|
Political
Status
The Ivory Coast is a multi-party republic with a
presidential regime.
The president is elected for a five year term of
office by general election and holds executive
power.
The National Assembly is composed of 172 members,
elected also for a five year term of office and led
by a Prime Minister.
The constitution which dates from 31st October 1960
has been modified six times since.
The junta in power after the 31st October 1960 coup
has made another constitutional revision, under
President Robert Gueï, the leader of the
junta.
After tumultuous elections, Mr Laurent Gbagbo (who
was invested as president on 26th October 2000)
formed a new government on 4th January 2001 with 28
members (19 from the FPI party). His Prime Minister
is Mr Affi N'Guesson.
Historical
Outline :
16th
century : the first Portuguese trading stations
were set up (mainly for slaves)
17th century : it became the headquarters of French
trading stations
1915 : the railway lines were laid
1960 : independence under Félix
Houphouët-Boigny, who had been a minister in
the French government under the IVth Republic. The
PDCI became the only political party.
7th December 1993 : death of
Houphouët-Boigny
1995 : re-election of his successorr, Henry Konan
Bédié
24th December 1999 : military coup d'etat, General
Robert Gueï, the leader of the junta, is named
president
10th Decembre 2000, the deputies to the National
Assembly are elected in a country which is bitterly
divided by ethnic violence, leaving numerous dead
and wounded.
4th January 2001, President Laurent Gbagbo forms a
new government.
Geographical
situation
The territory of the
Ivory Coast is mainly made up of plains and valleys
with a mountain range in the north-west (the
highest peak is the Mt Momi at 1,302 metres).
The total surface area is 322,463 sq. kms., the
population count is 15,800,000, giving a population
density of 46 inhabitants per square kilometer.
The Ivory Coast is surrounded by the Gulf of Guinea
in the south (515 kms), Ghana in the east (668
kms), Burkina Faso (584 kms) and Mali (532 kms) in
the north, Guinea (610 kms) and Liberia (716 kms)
in the west.
The political capital is Yamoussoukro, the
financial and business capital is Abidjan.
Economy
The Ivory
Coast is going through a severe economic
crisis.
The sales price of raw materials (cocoa, coffee,
cotton) has dramatically dropped.
The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and
the European Union have suspended aid after having
discovered major embezzlements in 1999.
Since then the budgetary deficit and the internal
debt have shot up and economic growth has
stagnated.
Dialogue has been renewed with the IMF, who are
however still worried about the rise in military
expenditure and have decided to go through a period
of observation before going ahead again with
financial aid.
Improvement
in the financial situation is closely linked to a
normalization on the political front.
Economic
statistics
|
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
(p)
|
|
economic growth
(%)
|
6.0
|
5.4
|
4.5
|
4.5
|
|
inflation
(%)
|
5.2
|
3.0
|
2.5
|
5.0
|
|
public balance/GDP
(%)
|
-2.0
|
-1.8
|
-3.0
|
-1.5
|
|
exports (billions
$)
|
4.0
|
4.2
|
3.9
|
3.8
|
|
imports (billions
$)
|
2.7
|
2.6
|
2.6
|
2.8
|
|
trade balance
(billions $)
|
1.3
|
1.6
|
1.3
|
1.0
|
|
current balance/GDP
(%)
|
-4.3
|
-1.8
|
-2.2
|
-2.7
|
|
external debt
(billions $)
|
17.3
|
14.1
|
14.3
|
14.6
|
|
debt
services/exports (%)
|
31.0
|
37.0
|
34.0
|
34.0
|
General Information
|
Global GNP
1999
|
10.32
billion $
|
|
GNP per
inhabitant
|
700
dollars
|
|
Purchasing
power parity(PPP)
|
1484
dollars
|
|
GNP growth
1990-1997
|
+0.9% per
capita per annum
|
|
Households PPP
+$30000pa
|
70 000 =
2.5%
|
|
Households PPP
+$15000pa
|
180 000 =
7%
|
|
Households PPP
-$5000 pa
|
1 270 000 =
50%
|
|
Aid 1998
|
690 million
$
|
|
Foreign investment
1998
|
559 million
$
|
|
Growth of investment
1990-97
|
+16.5% per
annum
|
|
Revenue from tourism
1998
|
829 million
$
|
GDP divided by sectors of activity :
Agriculture
: 26%
Industry : 18.8%
Mining : 3.9%
Services : 51.3%
Imports CIF
1998 : 3,500 million dollars, that is +15.1%
compared to 1995, with 4.2% coming from the United
States, Japan : 2.9%, Africa : 13.2%, European
Union : 46.9% of which France : 28.5%.
The communal
external duty rates of the UEMOA (the West African
economic and monetary union) are being applied
since 1st January 2000. Imports are free in
principle, except for certain products : living
animals, pharmaceutical products, essential oils,
audio-visual aids, arms and ammunition, petrol
products and cotton (quantity restrictions).
Numerous
foreign companies have been complaining over the
last year about difficulties in getting paid, as
well as about fraud and corruption of the
customs.
In spite of recent progress, the justice services
still don't always work very well, decisions are
still too often taken arbitrarily.
Agriculture
Agriculture dominates the economy in the Ivory
Coast.
It represents about 35% of the GDP and 65% of the
external revenue, and employs 70% of the labour
force.
The main part of the Ivoirian agricultural
production is intended for export.
The main export income comes from cocoa, the third
one from wood and the fifth biggest revenue comes
from pineapples and bananas.
(millions of tons, head, and
cubic meters for timber)
|
Production
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
Rating
|
|
Millet
|
0.60
|
0.65
|
0.65
|
0.65
|
25th
|
|
wood
|
12.75
|
12.92
|
13.28
|
-
|
|
|
coffee
|
0.165
|
0.279
|
0.332
|
0.365
|
5th
|
|
sugar
cane
|
1.32
|
1.35
|
1.15
|
1.16
|
|
|
cotton
|
0.096
|
0.114
|
0.130
|
-
|
18th
|
|
maize
|
0.569
|
0.576
|
0.573
|
0.571
|
|
|
oranges
|
0.028
|
0.029
|
0.029
|
0.029
|
|
|
cocoa
|
1.254
|
1.119
|
1.120
|
1.153
|
1st
|
|
rice
|
0.833
|
1.287
|
1.197
|
1.162
|
|
|
cattle
|
1.286
|
1.312
|
1.330
|
1.330
|
|
|
sheep
|
1.314
|
1.347
|
1.370
|
1.370
|
|
|
pigs
|
0.290
|
0.271
|
0.275
|
0.275
|
|
|
fishing
|
0.069
|
0.068
|
-
|
-
|
|
Cocoa is the
country's main produce, the Ivory Coast is the
leading world producer and furnishes 40 to 50% of
the planet's cocoa.
But in August 1999 the World Bank demanded that in
return for the annulation of the Ivoirian debt, the
official channels should be liberalized.
This resulted in an uncontrolled rise in production
which caused the world market prices to
plummet.
The associations of coffee and cocoa producers
estimate the overall loss to be 4 billion
francs.
On top of this, a European directive was adopted in
March 2000 which authorises the replacement of
cocoa butter by other fats in chocolate production,
it is inevitable that demand will fall by 100,000
to 150,000 tons and the prices will drop again.
Other
products are cultivated : maize, rice, manyoc,
millet, sorgho, bananas, pineapples.
The country doesn't grow enough rice for its needs,
but is auto-sufficient in maize, manyoc and
igname.
There is not much live-stock.
Goats, sheep and cattle are raised in small
quantities.
The Ivory Coast imports meat from the neighbouring
northern countries.
There is some fishing, but not much either.
Forestry is an important revenue for the country -
bringing in more than coffee since 1990.
13.3 million cubic meters were cut in 1998.
Industry
The Ivory
Coast has an extremely good infrastructure and an
educated elite.
Four sectors are particularly dynamic :
agriculture, energy and mining, tourism and the
export of industrial products.
Other sectors are developing : telecommunications,
(like everywhere else in the world the mobile
telephone is spreading rapidly), electrical
equipment and foodstuff production.
There are
some natural resources : petrol, manganese, iron,
cobalt, bauxite, copper and gold (4 tons a year are
mined), but not enough to increase the standard of
living in the country.
The country
banks on its manufacturing industries, their share
in the GDP has gone up from 13% in 1993 to 20%, and
the objective is to reach 30%.
At the moment this sector is limited to textiles
and foodstuffs, but activities connected to energy
are developing : processing oil imported from
Nigeria, exploiting the country's hydro-electric
resources, the construction of thermal power
stations using the Ivoirian natural gas.
To encourage the petrol exploitation, some fiscal
measures have been foreseen for petrol sites in
marine zones which are more than 200 metres
deep.
For example, contracts concerning shared production
(law of 29th August 1996) in which regulations
about the amortization of the petrol costs and
payments to be made to the licence holders are
provided for, include the repercussions caused by
the depth of the sea where the oilfield lies.
The last major company to be privatized is the SIR
(the Ivoirian refineries).
In order to diversify the
agricultural production, food processing companies
are being developed :
60,000 tons of cocoa beans are already processed
locally, 15,000 tons of which are pressed for
butter and cattle fodder.
Four sugar factories and the oil factories have
been privatized.
Other
sectors
3.213 billion Kwh of
electricity was produced in 1997, 62.93% of which
is hydraulic.
There are six dams producing
electricty, the major ones being Soubre, Taaboo and
Kossou.
Population
14,920,080 inhabitants live in this country which
covers 322,462 sq. kms.
Urban population : 48%
Working age population : 7.4 million (15-65 years
old)
Of which 6 million are working (30% in industry and
services)
0-14 year olds : 43.93%
15-64 year olds : 53.39%
65 year olds and over : 2.68%
life
expectancy 46.14 years
Level of
developement
:
demographical growth 1997 - 2015 : +1.7%
energy consumption per capita TOE : 0.38
population without drinking water : 58%
population without sanitary installations : 61%
n° of doctors per 1000 inhabitants : 0.1
telephone lines per 1000 inhabitants : 9
mobile telephones per 1000 inhabitants : 3
private cars per 1000 inhabitants : 21
n° of computers per 1000 inhabitants : 3.3
adult illiteracy : 57%
secondary schooling/age group : 24.1%
graduates/age group : 5%
Ethnic
composition :
There are more than three million immigrants from
Burkina-Faso, Mali and Guinea living in the Ivory
Coast.
More than 60 ethnic groups exist throughout the
country.
The main group is the Agni-Ashanti, a farming
people settled in the centre and the south of the
country. Others are the Baoueles 23%, the
Bétés 18%, Séoufous
15%, Malinkés 11%, Dan...
There are
also the Mandés, a people to which the
Dioulas and the Krou tribes belong.
The Senouf are settles in the north, and the Lobis
in the north-east.
And from
130,000 to 330,000 non-Africans : mostly Lebanese
and French.
Language
French is the official
language.
Among the many other languages spoken are Dioula
and Baoulé.
Religion
The Ivory Coast is made up of
animists, Christians and Muslims in the following
proportions :
60% Muslims, 12% Christians (mainly Roman Catholic)
and 28% traditional beliefs
(many of whom are animist).
In Yamoussoukro there is a
splendid mosque in full sight of the Basilica of
Notre Dame.
Unfortunately over the last
year during the presidential legislative elections
there have been violent ethnic confrontations
between the Muslims from the north and the
Christians from the south.
Money
The Ivory Coast belongs to the Franc zone.
The parity is fixed and cannot be modified without
the agreement of the other member states of the
Franc zone.
The value of the CFA franc
has been cut in half since it was devalorized in
1994.
100 CFA Francs are worth 1 French Franc.
1 F CFA = 1 centime = 0.01F = 0.00152 euro
1 dollar = 510 FCFA
Main
towns
The capital is
Yamoussoukro.
It is the political capital, the birth place of
Félix Houphouët Boigny, the Father of
Independence.
About 151,000 people live there.
Abidjan,
which is the economic capital has a population of
over 3 million. It is built on a peninsula on a
lagoon which has direct access to the sea via a
canal.
The business centre in Abidjan is called the
Plateau, the main residential areas are Cocody and
the Deux Plateaux.
The industrial zone is called Vridi.
Bouaké
is known for its coffee, cocoa and cotton
plantations.
There are 120,000 inhabitants.
To the
east of Abidjan :
The Vridi beach,
which you can get to by bus from the Plateau or
from Treichville (a popular area of the town).
Grand-Bassam:
The old colonial capital of the Ivory Coast,
abondonned following a cholera epidemic, is 40 kms
east of Abidjan.
A 504 from the Treichville bus station will get you
there.
Assinie is 80 kms away.
It is a beautiful beach where most of the white
population spend their Sundays.
You can get there by bush-taxi from Grand
Bassam.
Aboisso
is a small town, or a big village.
To the
west of Abidjan :
The tropical forest
of Banco covers 3,000 hectares. It is 3 kms to the
north of Adjamé, you can get there from
Adjamé by taxi.
If you take a 504 from Adjamé to Dabu you
can visit the Island of Tiagba.
Jacqeville
is 60 kms out of Abidjan, between the lagoon and
the ocean. You can get there by car, you have to
cross on a ferry, or by bus (a regular service
given by the A3 company, which goes several times a
day from the Treichville bus station)
Grand-Lahou
is 98 kms from Dabou. You can reach the old village
by crossing the lagoon in a pirogue.
Divo is a stop-over on the road to Sassandra.
San
Pedro is 80 kms to
the west of Sassandra, it is a town of 130,000
inhabitants which has a wooden port, built with
floating tree trunks, like in Canada.
The
Centre :
Yamoussoukro
is 270 kms from Abidjan. You can get there with a
504 from the Adjamé station, and there is
also a bus service with the SOTRANSYA company,
which organizes a departure every hour during
daylight. T
he air strip in Yamoussoukro was built to receive
the French president.
The biggest university in western Africa is in this
town.
Bouaké
is the second biggest town in the country, it is
106 kms away from Yamoussoukro.
To the
west :
Man is the capital of
the Yacouba region.
At about 43 kms to the north of this town there is
Biankouma
which you can reach by 504 or mini-bus.
Climate
The Ivory Coast is divided
into three main climatic zones determined by the
size of their annual rainfall :
2 metres in the south, 1.50 metres in the centre
and 1.20 metres in the north.
The climate is equatorial, with heavy rains in the
west.
There are two dry seasons, from November to April
and a shorter season in August and September.
There are tropical rains in the north in
summer.
The climate changes a lot from north to south,
going from an intertropical to a tropical zone.
In the south there are two rainy seasons, a short
one from September to October and a longer one
which lasts from 15th May to 15th August.
In the north there are tropical rains in the
summer.
It is a country covered with
tropical forests which produce precious woods,
savannah regions and lots of rivers and
streams.
Average
temperatures max/min
|
J
|
F
|
M
|
A
|
M
|
J
|
J
|
A
|
S
|
O
|
N
|
D
|
|
Abidjan
|
|
31
|
32
|
32
|
32
|
31
|
29
|
28
|
28
|
28
|
29
|
31
|
31
|
Rainfall : Height in mm
|
J
|
F
|
M
|
A
|
M
|
J
|
J
|
A
|
S
|
O
|
N
|
D
|
|
Abidjan
|
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
9
|
6
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
6
|
7
|
6
|
|
Ferkessedougou
|
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
7
|
6
|
5
|
6
|
8
|
9
|
8
|
|
Bouake
|
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
5
|
Temperature of the sea : monthly
average
|
J
|
F
|
M
|
A
|
M
|
J
|
J
|
A
|
S
|
O
|
N
|
D
|
|
Abidjan
|
|
2
|
27
|
28
|
28
|
27
|
27
|
26
|
25
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
Insects
Mosquitoes, which are highly
active at night, are unfortunately around all
year.
Never walk barefoot, and check out your shoes,
sleeping bag and sheets (especially in desert
areas) as there are scorpions and snakes.
Working
in thecountry
Looking
for a job in the Ivory Coast :
You
could start looking for information by sending
letters to French associations in the Ivory Coast,
to Trade Commissions and to commercial services in
French banks which have branches in the Ivory
Coast.
The French Consulate has a service dealing with
jobs and training and can introduce you to local
companies wishing to acquire French
personnel.
(See also the
page in the Practical Guide for the
Expatriate).
The French Chamber of Commerce can give you
information about the job market and the most
dynamic sectors of the local economy.
They also publish a bulletin which is reserved for
French companies and local members.
You could put a job ad in this bulletin.
The Trade
Commission in Abidjan or the CFCE in Paris can give
you a list of French companies set up in the Ivory
Coast.
While you are looking for information you can
contact companies directly by sending an
application and proposing your services.
Where
to find job offers?
In
the French press (Le Monde, Le France Soir, Figaro,
Moniteur du Bâtiment, Le DNA,
la Voix du Nord, Le Républicain Lorrain,
Expat magazine... ) for French companies sending
people abroad.
In the
international press, in nearly all the main daily
papers there is a page or a section on job offers :
(The European, The Guardian, Vacature, Coriere
della sera, La Tribune de Genève, ...).
Head hunting companies in Europe and temporary work
agencies have international job offers.
You can have easy access to several local data
bases dealing with job offers via Internet.
When
applying for a job :
Your
CV must be very clearly set out and detailled. It
should be accompanied by a handwritten covering
letter.
Whatever post you are trying for, be well dressed
for the interview. Interviewers pay a lot of
attention to your appearance.
Be careful not to seem to be pretentious about your
knowledge and don't exaggerate your professional
competence.
Don't forget that the local market has a high rate
of unemployment, be careful not to throw away an
opportunity once you have already got as far as
getting an interview.
Stress your real competence, your ease of adaption,
your mobility, your ability to work in a team and
your desire to bring in your experience.
Our
advice :
It is
advisable to go to Africa, particularly if it is
your first time, as part of a French or an
international company.
An expatriate contract gives you the best
conditions : 2 months leave every 10 months,
accomodation, usually a car depending on your post,
the possibility to take your family with you, a
salary paid in France and usually tax
free...
Investing
in the country
The
Ivory Coast has a high risk potential.
Investors are nevertheless welcome, fiscal and
economical advantages are offered to international
companies willing to set up in the industrial zones
around Abidjan.
The Ivoirian Embassy in Paris will help you to
complete the various administrative steps and can
give you a practical dossier.
French
presence in the country:
Many
French companies work in and with the Ivory Coast
in spite of problems of payment and other
risks.
Formalities
to be completed
Visa/Passport :
French nationals need
a visa, to apply for one you need to give a photo
and pay 35 euros environ.
A visa is also obligatory for Belgians and Swiss
who need to give two photos and 35 euros
environ.
It takes 48 hours to receive your visa.
Check that your passport is still valid.
If you arrive by car the police can ask you for a
custom's certificate.
If you don't have this you can get a tourist
sticker which is for a non-renewable period of 15
days.
You also need to have a document showing that you
have adequate financial means for your stay in the
country.
If you arrive by plane you have to show that you
have a return ticket.
Formalities
to be completed if you are working in the
country:
The
first thing to do on arrival in the Ivory Coast is
to get registered with the local authorities and
with your Embassy, who need to know of your
presence in the country in case of
problems.
Health
& Medicine
Hygiene in
the country :
There
is not a good medical structure, nor modern
equipment in most of the Ivory Coast.
If you have a serious health problem it is
preferable to be repatriated.
Vaccinations
:
Yellow
fever is obligatory.
This vaccine give you 100% protection for 10
years.
You can get this vaccination in any specialized
centre.
You have to get it done in advance as it only
starts its protection 10 days after the vaccination
is done (unless it is a booster, which takes effect
immediately).
Other
vaccinations are not obligatory, but it is
recommened to check up your basics (tetanos, polio
and diptheria) and have shots against hepatitis A
and B.
Follow a
preventive treatment against malaria, and take all
the necessary pills with you.
Don't forget
to have your international vaccination certificates
with you and you should also subscribe to an
international insurance scheme.
Connections
with France
There are daily flights going to the Ivory Coast
with Air France or Air Afrique from Roissy.
There are also regular flights leaving from Lyon,
Bordeaux, Marseilles and Nice.
Abidjan is
the second biggest African port after Durban in
South Africa and a transit platform in the region,
especially with Mali and Burkina Faso.
Internal
transport
An express
train goes between Abidjan and Ouagadougou in
Burkina Faso (1500 kms).
There is a
good internal rail network inside the country.
900,000 tons of merchandise are transported
annually, 500,000 tons of it are exports to Burkina
and Mali.
The road network is made up of 67,500 kms of road
and there is a huge road traffic with buses leaving
from the central bus stations.
The buses are very cheap and often the service is
quicker than by train.
Minibuses are called 'mille-kilos' (1000 kilos) or
'22-places' (22 seaters).
There are
plenty of taxis available but it is advisable to
check that the meter is working and that the tarifs
marked are the right ones : tarif 1 is a day rate
and tarif 2 is applied from midnight to 5am.
Time
differences
The difference with France is +1 hour in winter and
+2 hours in summer.
Telecommunications
Telephone
:
To
phone France from Abidjan dial 00 33 + the number
of your correspondent.
The phone the Ivory Coast from France, dial 00 225
followed by the number of your correspondent
(8 numbers).
NB : telephone numbers in the Ivory Coast
changed on the 15th January 2000 -
there are now 8 numbers (instead of 6). You add 2
numbers before the old 6 numbers
e.g.if the old number started with 01xxxx, 02xxxx,
03xxxx you now add 03 in front =
0301xxxx,0302xxxx,0303xxxx
if the old number started with 04xxxx; 05xxxx,
06xxxx you now add 0504xxxx, 0505xxxx, 0506xxxx
For numbers 07/08/09 add 07
For numbers 20/21/22 add 20 etc
Press/Newspapers
:
There
are four dailies in the Ivoirian press and about
fifteen weeklies.
- Ivoir'Soir : 50,000 copies sold over the whole
country.
- Notre Temps
: a weekly, 30,000 copies published.
- La Voie :
both a daily and a weekly.
Airports
The
international airport of Abidjan is 11 kms out of
town and is called the Felix Houphouët-Boigny
airport.
There are other airports at Bouake and
Yamoussoukro.
Car
rental
You can rent
your Avis
car
in Abidjan :
at the international airport, tel 27 72 73 fax 32
66 75
or in town at the Novotel, rue du Commerce, tel 32
80 07 fax 32 66 75
All Avis cars are completely
equipped, have done less than 15,000 kms and have
an average age of 3 months.
The vehicles are carefully prepared and checked
between each rental using a procedure containing 7
obligatory control points.
The cars are rented with a full tank.
Renting from Avis automatically means that the car
passengers, renter and/or driver are covered by a
third party insurance as well as an insurance
covering repatriation and the immobilization of the
vehicule in case of an accident.
You can reserve a car :
- from your travel agent
- from the international reservation centre at 0
820 05 05 05
- or from any Avis agency
Avis has an interactive network worldwide, a client
can reserve a car instantly from anywhere in the
world.
We recommend that you pay
your rental using your accredited Avis card or with
another credit card accepted by Avis : American
Express, Visa, Mastercard, Diners.
Through a simple free membership system, Avis gives
identity and/or payment cards, which are a real
help for a rapid and efficient service.
REASSURING : No on-line
payment, you can pay Avis directly at the agency
when you return the car
RAPID : Avis has the quickest car rental
reservation service on the web
ECONOMICAL : The cheapest rates on the market are
available on the Avis microsite
COMPLETE : You can rent a car anywhere in the
world.
The Avis network : 5000 agencies in 172 countries,
is now on-line!
EFFICIENT : Find your town (you don't have to fill
in the country), enter the date and click on
estimate
PRACTICAL : You only have to fill in 4 boxes and
you will receive an e-mail confirming the
reservation.
You can even rent a vehicle at the last minute just
round the corner or ... on the other side of the
world.
Bear in mind that taxis are very cheap and
plentiful while car rental is extremely expensive.
You have to count at least the double that you
would pay in Europe. It is very expensive to buy a
car and to insure it, 52 cars are stolen every day
in the Ivory Coast.
If you do however decide to rent a car, you should
know that the police are very fussy about seat
belts, fines are very heavy and you could even have
a prison penalty.
Petrol in the
Ivory Coast is the most expensive in all of West
Africa.
Hotels/Restaurants
In Abidjan there are numerous accomodation
possibilities.
(See the list of hotel in 'Useful addresses in the
country)
The choice goes from top luxury categories in the
residential Cocody area to the simplest hotel on
the Plateau.
Similarly
there are restaurants for all kinds of budget.
Your
suitcase
Light clothing, in cotton or
linen.
If you plan to go to the game parks take neutral
coloured clothing, walking shoes and a scarf to
protect you from clouds of dust.
It is a good idea to have an anorak or a raincoat
with you in the rainy season, but in fact it is so
hot and the rainfall is so heavy that it is not
always very useful.
A plastic mac is really the most practical.
Wear a suit and tie for business
meetings.
Electical appliances should
be 220 v. The plugs are the European kind.
Schools/scholarity
See the list
of schools in the 'Useful Addresses in the
country'.
The Ivory
Coast has a varied and good quality higher
education system for basic training, as much in the
technical field as in the commercial and
administrative fields.
The national polytechnical institution Felix
Houphouët Boigny, which is attached to both
the Ministry of Higher Education and the ministry
of Economy and Finance is an example of a school
giving a wide variety of courses.
It contains a continuing education and management
training school, advanced agronomical courses,
advanced commercial and administrative courses,
advanced industrial courses, advanced mining and
geological courses and advanced building
courses.
The INHP-FHB turns out 700 graduates each year.
Numerous
private schools, both independent or attached to
foreign institutes (French and Canadian) also give
good training to future management staff.
Information
It is nearly impossible to arrive in the Ivory
Coast and start business without having a local
circle of friends : everything will depend on who
you know - justice, customs, administrative
formalities ...
Don't worry
if people arrive late for appointments.
Ask people
for permission if you want to take photos of
them.
Public
holidays :
7th August :
Independence Day
1st November : All Saints' Day
11th November : Armistice
25th December : Xmas
1st January : New Years' Day
Easter Monday
1st May : Labour Day
Ascencion Day
Whitsuntide
+ religious Muslim holiday, the dates vary
depending on the lunar calendar :
Ramadan, Tabaski, Maouloud.
Banks
Credit cards are accepted in
the banks but their general use is a bit
limited.
The French franc is the currency the most
appreciated in West Africa.
Banking
establishments :
The group Banque Africaine de Développement
(BAD) (African Bank of Development)
The Fonds Africain de Développement (FAD)
(African Development Fund)
The Fonds Spécial du Nigeria (FSN) (Special
Nigerian Fund)
Guides
All these
guides are in French and can be purchased at the
Librairie du commerce international,
10 avenue d'Iéna, 75016 Paris Tel : 01 40 73
34 60
You can receive them by post by writing to the
following address:
BP 438-75233 Paris Cedex 05.
Fax : 01 43 36 47 98.
* Coll.Un
Marché : Côte-d'Ivoire.
An overall view of the country's economy as well as
practical advice to get there.
CFCE/PEE Abidjan. (PEE = Trade Commission)
41040-1995-197 pages-120F.
* Côte-d'Ivoire : an examination of the
commercial policies.
OMC-71299-1995-2 volumes-250F.
* Côtes-d'Ivoire : positive economic results
to reinforce.
Note PEE Abidjan.
E01756/95X-1995-20 pages-345F.
* The automobile market, spare parts and
accessories.
Note PEE Abidjan.
S52233/95X-1995-18 pages-345F.
Observations
The
cost of living :
With
the different devaluations of the franc CFA and the
rise in the cost of living the price of imported
products are high.
Tourism
In
Abidjan
certain quarters are reputed to be dangerous
especially at night times.
There are artisan markets and antique shops where
you can buy sculptures, musical instruments and
material.
You can visit the lagoons by boat.
To the east and the west of the town there are
beautiful beaches, but be careful the sea is
dangerous with very strong currents and undertows
(known as the 'barre') and sharks.
San
Pedro
has beautiful landscapes and paradisiacal beaches,
you can do pirogue rides on the river from
Sassandra and see the hippos.
It is also an old colonial town.
In
Bouaké there
is a market selling spices, jewels and leather
objects. The Comoé national park where you
can see elephants, lions, monkeys and other animals
can be visited from February to May.
Customs
:
Practical
modalities.
It is possible to group merchandise, so long as it
is done by transit agencies.
The customs nomenclature which is used is that of
Brussels.
Ivoirian customs rights are applied, as well as the
fiscal right of entry (DF).
It can go up to 30% of the customs' value (CAF
value).
Goods must be declared and go through customs
whether they arrive by sea or by air.
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