francs.

Crude oil production in phase 2 will reach 50,000 to 60,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), compared with the planned 35,000 bbl/d (an increase of 43% to 72%). Natural gas production will be 50 to 60 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), compared with a forecast of 40 mmcfd (an improvement of 25% to 50%).

Côte d’Ivoire began production from phase 1 of the development of this field in August 2023.

The combined production of phases 1 and 2 of Baleine will make it possible to achieve a total of 75,000 to 85,000 bbl/d of crude oil and 80 to 85 mmcfd of natural gas.

The information gathered from the work on phases 1 and 2 will be used to refine the studies for phase 3, for which the final investment decision will be taken at the end of 2025. Expected production from this third phase should bring total production from the Baleine field to 150,000 bbl/d of crude oil and 200 mmcfd of natural gas.

This performance from the Baleine field will boost national hydrocarbon production to between 82,000 and 92,000 bbl/d of crude oil and 315 to 320 mmcfd of natural gas.

By 2028, national hydrocarbon production will reach 200,000 bbl/d of crude oil and 450 mmcfd of natural gas.

This major step forward illustrates Côte d’Ivoire’s commitment to positioning the extractive and energy resources sector as a lever for sustained and sustainable growth.

– The next meeting of the Council of Ministers will take place in Abidjan on Thursday 13 February 2025.

Abidjan, Wednesday 15 January 2025

Amadou COULIBALY

Minister of Communication,

Government Spokesman

porteparolat@communication.gouv.ci