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Ivory Coast: Ouattara poised to win big in the wake of rapid economic growth
Ouattara, campaigned for the presidency in 2010 saying the constitution needed to be changed. However, he spent his first term focused on reviving the economy after Gbagbo’s refusal to recognize his victory plunged the country into turmoil.
“We need to revisit the question of nationality. We will also have to see what are the roles of the Supreme Court and if we should have an electoral commission,” Ouattara said.
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Having implemented a policy of heavy investment in infrastructure during his first term, Ouattara, has been largely credited for Ivory Coast’s rapid post-war economic revival.
Economic growth has averaged around 9 percent over the past 3 years, according to the latest figures. Ouattara said that an influx of new investment would push that figure into double digits from next year. The IMF has issued a more conservative average forecast of 8.4 percent for 2015 and 2016.
After issuing a dollar-denominated bond in each of the past 2 years to pay for infrastructure upgrades, Ouattara said the government was in a position to curb its Eurobond issuances.
“I think the private sector will take over. If I go to a Eurobond market now it will be to shave the debt profile,” Ouattara said, pledging to keep the government debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio below 50 percent.
Ouattara’s election opponents have accused him of seeking to use Ivory Coast’s impressive growth figures to paper over what they say are failures in the realms of post-war reconciliation and justice. His main challenger is likely to be Pascal Affi N’Guessan, the head of Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front.
N’Guessan and other opposition candidates say little of the wealth created by the country’s current economic boom has trickled down to the most vulnerable.
“Obviously there are a lot of people who are not profiting from the high rate of growth on a personal basis,” Ouattara responded. “But when you have better roads, when you have better schools, when you have better health centers, all this improves the lot of the people.”
Source: Reuters
