Prime Minister Patrick Achi resigns, paving the way for a reshuffle

Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi presented his resignation as well as that of his government on Wednesday, April 13, and a new team “tightened by about thirty members” will be appointed next week to take into account “the global economic situation”, a announced President Alassane Ouattara.

A ministerial reshuffle had been expected for several months in Côte d’Ivoire, the executive wanting to set up a smaller government team. “Indeed, it is imperative to reduce state spending while redirecting it towards social and security resilience”said the head of state.

Like many countries on the continent, Côte d’Ivoire is facing inflation in the prices of basic necessities, which is hitting the poorest households. In March, the government capped the prices of around twenty products such as rice and sugar. The country is also faced with the jihadist threat in its northern part, which extends from neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, plagued for several years by violence from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Alassane Ouattara reshuffles the cards

Will Patrick Achi be reappointed next week? It is not certain. Tuesday, April 19, President Ouattara is to bring together parliamentarians in congress in the political capital Yamoussoukro for a speech on the state of the nation. According to the online news site AfricaIntelligence, he could announce on this occasion the appointment of a vice-president, a post provided for by the Constitution, but vacant for almost two years. Patrick Achi, whose relations are good with the Ivorian president, could inherit the title.

“This may be an opportune moment for Mr. Ouattara to reshuffle the cards by positioning several lieutenants: a vice-president, a prime minister, a secretary general at the presidency, even if it means observing later which one is the most presidential”deciphers political scientist Sylvain N’Guessan.

The next elections in Côte d’Ivoire, municipal and regional, must be held in 2023. The presidential election must, for its part, take place in 2025. The question of the succession of Alassane Ouattara is already arising in the ranks of the party in power, although the head of state has not yet officially decided whether or not he wants to run for a fourth term.

Mr. Achi was appointed in March 2021 after the death from cancer of his predecessor, Hamed Bakayoko, who had himself succeeded Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who died in July 2020. Métis born November 17, 1955 in Paris d an Ivorian father from the south of the country and a French mother, he is a defector from the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), the former single party.

At the head of his government, Mr. Achi led the political dialogue with the opposition, two and a half months of debates for “strengthening democratic culture”after the 2020 presidential election violence that left 85 dead and 500 injured.