The clan management of Côte d'Ivoire under Alassane Ouattara
After having denounced the management of the country by his predecessors (Henri Konan Bédié, Laurent Gbagbo, etc.) as being family or even clan-based, the former governor of the BCEAO has not ceased for five years to open the doors of the State but also public companies and, more broadly, the Ivorian economy, to his close relatives or faithful friends.
These appointments were mostly decided on a discretionary basis. From cocoa to the import verification market, through presidential affairs or communication, the first circle of the Head of State and his wife Dominique Ouattara shines in all the strategic sectors of the country.
Masséré Touré at the school of journalism…
Dircom' of the Ivorian presidency, Masséré Touré was appointed on July 13 as a new member of the Board of the Higher Institute of Sciences and Techniques of Communication (ISTC), a public institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Communication. The same day, the niece of Alassane Ouattara was knighted within the CA of the public group RTI. She will replace Amadou Coulibaly alias "AM'S", current head of external services at the presidential palace. What further strengthen the influence of the one who no longer hesitates to reprimand the owners of the press close to power when an article displeases him. Masséré Touré holds several other administrative positions in public structures (Fraternité Matin group, AIP, etc.).
Ouattara wants his man at the head of the CCICI
The presidency influences the designation of a member of the RDR as future president of this structure. The “United for the Promotion of Businesses” list led by pharmacist and activist of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) Parfait Kouassi and insurer Faman Touré came out victorious in the election of new members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d'Ivoire (CCICI), July 10.
With 93 seats out of 102, it crushed the “Union for a strong room” list led by businessmen Souleymane Méïté, Ibrahim Traoré and Moussa Diomandé. Main victims of this last list: Zoumana Bakayoko, the elder brother of the Minister of the Interior and Security Hamed Bakayoko but also other personalities such as Augustin Sidi Diallo, boss of Ivosep, the main funeral director in Abidjan or JeanLouis Menudier, the general manager of the Uniwax company specializing in the manufacture of fabric and loincloths.
This vote paves the way for a round of negotiations between Parfait Kouassi and his running mate Faman Touré with a view to designating the future president of the chamber. This election is to be held on July 31. According to our sources, the Ivorian presidency is clearly pushing for a candidacy of Faman Touré for this post. Manager of this file at the palace, the general secretariat led by Amadou Gon Coulibaly considers in particular that the CGECI, another structure of the same type, being already directed by a "PDCist", in this case Jean Kacou Diagou, the CCICI must logically return to a member of Alassane Ouattara's RDR.
Sega Sangaré put into orbit at SNEPCI
The professor of medicine Sega Sangaré is approached to preside over the New Press and Publishing Company of Côte d'Ivoire (Snepci), publisher of the government daily Fraternité Matin. He would succeed Viviane Zunon Kipre, who had reached the end of her mission. Sega Sangaré is the current president of the Bingerville mother-child hospital, built with funds from the charitable activities of Dominique Ouattara, to whom he is close. Masséré Touré, head of presidential communications and niece of Alassane Ouattara, was also confirmed on June 29 as a member of the same board of directors.
ADO promotes Jean-Baptiste Soro
The Head of State has elevated Jean-Baptiste Soro, his main mission leader to the presidency and faithful collaborator since the 1990s, to the rank of general of the gendarmerie. JeanBaptiste Soro retired from the gendarmerie in 1994 at the end of the mandate of Alassane Ouattara, then Prime Minister. According to our sources, he benefited from a special decision by the Ivorian president. An unprecedented confusion between the public sphere and the private sector has settled in Abidjan. It mainly benefits ministers.
Many relatives of political figures take advantage of their family network within the state apparatus to prosper in the private sector. Practices at odds with the image that Alassane Ouattara, a former senior IMF official, wishes to convey. Oil, energy, transport The Citrans Logistique et Patrimoine company, opportunely created in 2014 by Zoumana Bakayoko, the older brother of the Minister of Security and Interior Hamed Bakayoko, was granted one of the two river transport concessions in Abidjan. The government has provided its guarantee for the financing of this project to the tune of 21 billion FCFA (32 million euros) by signing with the Moroccan group Banque Populaire.
Zoumana Bakayoko is also present in cocoa through his company Agro West Africa. Also in the race for public contracts, the company Tanassa Technologies SA, founded in 2012, is chaired by the Minister of Energy and Petroleum Adama Toungara and managed by… his daughter Bintou Kamara Toungara. A company present in various markets, Tanassa Technologies wins contracts related to the oil sector. As soon as her father Gaoussou Touré was appointed Minister of Transport, Mariam Touré, for her part, created First Communication. This consulting company receives numerous contracts from the same ministerial department as well as the organization of events such as the African Network BBQ.
Presidential circles As for the members of the family of Dominique Ouattara, they are at the forefront. His brother Philippe Nouvian, boss of the Gemco firm, was granted work to rehabilitate the presidency. The second of the siblings, Marc Nouvian, is active in cocoa via Soneici, as is the eldest of the Ivorian first lady, Loïc Folloroux. The company of the latter, Africa Sourcing, was also rewarded with more than 3.6 billion FCFA in tax exemptions. Jean Marc Béjani, the husband of Nathalie Folloroux, daughter of Dominique Ouattara, runs Majestic One, which has a monopoly on cinemas in Abidjan.
Good foot, good eye, Benedict Senger, the son-in-law of Alassane Ouattara, chairs Webb Fontaine Côte d'Ivoire, a subsidiary of the Webb Fontaine group responsible for controlling the country's imports and exports. As for the head of state's nephew, Ahmadou Touré, boss of Puma Energy Côte d'Ivoire, a subsidiary of Trafigura, he is preparing to take over Petroci's network of service stations by mutual agreement.
Chocolate gift for those close to the Palace!
Around 30 exporters are exempt from paying certain taxes for the current season. Ministers Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly (agriculture), Abdourahmane Cissé (budget) and Adama Koné (finance) granted a tax exemption equivalent to 54 FCFA (0.08 euros) per kilogram of beans harvested to about thirty exporters.
In total, 200,000 tonnes from the 20162017 campaign are concerned by this measure, i.e. a gift of nearly 11 billion FCFA (16.7 million €). These operators are members of the Grouping of Ivorian traders (GNI), close to the circles of power. Lambert Konan Kouassi and Massandjé TouréLitsé, two relatives of Dominique Ouattara, respectively president and CEO of the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC), prepared the decree signed by the ministers.
Africa Sourcing, the company of Loïc Folloroux, the son of the Ivorian first lady, obtains the largest quota (60,000 tons, or 3.6 billion FCFA) on which these measures will be applied. The Coopadis cooperative of Raymond Koffi, a close associate of the regime, is content with 20,000 tonnes. Agro West Africa led by Zoumana Bakayoko, the brother of interior minister Hamed Bakayoko, only got 1,000 tonnes. These advantages have had the gift of annoying the multinationals which still do not manage to obtain a similar agreement from the authorities.
Families in power!
Heads of state rely on those close to them to hold the levers of power and think about the future. The phenomenon now affects countries which, like Guinea, seemed little concerned until now. Ex-wife on the job. After appointing his only son Mohamed Alpha Condé as special adviser to the Sekoutoureya Palace in his first term, Alpha Condé swears by his cousin Gabriel Curtis. Since February 2014, this financier trained at McGill University (Canada) and Columbia University (United States) has been leading the influential Private Investment Promotion Agency (APIP) responsible for opening up the country to foreign operators.
Curtis never leaves the Guinean head of state, especially during his missions abroad. Re-elected in October for a second term, Alpha Condé, 78, is also betting more than ever on his first Fulani wife, Mama Kanni Diallo, a rare woman in power not to pay into charity. Minister of planning, she took over at the beginning of April, within her department, the influential national directorate of public investments of the ministry of economy and finance. This restructuring also allows Alpha Condé to send a strong sign to the Fulani, when he undertakes a rapprochement with this community close to his opponent Cellou Dalein Diallo.
Brothers, sisters, cousins...
In Abidjan, Alassane Ouattara relies on his younger brother Téné Birahima Ouattara, irremovable Minister of State in charge of presidential affairs at the Plateau Palace. Control tower of the Ivorian regime, it manages finances and sovereign funds as well as the agenda and medical appointments of the Head of State. He also steers files relating to the country's security, hence his presence at the CNS. Other members of the clan have thus been "placed", such as the niece Masséré Touré, director of communication at the palace.
Son-in-law of Alassane Ouattara, Benedict Senger has been running since 2011 the subsidiary of the Webb Fontaine group, winner of the lucrative import verification contract in Côte d'Ivoire.
Two relatives of Ouattara fight over lagoon transport
Zoumana Bakayoko and Adama Bictogo are in competition in this strategic sector with a bright future. The lagoon transport company Citrans founded by Zoumana Bakayoko, brother of the interior and security minister, Hamed Bakayoko, has just signed a $22 million contract with the South African Nautic Africa. This agreement should allow the construction of 18 shuttles with 240 seats by September.
For this operation financed by the Banque Populaire Group, represented locally by its subsidiary Banque Atlantique, the businessman benefited from the support of Goodwill. This consulting firm is headed by Adou Bakar Ouattara, an adviser to Hamed Bakayoko. For his part, the former integration minister who resigned in 2012, Adama Bictogo, is still looking for funding to develop the same type of project via his company RF Lines, after the withdrawal of his Turkish partner Yildirim Group of Companies. directed by Robert Yüksel Yildirim. The two men did not manage to agree, in particular on the business plan (LC no. 714). In the meantime, Citrans and RF Lines are the only private entities to benefit from a concession to operate transport on the Ebrié lagoon, thus breaking the monopoly of the Société des transports abidjanais (Sotra), a public transport company.
Ouattara gifts cocoa exporters
On the instructions of Alassane Ouattara, the Ivorian Minister of Agriculture, Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, signed a decree on December 18 favoring national cocoa operators. This text notably adopted a tax exemption on exports for companies marketing less than 150,000 t of beans. Among these are Africa Sourcing founded by Loïc Folloroux, the son of Dominique Ouattara, Agro West Africa directed by Zoumana Bakayoko, the elder brother of the Minister of the Interior and Security, Hamed Bakayoko, or Sonemat by Malick Toé, a close of the President of the National Assembly, Guillaume Soro.
Ouattara washes less white in his own camp
Determined to clean the stables of Augeas during his second term, the Head of State should once again spare the figures of his camp. The war on impunity that Alassane Ouattara has decided to intensify during his second and last five-year term should, as during the previous term, avoid targeting members of the Rassemblement des Républicains (RDR), as well as those close to the regime involved. in dubious cases and, until now, not worried by justice. This is the case of Mamah Diabagaté. A member of the ruling party, the latter has just been sacked from his position as CEO of the Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne (CNCE) by the Minister for the Economy and Finance, Kaba Nialé. He was accused of “serious professional misconduct”.
However, no investigation has been launched at the national level while Mamah Diabagaté, coordinator of Alassane Ouattara's last electoral campaign in Bondoukou (northeast), has already been sanctioned for the same facts by the WAEMU banking commission. Before Mamah Diabagaté, Barnabé Yobouet Yao, another director of a public bank, in this case the Bank for the financing of agriculture (BFA) now liquidated, was the subject of a procedure emanating from the same banking commission . These examples are not isolated.
In August 2012, the Ivorian president had proceeded to the dismissal, by decree, of the financial director and person in charge of the heritage of the ministry of higher education, Adama Méité, because of a “bad management” noted on the ambitious program of rehabilitation public universities. Prime Minister at that time, Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou had been forced to open an investigation into the conditions for awarding this contract. Except that the conclusions have never been made public... For his part, Adama Bictogo, dismissed in 2012 from his post as Minister of Regional Integration because he was targeted in the case of embezzlement of funds from the victims of the Probo Koala, continues to thrive at the head of his Snedai group.
Cocoa: relatives of the Ouattara regime want their share of the cake
After the liquidation of the GNI, Loïc Folloroux, the son of Dominique Ouattara, is at the origin of a new structure intended to capture part of the trade managed by the majors. The creation in 2011 of the Group of International Traders (GNI), intended to extract part of the cocoa trade from international groups (Cargill, ADM, Olam, etc.), fizzled out. Disagreements in particular between Loïc Folloroux, boss of Africa Sourcing and inspiration of the GNI, and Sucden, followed by the defection of several other members led to the liquidation of this structure, at the end of June.
Connections to the palace Instead, the son of Dominique Ouattara has just founded the Grouping of Ivorian traders (GNI) with the support of local companies led, for the most part, by figures of the Ouattara regime, like Malick Tohé, boss of Sonemat, adviser to Guillaume Soro and member of the defunct coffee and cocoa sector management committee (CGFCC). Another member of the new GNI, Alassane Salifou Kadher Kandé heads the company Miral, initially dedicated to the gold trade.
In 2012, he modified the statutes of this entity to enter the cocoa sector. Kandé belongs to the inner circle of Kanté Koly, the president of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan (PAA), who is also an adviser to Alassane Ouattara. Trained at the School of Building and Public Works in Vincennes (France), Jean Anthony Fortez, who heads the Sicao, evolves for his part in the movement of the Grand Lodge of Côte d'Ivoire (GLCI). Stéphane Apoque, CEO of Kineden, who also joined the GNI, is close to the president of the Supreme Court, Aphing Kouassi.
Quotas The GNI's objective for the 20152016 campaign is to gently put pressure on Massandjé TouréLitsé, the CEO of the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC), the structure responsible for managing these two strategic sectors (see our Insiders “The new cocoa barons”), to make available to its members a higher quota of beans to be negotiated. In December, the CCC had already asked the multinationals to subcontract part of their contract equivalent to 150,000 t of beans to the national operators. Other organizations of Ivorian traders such as Fulgence N'Guessan's Unacoopex or Raymond Koffi's CoopexPmiex are also trying to recover part of these quotas provided for in the context of the reform of the cocoa sector.
Business: bosses who laugh, those who cry
If the coming to power of Alassane Ouattara precipitated the fall of businessmen reputed to be close to Laurent Gbagbo, many others have made a place for themselves in the sun. Forced to liquidate his company Nouvelle Air ivoire under pressure from the Ouattara regime, businessman Koné Dossongui also had to sell 65% of the capital of his group Atlantic Business International (ABI) to the Moroccan Banque centrale populaire (BCP). .
Badly seen in Abidjan, Dossongui now prefers to turn to Central Africa, where he intends to develop projects in real estate and cocoa processing. In particular, he should rely on the networks of his friend Paul Fokam, boss of Afriland First Bank. Disinheritance Another personality formerly close to the Gbagbo regime currently in disgrace in Côte d'Ivoire, Charles Kader Goré, known as CKG, is still trying to recover, by legal means, several of his cocoa processing factories. These landed, the day after the post-electoral crisis, in the hands of relatives of the Minister of the Interior, Hamed Bakayoko. Since the end of the Ivorian crisis, CKG has relocated its business to the chic East Cantonment district of Accra, Ghana. He is preparing, with Omani financing, to build a thermal power station in Takoradi.
For his part, the French Frédéric Lafont, expatriate of Risk & Vision and Sophia Airlines, has gone into exile in Morocco. Formerly a friend of William Attéby, right arm of former lady Simone Gbagbo, he hopes to relaunch in Burkina Faso.
Protection Conversely, the Ouattara regime has allowed the rise of new figures in business. Founder of the Snedai company, after a brief stint in government, Adama Bictogo won several public contracts in the biometric documentation and lagoon transport sectors. Hamed Bakayoko's brother, Zoumana Bakayoko, founder of the telecoms company Swindevco, has extended his reach by embarking on the export of cocoa (see our Insider “The new cocoa barons”). Very fashionable under Gbagbo, Mohamed Sidy Kagnassi, head lobbyist for the French group SafranMorpho in the Ivory Coast, on the other hand succeeded in a total reconversion under Ouattara by creating the construction company SIMDCI. Its first contract (180 billion FCFA) concerned the renovation of public universities. This close friend of Guillaume Soro also approached Hamed Bakayoko, who would have weighed in with all his weight with the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) for the awarding of the contract to revise the electoral lists to Morpho.
Ouattara's family tree takes root in the heart of power
The accession of Alassane Ouattara to the head of Côte d'Ivoire has highlighted the weight of family interests in the management of the country. Uncle, brother, niece, son-in-law, brother-in-law...: for three years, the direct relatives of the Head of State, who is surrounded by eleven brothers and sisters, have been co-opted at a sustained pace within the executive, but also at the head of strategic public enterprises.
The nieces in force The latest example of this “Ouattara syndrome”, the niece of President Nina Keita has just joined the Ministry of the Budget as adviser in charge of communication to Minister Abdourahmane Cissé. In another life, she worked as a model in New York. She was notably the face of several cosmetic brands such as Black up or clothing lines such as Old Navy. More than a new communicator called upon to intervene on strategic issues, Nina Keita will represent her supervisory ministry on the management board of the Ivorian Press Agency (AIP), the country's public information agency. She will sit in this capacity alongside her cousin Masséré Touré, another niece of the Head of State, in charge of communication at the Abidjan Palace.
This umpteenth appointment of a member of the presidential family completes an already well-stocked family tree at the heart of power. Alongside the influential Masséré Touré, Alassane Ouattara's younger brother, Téné Birahima Ouattara, alias "Photocopie" because of his resemblance to his elder brother, reigns supreme in the presidency. After having been the director of administrative and financial affairs, he is now crowned with the title of minister of presidential affairs.
In this position, he manages the palace budget as well as the sovereign funds, the diary, travel and medical appointments of the "chief", even certain sensitive files relating to security via the National Security Council. (CNS). Sherpa, Birahima Ouattara was in no way disturbed in his prerogatives by the recent reorganization of the presidency having seen the arrival of Philippe Serey-Eiffel and Thierry Tanoh as deputy general secretaries. Another member of the siblings, Baudin Sarrahn Ouattara, the daughter of Gaoussou Ouattara, the older brother of ADO, has always been in charge of the National Health Agency (Anasur) since his appointment at the end of 2011. This entity depends on the Ministry of the Environment.
Business The family preference policy extends to business. ADO's maternal uncle, Lancine Camara is the powerful president of the Société des transports abidjanais (Sotra), a historic public company which, placed under the supervision of the ministry of transport, notably manages public transport in the economic capital. The Lakes Region Tourism Development Company (SodertourLacs), which operates several emblematic establishments in the country (Hotel President in Yamoussoukro and Hotel La Paix in Daoukro), is headed by Malekah Mourad Condé, the wife of one of the nephews of the president. While Alassane Ouattara's ex-brother, Ibrahim Keita, who was the husband of the little sister of the Head of State Sita Ouattara, still chairs the Versus Bank, the son-in-law Benedict Senger was suddenly propelled the year became head of Webb Fontaine Côte d'Ivoire (WFCI), the subsidiary of Webb Fontaine. Already present in Nigeria, this Swiss-Dubai group has recovered, after an over-the-counter procedure, the control and verification market for imports into the country from the beard of the French Bivac, previously holder of this contract. WFCI also manages the Single Window for Foreign Trade (GUCE). In other words, a central weight in the country's economy.
LOIC FOLLOROUX (Armajaro trading)
Reference shareholder of the company Armajaro négoce, an entity now independent of the former British trader Armajaro Trading Ltd bought in 2013 by the Swiss Ecom Agroindustrial Corp., Loic Folloroux is preparing to launch several large-scale operations in the cocoa and agricultural products in a handful of African countries (Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, Guinea, etc.). In Abidjan, the son of the first lady Dominique Ouattara and expat Africa of Armajaro Trading continues to rely on his right arm Ismaël Koné. The latter plans Armajaro negoce's strategy for sub-Saharan Africa.
Dominique Ouattara hits the jackpot
Courted by many businessmen, the first lady of the Ivory Coast, Dominique Ouattara, did not have too many difficulties to mobilize, for her gala, the funds intended to equip her hospital of Bingerville.
For the second edition in Abidjan of the gala of his Children of Africa foundation organized on March 14 at the Ivoire hotel, Dominique Ouattara had bet on some 3.5 billion FCFA in revenue to equip his hospital complex in Bingerville, in the suburbs of Abidjan. . Even if Alassane Ouattara only made a very short appearance, the evening hosted by the “ambients” Adriana Karembeu and Noémie Lenoir made it possible to approach this sum in part thanks to Salma Bennani, wife of the King of Morocco Mohammed VI. Between a poached lobster or a back of grouper from San Pedro with N'Gatie sauce, she donated one billion FCFA before disappearing for dessert.
The absence of CAC 40 bosses like Martin Bouygues, retained in Paris to manage his attempt to take over the mobile operator SFR, has allowed African businessmen to shine. The American-Guinean Mamadi Diané, who is also a diplomatic adviser to the Ivorian presidency, won a lot worth more than 100 million FCFA during the auction for the benefit of the Children of Africa foundation, as did the young Franco-Chadian Adoum Dennis, boss of the eponymous group close to the oil sector. Another bidder, Ousmane Diagana of the Mimran group, owner in Côte d'Ivoire of the Grands Moulins d'Abidjan (GMA), acquired a lot at more than 200 million FCFA. As for the politicians, the evening did not give rise to any skirmish between Guillaume Soro and his enemy brother Hamed Bakayoko, unlike the first edition. Favoring discretion, many other guests preferred to give their donation in the form of a donation in cash or by check.
The very good deals of the Ouattara clan
Former Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, and therefore guarantor of a certain “rigour”, Alassane Ouattara does not hesitate to break with the practices of transparency erected as a priesthood by the Bretton Woods institutions. Since his accession to power in 2011, over-the-counter contracts have been raining down (SingroboAhouaty power plant, dams on the Comoé, AbidjanBassam highway, etc.) without the World Bank, which is very fussy on this issue, flinching.
Other markets have fallen into the hands of relatives or close friends of the Head of State, creating deep unease in the business environment. Trip to “Emerging Ivory Coast”.
The happy few of the palace Emblematic of this governance, the import control and verification market was blown to the Bivac group by the Dubai company Webb Fontaine, under conditions that the first has still not digested.
In Abidjan, the Webb Fontaine subsidiary is run by Benedict Senger, husband of Fanta Catherine Ouattara, the head of state's daughter. Such kinship relations in business extend to influential advisers to the palace, who do not hesitate to use their proximity to the “chief”. One of them, Koly Kanté, who is also the reference shareholder of the Abidjan cement works company, sees this company benefiting from state contracts. Another adviser to the presidency, Mamadi Diané introduced the Romanian group Timis to Côte d'Ivoire via his lobbying firm Amex. The Pan African Minerals and African Petroleum subsidiaries of this group founded by Frank Timis are increasing the number of projects, including the rehabilitation of the Abidjan-Ouagadougou line.
At the head of ACECI since 2011, Daouda Gon Coulibaly, the brother of the secretary general of the presidency Amadou Gon Coulibaly, flourishes in the quality control markets of several agricultural sectors, including that of cocoa. Happy ministers Ministers are not left out. A dense network of bosses revolves around one of President Ouattara's most loyal supporters, Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko, starting with his brother Zoumana Bakayoko.
The latter, a shareholder in the company specializing in telecoms infrastructure Swindevco, introduced Franco-Lebanese Philippe Nakad, boss of Agro West Industries, to Côte d'Ivoire. Hamed Bakayoko himself opened the doors of the country to the Turk Nihat Ozdemir, president of Limak Group of Companies. This group aims to build hydroelectric power stations on the Sassandra River. For her part, after having created Stylus Sarl and Tanassa Technologies in quick succession in 2012, entities specializing in financial intermediation and biometrics, Bintou Toungara Kamara, the daughter of the Minister of Energy and Petroleum Adama Toungara, works alongside Petroci and SIR.
Gifted bosses Ouattara's Côte d'Ivoire will go down in history for having ousted a member of the government suspected of embezzlement of public funds without the latter being worried by the courts. Better, Adama Bictogo, ex-minister of African integration close to the first lady Dominique Ouattara, carries out numerous operations in the lucrative sector of biometrics via his company Snedai. He also relies on his relays to the Ivorian presidency to introduce Turkish interests, like the Yildirim Group which is going to open a subsidiary in Abidjan in order to compete with the transport company Sotra.
The entire Bictogo sibling is involved around the “big brother” Adama. Moumouni Bictogo and Salif Bictogo founded the mining firm Lagune exploration, which holds several gold permits. Mohamed Sidi Kagnassi is another “singularity”. This fashionable businessman under the regime of Laurent Gbagbo and close to Guillaume Soro was able to bounce back thanks to his interpersonal skills. Overnight, he became a construction magnate without owning any company in this sector. Après avoir décroché le marché de la réhabilitation des universités ivoiriennes, il a opportunément fondé la SIMDCI (LC no677). Il négocie actuellement un contrat pour la construction de 10 000 classes.
Ces familles qui règnent à Abidjan
En politique comme dans les milieux d'affaires, les grandes familles influentes de Côte d'Ivoire continuent de régner sans trop d'encombre. Galerie de portraits.
Membre de la plus célèbre des familles ivoiriennes celle du père de l'indépendance Félix Houphouët Boigny , Guillaume, l'un des fils du “Vieux”, prospère depuis des années dans les affaires. Il a notamment bâti le prestigieux immeuble Jeceda du nom de ses enfants Jean, Cécile et David au cœur du quartier du Plateau d'Abidjan. Profitant de la situation du patriarche Henri Konan Bédié, alias “HKB”, les enfants de l'exprésident défait en 1999, mais qui a joué un rôle central durant la crise postélectorale, occupent des postes convoités. Son fils JeanLuc Bédié est conseiller spécial chargé de l'économie et des finances à la présidence ivoirienne. Lucette, l'une des filles du “Bouddha de Daoukro”, est DGA de la Société des palaces de Cocody (SDPC), qui gère les complexes hôteliers de l'Etat. Autre fils, Patrick Bédié, fait carrière dans le négoce du cafécacao. Patron de la division Afrique du trader suisse Novel Commodities, il a récemment étendu ses activités au riz.
La famille d'Alassane Ouattara n'est pas en reste depuis son arrivée au pouvoir. Le frère cadet Ibrahima Ouattara, dit “Photocopie”, cumule ses fonctions d'élu avec celles de ministre chargé des affaires présidentielles au palais d'Abidjan. Nièce du chef de l'Etat, Masséré Touré gère pour sa part la communication de ce dernier. Dans le sillage de son époux, Dominique Ouattara a également placé ses enfants et ses frères.
Son fils Loïc Folloroux pilote le département Afrique du trader Armajaro. Le frère Marc Nouvian a fondé la Société négoce internationale de Côte d'Ivoire (Soneici), qu'il dirige avec sa sœur Noelle Nouvian. Autre frère de la première dame, Philippe Nouvian dirige le cabinet Gemco (maîtrise d'ouvrage, gestion immobilière, intermédiation financière) et possède plusieurs marchés en Côte d'Ivoire.
Du côté de la famille Billon, JeanLouis a dirigé, à partir de 2011, le groupe familial Sifca, premier groupe privé ivoirien fondé par son père Pierre Billon Ouattara, un proche d'HouphouëtBoigny. Il a renoncé à ses mandats sociaux au profit de son frère Pierre, suite à sa nomination, fin 2012, comme ministre du commerce. David, un autre de ses frères, dirige la société Sivom. Son beau-père Charles Providence Gomis est l'ambassadeur de Côte d'Ivoire en France.
Enfin, aux côtés des Donwahi ou des Yacé, la famille d'Amadou Thiam, exministre de l'information d'HouphouëtBoigny, reste également incontournable dans le paysage ivoirien. L'un de ses fils, Augustin, est gouverneur de Yamoussoukro. Parmi ses autres fils, Daouda occupe le poste stratégique de conseiller chargé des ressources naturelles à la présidence, tandis qu'Abdel Aziz poursuit sa carrière dans le privé au sein du groupe maritime Necotrans.
Source : La Lettre du Continent
Source: Le Reporter
Source: http://bamada.net/alassane-ouattara-et-les-affaires-de-famille
