Home Communiqués des ministres COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2025

COMMUNIQUE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2025

On Wednesday 18 June 2025, a Council of Ministers was held from 11:00 to 13:30, 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 two (02) ordinances and the related ratification bills:

The Taxe de Soutien au Développement de l’Activité de Raffinage (TSDAR) was introduced in 2018 into the price structure of petroleum products in order to restructure the financial debt of Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR). By the end of June 2025, the resources generated by the TSDAR will enable SIR to pay off all its debts and restore its financial equilibrium.

Consequently, these two orders have the effect of abolishing the TSDAR and reallocating part of its proceeds.

As a result, the levies formerly charged on the price of petroleum products as part of the TSDAR have been scaled down and allocated to financing the electricity sector, which has been facing structural difficulties for several years.

As a result, from1 July 2025, resources corresponding to around two-thirds (2/3) of the former TSDAR levies will be allocated, in the form of a new component of the Taxe Spécifique Unique sur les Produits Pétroliers (TSU), to finance priority non-productive investments in the electricity sector.

This measure will make it possible to raise 50 billion CFA francs a year to finance projects such as the Electricity for All Programme.

DRAFT DECREES

The Council adopted three (03) decrees:

These decrees contribute to the application of law no. 2020-950 of 7 December 2020 amending and supplementing law no. 2013-537 of 30 July 2013 on the organisation of the National Statistical System. They aim to establish a coherent and transparent framework for the governance and supervision of statistical production practices, in order to guarantee the efficiency and quality of statistical services, and to strengthen the confidence of the public and international partners in national statistical data.

To this end, they organise the conditions and procedures for granting statistical approval, which is essential for the reliability of official statistical data or data intended to be published on behalf of the State. They determine a precise protocol for collaboration and communication of data between the various players in the National Statistical System, in order to guarantee the protection of personal information. In addition, they set a pricing scale that takes into account the specific characteristics of requesters, to ensure that statistical data is accessible to all.

The Council adopted a decree instituting the Digital Nationality Certificate and the Recognitive Nationality Attestation.

This decree aims to streamline the procedure for issuing Certificates of Nationality. To this end, it introduces the Recognitive Attestation of Nationality and the electronic issuance of the Certificate of Nationality.

The Attestation Recognitive de Nationalité will be issued on production of a copy of the existing Certificate of Nationality by a central depository to which the courts will send copies of all Certificates of Nationality issued throughout the country for safekeeping.

This procedure exempts Ivorians with an uncontested Certificate of Nationality from having to apply for a new Certificate of Nationality whenever necessary.

Furthermore, as part of the drive to modernise public services, the Certificate of Nationality and the Recognitive Attestation of Nationality may be issued in electronic form, and their validity is the same as that of documents of the same nature issued in paper form.

The Council adopted three (03) 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 SAMOA Agreement, signed on 15 November 2023 in SAMOA.

The SAMOA Agreement, signed to replace the Cotonou Agreement, links the European Union (EU) and its Member States to the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OEACP).

This new agreement aims to strengthen the political and economic partnership between the signatory states and to produce mutually more advantageous results between the partners.

Ratification of this agreement will enable our country to benefit from easier access to European markets, ensure the expansion of our export products and attract more foreign capital.

The Council adopted a decree declaring the 30 ha 41 a 82 ca site allocated to the Tengrela solar power plant project to be in the public interest.

With a view to extending the plant’s capacity, this decree includes the above-mentioned site within the project’s boundaries.

As a result, holders of customary rights, definitive title deeds to the rights of way for the various projects, tenants or their assignees will receive compensation in accordance with the regulations in force. Any transaction, any new construction, even of a precarious nature, and any type of work likely to modify the state of the soil on the site are therefore prohibited.

The Council adopted a decree approving the public service concession agreements for verifying the conformity of products shipped to Côte d’Ivoire, and a related communication.

The programme for verifying the conformity of products shipped to Côte d’Ivoire essentially involves reducing the importation into the country of products that do not meet the country’s standards and technical specifications, and protecting the population against non-compliant, counterfeit, dangerous or unfit-for-consumption products.

The1st phase of the programme, launched in September 2017, expires on 30 June 2025. It required the signing of four (04) public service concession agreements for checking the conformity to standards of products shipped to Côte d’Ivoire, with four (04) operators, namely Bureau Veritas Inspection Valuation Assessment and Control-BIVAC BV, COTECNA Inspection SA, INTERTEK International Limited and Société Générale de Surveillance SA (SGS), which carried out the concessioned services across ports of shipment around the world.

In view of the convincing results achieved during the1st phase of the programme, this decree approves the renewal of the programme, as well as the agreements signed with the concessionaires, for a period of five (05) years.

B/- INDIVIDUAL MEASURES

On behalf of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Minister for Sport and the Living Environment ;

The Council adopted one (01) communication relating to the minutes of the deliberations of the Committee responsible for examining draft appointments and draft organisation charts for ministerial departments.

Thus, on the proposal of the technical Ministers concerned, the Council adopted a decree on the organisation of the Ministry of Water and Forests, and decrees on appointments to several posts in the various ministerial departments and public structures.

The list of appointees will be published at a later date.

C/- COMMUNICATIONS

The Council adopted a communication concerning support for the candidacy of the President of the National Council for Human Rights for the post of member of the Independent Permanent Commission for Human Rights (CPIDH) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The election of new members of the CPIDH will take place on 20 and 21 June 2025, in Istanbul, in the Republic of Turkey, during the 51st Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers.

As part of the promotion of Ivorian experts in inter-state cooperation organisations, the Council instructed the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, and all the Ministers concerned to take the appropriate steps to ensure the success of the candidacy of our compatriot, Mrs Namizata SANGARE, current President of the National Human Rights Council.

The Council adopted a communication on the appointment of the new Executive Secretary of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organisation (ALCO).

This sub-regional intergovernmental organisation was set up by the Heads of State of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo to provide a cross-border response to the vulnerability of mobile populations to HIV and to facilitate the free movement of people and goods along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor.

Since the end of May 2024, the Executive Secretariat of the organisation, which statutorily belongs to our country, has remained vacant.

The Council therefore gave its approval for the appointment of our compatriot, Mrs ME Hortense, Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Félix Houphouët Boigny, selected following a call for competition, as Executive Secretary of ALCO.

The Council adopted a communication on the state of the environment in Côte d’Ivoire.

In recent years, Côte d’Ivoire has experienced economic and demographic growth, which has put negative pressure on the environment. Faced with this situation, the government has drawn up an action plan contained in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) revised in 2022, raising its ambition to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 28.25% to 30.41% by 2030.

Based on this national policy document, the country has developed an appropriate institutional and legal framework for environmental management, and has taken measures to reduce its GHG emissions and cope with the harmful effects of climate change. With regard to adaptation measures aimed at reducing the vulnerability of ecosystems, populations and infrastructures to the adverse effects of climate change, 90 initiatives have been undertaken. The mapping of NDC-related initiatives also reveals 180 GHG mitigation initiatives currently being implemented.

However, the current state of the environment shows that the country remains heavily impacted by the adverse effects of climate change, despite the low rate of GHG emissions recorded.

Faced with this situation, which threatens the stability of the national economy, the Council has decided to strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s climate ambitions by drawing up new NDCs, known as NDC 3.0, with a view to sustainably containing the harmful effects of climate change and ensuring the resilience of ecosystems, infrastructures and populations.

The Council adopted a communication on strengthening the social and economic inclusion of vulnerable households through the implementation of the “Popote Familiale” project.

The “Popote Familiale” project is designed to strengthen the social and economic inclusion of vulnerable households through targeted food and non-food aid. It complements existing social safety net systems, to take into account poor and vulnerable households that are not covered by the Cash Transfer Programme.

The project covers 2,000 vulnerable households, each consisting of between five (05) and ten (10) people, throughout the country, who will receive a monthly food and hygiene kit worth 50,250 CFA francs over a period of seven (07) months.

The “Meals on Wheels” scheme is due to be rolled out from the end of June 2025, and will be completed in December 2025, at a total cost of 647.2 million CFA francs.

D- MISCELLANEOUS

– The Council heard a communication from the Minister for National Education and Literacy on the results of the examination for the Brevet d’Etude du Premier Cycle (BEPC), for the 2024-2025 school year. The results show that, out of a total of 606,922 candidates, 312,041 were admitted, giving an overall pass rate of 51.41%. These results represent an increase of 11.23% compared with 2024, when the pass rate was 40.18%.

Specifically, 160,967 girls were declared successful, i.e. 51.58%, compared with 48.42% for boys, 151,074 of whom passed.

– The next meeting of the Council of Ministers will be held on Wednesday 09 July 2025 in Abidjan.

Abidjan, Wednesday 18 June 2025
Mr Amadou COULIBALY

Minister for Communication, Government Spokesman

porteparolat@communication.gouv.ci