75610
                                                                                                       April 2012



                      PPIAF Assistance in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire is recovering from over a decade of socio-economic conflict that culminated in a five-month
post-electoral crisis and short-lived civil war. The conflict brought economic activity to a standstill, severely
affected basic social service delivery, and further damaged the country’s social fabric. In spite of the
severe economic crisis, short- to medium-term growth prospects for Côte d’Ivoire are good, provisional
on a steady post-conflict recovery. Côte d’Ivoire plays a pivotal role in the West Africa region given its
economic size (representing 40% of the West African Economic and Monetary Union’s GDP), relatively
high per capita income (US$1,050 in 2010), and facilitation of transit trade for landlocked neighboring
countries (e.g., Mali, Burkina Faso). The country is the largest exporter of cocoa and raw cashew nuts in
the world, the largest African exporter of rubber and palm oil, and the third largest exporter of non-oil
products in Sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa and Nigeria.

The government of Côte d’Ivoire is committed to a priority socio-economic recovery program, and a
critical aspect of this agenda is the rehabilitation and expansion of infrastructure services, which will be
particularly critical to help domestic and external trade, and ultimately to address the overarching
challenge of generating employment opportunities. To re-launch economic growth and address the
infrastructure gap, the government intends to promote the involvement of the private sector, including
through innovative contractual public-private partnership (PPP) approaches to leverage financing and
enhance efficiency of service delivery.

Recognizing the need to overhaul its enabling environment and build capacity to engage effectively with
the private sector, the government established the National Committee for the Promotion and
Development of PPPs. The Ministry of the City and Urban Public Health has sought PPIAF support to
advance this PPP agenda forward in the specific case of a sector strategy for solid waste management in
the district of Abidjan. PPIAF also has three ongoing activities supporting the general enabling
environment for PPPs in Côte d’Ivoire.

Technical Assistance to Abidjan’s Solid Waste Management Sector

In 2010 the Ministry of the City and of Urban Public Health requested PPIAF support to design a
strategic plan for the collection and management of solid waste in Abidjan, one of the largest urban
centers in West Africa. The lack of regular collection and appropriate facilities for solid waste had
generated the spontaneous creation of dumping sites, which created health and security hazards for the
city’s population. With the support of the World Bank through the Urgent Urban Infrastructure Project,
Côte d’Ivoire was able to eliminate these informal dump sites. However, a longer-term solution has yet to
be adopted that will ensure an efficient management of solid waste in the city. The main obstacles are
the lack of coherent organization of the sector, the absence of an appropriate mechanism to mobilize
resources and financing for solid waste, and the obsolescence and insufficiency of the equipment and
vehicles used to collect, transport, treat, or eliminate the waste.

PPIAF provided technical assistance to the government of Côte d'Ivoire for the development of a
strategy for the sustainable management of solid waste in the district of Abidjan. The activity helped to
assess the issues affecting the current management system of solid waste in the district; develop a plan
for sustainable and efficient management, taking into consideration the local conditions; establish a
funding mechanism; and define the options for possible private sector involvement in the solid waste
management system.

The study highlighted the need for more formally structured governance and operation of the different
stages of collection, transportation, and treatment of household solid waste. The current disorganization
of the services resulted in an overflow of the existing centers for collection and health hazards, due to
the improper handling of the waste. The report also analyzed sources of revenues ( taxes d’enlèvement
des ordures ménagères) for the solid waste sector, and suggested mobilizing additional revenues from
other sources such as real estate taxes. It examined different ways of valorizing the solid waste outputs,
increasing recycling, and generating revenue. The report emphasized the need for strong leadership



                                                        1
from the authorities, with clear allocation of responsibilities to the different agencies involved in the
sector, and more structured and efficient participation of the private sector. While the private sector is
already formally and informally involved in the sector, the definition of responsibilities, mechanisms for
remuneration, and performance monitoring and evaluation structures are not well organized. The report
concluded that there was a need for participation to be better structured through the definition of written
contracts with a duration of 5–7 years and clear definitions of performance indicators, sources of
revenues, and other contractual conditions. It also highlighted the importance of involving local
communities in the early stage of pre-collection and the creation of a committee that would overlook and
monitor the appropriate performance during the duration of the contract.

Looking forward, the report analyzed different options for a better provision of services and
recommended a concession contract as the best PPP option for the management of solid waste in the
district of Abidjan, which would work if the government were to enforce and facilitate the collection of
payments from the users by the private operator. In the proposed scheme, the private operator would
be responsible for the service, including investments, collection, and centers of transfer and deposit.
Financing for the investment would come from both the private sector and the Fonds de Soutien aux
Programmes de Salubrité Urbaine, a fund managed by the Ministry of the City and of Urban Public
Health to support programs to improve sanitary conditions in urban areas.

Given the poor performance of solid waste services in Abidjan, as analyzed in the PPIAF report, the
Ministry of Urban Sanitation decided to launch an international bidding process for the integrated
management of solid waste in Abidjan districts, which would include the collection, treatment, and
valorization of solid waste, as well as the rehabilitation of the dumping site of Akouedo, the construction
and operation of a treatment plant, and recycling of solid waste. After an initial market sounding on
September 15, 2011, the bidding process was launched on October 20, 2011. Twenty-two firms
expressed interest, and 12 submitted offers, which were opened on December 5, 2011. The bidding was
declared unsuccessful and voided, as none of the bidders passed the technical evaluation. A second
restricted bidding was launched by requesting revised offers from the three top bidders, namely Isp
Pangola, Satarem Greensol, and Green City Aecom. Satarem Greensol was declared the winning bidder
on January 23, 2012 of a 15–20-year concession contract for the integrated management of solid waste.
However, the two other bidders contested the outcome of the bidding, and consequently the government
decided to cancel the award of the contract and announced in February that it would soon re-launch the
bidding process. PPIAF will continue to monitor the bidding process for additional outcomes.

                    Results of PPIAF’s Activities in Abidjan’s Solid Waste Sector

Category                            Outputs
Enabling environment reform

                                        Study on private sector participation in solid waste management
                                         in Abidjan, with a diagnostic of the situation in the sector, a
Plans/strategies prepared
                                         proposal for reforming the sector and an analysis of options to
                                         efficiently involve the private sector, July 2011


Category                             Outcomes
Enabling environment reform

                                        Strategy for the sustainable management of solid waste in the
Plans/strategies adopted
                                         district of Abidjan adopted, 2011




                                                     2
Looking Ahead: PPIAF and the PPP Agenda in Côte d’Ivoire

PPIAF is currently supporting a rapid scoping of a PPP pipeline and the identification of recommendations
to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for PPPs. In addition, it is supporting a pilot project to
build awareness among consumers on the importance of paying cost recovery to ensure the sustainability
of public services such as water, sewerage, and electricity.




                                                      3