The Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs
(CAEF) of the Senate has completed, on Friday, December 16, 2022, at the Félix
Houphouët-Boigny Foundation in Yamoussoukro, the review of the draft budget
bill on the State budget for the year 2023. The process had begun four days
earlier, with a general introduction by the Minister of Budget and State Owned
Entities Moussa Sanogo, who gave the characteristics of the 2023 budget, before
the oral presentation of the members of the government before the Senators who
had to wrest each the approval of the budgetary appropriations of the
ministerial department for which he is responsible.
At the end of the process, the upper house of the Ivorian Parliament adopted on
Friday, unanimously, the draft 2023 state budget and its fiscal annex, only a
few hours after Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Kone, inaugurated the
Yamoussoukro Tiébissou section of the northern highway. "Very good
prospects are opening up for us. The reasons for hope are real. (...) I leave
here confident in the future of our country; Côte d'Ivoire should continue its
march forward," said the Minister. He is fully satisfied with the quality
of the exchanges with the Senators who have proceeded to an in-depth
examination of the document and show that they are working with the executive
"to provide the country with quality laws, and more specifically, finance
laws on the scale of the greatness of Côte d'Ivoire.
During the meeting, the elected representatives of the upper house of
Parliament praised the quality of the work done by Minister Moussa Sanogo and
his great knowledge of the State's files. The 2023 budget bill, as presented,
balances in resources and expenses at 11,694.4 billion CFA francs, an increase
of 18.4% compared to 2022.
The government is counting on growth forecasts of 6.8% in 2022 and 7.3% in
2023, as well as a sharp drop in inflation from 6% today to 3% in 2023,
counting on the cessation or significant attenuation of the effects that are
causing the inflationary surge, in particular the rise in oil prices. It is
also projected an increase in tax revenues that would constitute 53.4% of the
budget, against 26.5% of borrowing on the money markets.
Referring to the fiscal annex 2023, Moussa Sanogo said that "there are 18
articles that include measures to mobilize resources, measures to strengthen
the capacity of economic actors, especially SMEs for which additional
facilities are granted. Tax Annex 2023 includes, among others, a measure to
adjust the minimum investment threshold required to benefit from the tax
reduction on profits, which is reduced to 25 million for SMEs instead of 100
million CFA francs. Other measures concern the strengthening of the
digitalization of tax control, the reduction of the airport tax and the
adaptation of the tax system to community legislation and international
directives. "Now that the budget has been adopted, we must roll up our
sleeves, mobilize resources, be efficient in spending and create wealth for our
citizens," said the minister, who stressed that the state will create the
conditions to increase agricultural production, especially food production.