It is a poisoned gift for the Ivorians. The day after Christmas Day, the Minister of Energy announced that electricity would see a further increase on January 1, 2024: +10%, in order to prevent the sector from incurring any more deficits, and achieves financial balance. In a period of general rise in prices, the news provokes discontent among heads of household.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Abidjan, François Hume-Ferkatadji
Neighbors who became friends, they installed a small plastic table and a few chairs in the alley in which they live. Videos of President Alassane Ouattara dating from 2016 appear on phones, promising to liberalize the electricity distribution sector. This is in order to achieve a drop in futures prices. Today, they are disillusioned by the second increase in electricity prices in less than 6 months.
“ Fuel, electricity, food… it’s like you’re taking several shots at the same time. As you seek to resist, there is always a missile that arrives unexpectedly. »
The government prefers to speak of a “ tariff readjustment » of the price of electricity for the 3.9 million subscribers. Energy that has been subsidized for several years, which is not to the liking of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has made obtaining certain loans conditional on the cessation of these subsidies. But the increase is going all the worse as consumers already have doubts about their bills
“ We’re not sure what we’re paying for. Because we feel like we pay the bills even for those above us. Really, we’re fed up », Explains a resident.
In this tailor’s workshop, one of the employees fears for her salary due to the increase in costs: “We has to pay rent, kids in school, etc. We workers also have to pay for electricity »
Despite this increase, the price per kilowatt hour remains lower than that practiced in the sub-region.
For Jean Baptiste Koffi, president of the Confederation of Consumer Organizations of Côte d’Ivoire, this increase leads to certain concerns regarding ” housewife’s basket » even if he recognizes that users can also demonstrate economy and fight against waste in their daily practice:
Jean-Baptiste Koffi, president of the Confederation of Consumer Organizations of Côte d’Ivoire, is concerned about the consequences on the “housewife’s basket”