In Ivory Coast, the controversy continues after the publication of a report from the Court of Auditors pointing out serious budgetary anomalies in the state accounts. Concerning revenue from tax stamps linked to passports and collection rights from national identity cards, the Ministries of the Interior and the Budget published a joint press release to explain themselves. Insufficient explanations according to opposition politicians, which raise new questions.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan, François Hume-Ferkatadji
During the Council of Ministers on Thursday, the government spokesperson simply praised the work of the Court of Auditors, an institution “ capable of judging the work of the executive » he rejoiced, while carefully avoiding answering the substance of the subject: the collection, the place of savings and the use of funds resulting from the collection rights of CNI and passports.
Read alsoIvory Coast: the Court of Auditors points to problems in revenues linked to the issuance of identity papers
Where is the tax stamp money and how is it used? The Ministries of the Interior and the Budget indicate that “ a dedicated account has been opened in a bank », without specifying the amount of the sums in question, nor the name of the bank. They also assure that “ this account is regularly funded for the recovery of the tax share due to the State “. According to them, 15,000 francs out of the 40,000 that a passport costs, when the Cour de Comptes set this share at 20,000 francs, adding confusion to the confusion.
The ministries, wishing to respond to the controversy, also note that “ The sum of 792,000 francs mentioned in the report represents only the online application fees for entry visas into Côte d’Ivoire paid by applicants upon their arrival at Félix Houphouët-Boigny airport. »
An explanation that startles Mamadou Koulibaly, opposition politician and former president of the National Assembly. He was one of the first to review the report. “ Over the twelve months of 2022, he writes on the social network 953,547 commercial passengers arrived in Ivory Coast, via Abidjan airport, among whom only eleven would have paid for their visas on site? »
Like many Internet users, he also points out the versions – which he considers discordant – between SNEDAI, a concessionaire responsible for manufacturing identity cards and collecting the money, founded by the current president of the National Assembly, and the ministries concerned.