8 bills presented by the Minister to the Prime Minister in charge of the Budget and State Portfolio, Moussa Sanogo, were adopted, this Thursday, by the venerable members of the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee (CAEF) of the Senate. Several legitimate concerns and concerns were raised.



After its passage before the deputies, in the National Assembly, as part of the examination of 8 bills supposed to strengthen the competitiveness of the economy in terms of electricity production, rail transport, of agricultural transformation..., the Minister to the Prime Minister in charge of the Budget and the State Portfolio, Moussa Sanogo was, this Thursday at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation in Yamoussoukro, facing the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee (Caef) of the Senate for the same exercise. Unanimously, the 15 members present out of the 16 that count this commission, gave their discharge for the ratification of the said texts, brilliantly defended by The Minister Moussa Sanogo, after nearly 4 hours of debates. This session chaired by the president of the Caef Koumoué Koffi Moïse, in strict compliance with the barrier measures against the spread of Covid-19.

These 8 bills relate to the law regulating the State Budget for the year 2018, rail transport between Abidjan and Ouagadougou, the functioning of the National Authority for the Regulation of Public Procurement (Anrmp), the partnership between the State of Côte d'Ivoire and the company envol partnerships Côte Côte d'Ivoire, the exemption of companies under Spanish law from withholding tax on non-commercial profits, specific incentives for investments made in the agricultural processing sector, a support tax for the Ivorian Refining Company (SIR), etc.

During the trading phase, one of the senators expressed concern about the impact of the decline in world oil prices – due to the Covid-19 pandemic – on the financial health of the SIR. A company benefiting from a rescue plan put in place by the government in 2016. In his response, the government commissioner sought to reassure himself while explaining the consequences of the volatility of world oil prices. "It is true that the players in the economic game are relatively impacted by the fall in oil prices. But it's still not the same way," he said. And to continue: "For the SIR, this is not necessarily good news because it will play on its selling prices. But for the state, this leaves a little more room for tax levies. On the other hand, when costs are trending upwards, it makes good numbers for oil companies. But the State is obliged to renounce a certain level of taxation so that the price at the pump is bearable by households (...). The RREC came out at 23 billion CFA francs last year in terms of net income. But this year, the projections are down we could say around 15 billion CFA francs, "said Moussa Sanogo. Also, on the question of the level of execution of the aforementioned projects, the Minister to the Prime Minister in charge of the Budget and the State Portfolio did not fail to reassure the senators again. "It is clear that with the Covid-19 pandemic, we will not go at the same pace as we would have liked. But we must still be satisfied with the fact that the information on the evolution of the pandemic in Côte d'Ivoire is rather favorable. Things are improving inside the country. Efforts will be more concentrated on Abidjan, especially in difficult areas. This will allow us to quickly restart the economic machine," said Minister Moussa Sanogo.