The private sector, in Cote d’Ivoire, the first investor and employer, contributes for “80 percent of State revenue,” the Ivorian Prime Minister, Patrick Achi said on Thursday in Abidjan at the opening of the economic forum CGECY Academy 2021.
“The private sector is the first investor, the first employer and the main contributor with 80 percent to state revenue,” said Mr. Patrick Achi, who represented the Ivorian head of state, Alassane Ouattara.
This CGECY Academy economic forum, initiated by the General Confederation of Businesses of Cote d’Ivoire (CGECY and Ivorian Employers), has as its theme this year “Crises and resilience of businesses in Africa.”
According to the head of the Ivorian government, “2/3 of businesses in Africa have been impacted by the crisis. (And) in Cote d’Ivoire, nearly 38 percent have temporarily stopped working and 2.5 percent have stopped permanently.
Mr. Patrick Achi welcomed the commitment of private sector actors to map the crises and seek solutions to oppose resilience to internal or external shocks to the company.
The head of the Ivorian government said that in Cote d’Ivoire “a growth of 6.5 percent is expected for 2021, thanks to the combined efforts of the private sector” and the State. The previous year, the country, affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, posted a growth of 2 percent.
In Cote d’Ivoire, some 830 companies and 114,000 informal sector actors have benefited from state support to enable them to cope with the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr. Patrick Achi noted that the informal sector represents 80 percent.
The Ivorian Minister of Trade and Industry, Souleymane Diarrassouba, invited the private sector to be “bolder and less timid,” a call to commit to seize opportunities despite the crisis situations.
The president of the Ivorian Employers, Jean-Marie Ackah, expressed the wish that the public-private dialogue which is “so dear” to the government continues to be improved, and that the implementation of resolutions and joint decisions is accelerated.
After the 2018 edition devoted to industrialization, the CGECY Academy produced a white paper on the industrialization of Cote d’Ivoire, whose recommendations have been partly integrated into the National Development Plan 2021-2025.
During the two-day forum, participants will focus on resilience to crises. The French economist Jacques Attali has indicated how to ensure adjustments or reorientations to adapt its business model to the new paradigms that have emerged with the pandemic.
The CGECY Academy 2021 is the 9th edition of this forum, the most important economic forum organized by the Ivorian private sector. Ghana, a neighbor to Côte d’Ivoire, is the guest of honor of this edition.
“Throughout these years, we have worked to seek and promote ways and means of accelerated development of the private sector, with particular emphasis on solutions to the concerns of business leaders,” said Mr. Jean-Marie Ackah.
AP/ls/fss/abj/APA