Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Ivorian parliamentarians are at work. The Commission for Economic and Financial Affairs (CAEF) of the second chamber, chaired by Koumoué Koffi Moïse, examined and then adopted at the end of the week, 08 bills, presented by Moussa Sanogo, Minister to the Prime Minister in charge of Budget and state portfolio.

These are bills relating to the law on the regulation of the State Budget for the year 2018, rail transport between Abidjan and Ouagadougou, the operation 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 d'Ivoire, the exemption of companies governed by Spanish law from withholding tax on non-commercial profits, specific incentive measures for investments made in the agricultural processing sector, a support tax for the Ivorian Refining Company (SIR).

These bills were passed unanimously by the 15 members present out of the 16 that make up the Commission and the latter gave their discharge for the ratification of the said texts.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, world oil prices are falling.

Some senators wondered if this situation will not have negative impacts on the financial health of the Ivorian Refining Company (SIR), which benefited from a rescue plan put in place in 2017 by the Ivorian government.

In responding to this concern, Moussa Sanogo, Government Commissioner acknowledged that with the drop in world oil prices, the players in the economic game are impacted, but not in the same way.

“It is true that the players in the economic game are relatively impacted by the drop in oil prices. But it's still not the same way," he said.

Taking the case of the SIR, Moussa Sanogo said that this is not good news, because this drop will affect the selling price of the company.

“For the SIR, this is not necessarily good news because it will affect its selling prices. But for the State, this leaves a little more leeway in terms of tax levies. On the other hand, when costs are on the rise, this makes good numbers for oil companies.

But the State is obliged to give up a certain level of taxation so that the price at the pump is bearable by households,” explained the Minister attached to the Prime Minister in charge of the Budget and the State portfolio.

In terms of net profit, the SIR achieved 23 billion FCFA in turnover in 2019. The Minister indicated that this year, the projections are down, because the Company will achieve around 15 billion FCFA.

Asked what will be the level of execution of the bills submitted for examination, the Minister attached to the Prime Minister in charge of the Budget and the State Portfolio maintained that it is clear that with the COVID pandemic -19, “we will not go at the same pace as we would have liked. »

However, he is satisfied that the information on the evolution of the pandemic in Ivory Coast is rather favorable, since things are improving inside the country.

“Efforts will be more focused on Abidjan, especially in difficult areas. This will allow us to quickly revive the economic machine,” concluded Moussa Sanogo.