In order to realize the potential of the colonies’ natural resources, France had to build an extensive infrastructure in most of the colonies.  The French built irrigation systems to improve the yield of agricultural products and they also constructed roads, railways, and harbors to facilitate exportation.  The French brought technical assistants to Africa to help develop the colonial economies and governments and also to impart skills and knowledge to the native Africans.  Because France’s colonial holdings encompassed many diverse tribes and languages, French became the official language of business and government in the colonies.  The French placed importance on French culture in the colonies, promoting French art, literature, and cinema in many of the rich, developed cities.  To a lesser degree, the French also encouraged the dissemination of Christianity and more specifically, Catholicism, ignoring the traditional beliefs of the Africans.

            As the twentieth century progressed, France found it increasingly difficult to maintain their strong presence in Africa.  The Depression of the late 1920’s and 1930’s took a huge economic toll on France, forcing France to pour money into its own impoverished areas as opposed to its African ventures.  World War II hurt France economically and militarily, devastating much of the country.  At the same time, political discussion in Africa gradually became more widespread and open and not solely concentrated among the heavily pro-European elite members of society.  African workers went on strike to obtain higher wages and better working conditions.  Some African leaders became more outspoken and adamant in their calls for decolonization.  Finally, France found it too burdensome to continue to control its African colonies.  France decided to grant independence to most of the colonies in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.  The new presidents of the colonies were predominantly pro-French and typically did not differ much from the French colonial governors, which allowed France to maintain its sphere of influence in Africa.

            The former French colonies have had varying degrees of success since independence.  The oil-producing nations, Algeria, Tunisia, and Gabon (and to a lesser extent, Cameroon) have been the most prosperous, with higher per-capita incomes, literacy rates, and life expectancies.  The land-locked countries with limited natural resources, which include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad, are among the poorest and illiterate nations in the world.  The West African nations with important ports: Senegal, Mauritania, and the Ivory Coast, are among the middle income countries and typically have a more educated and richer urban population that is concentrated in and around the port city.  For a comprehensive table of vital statistics on all of the former French colonies in Africa, see the appendix (table 1). 

Perhaps the most intriguing and important former French colony in Africa is Cote d’Ivoire, known in the United States as the Ivory Coast.  The Ivory Coast has the most important deep water port in Western Africa, Abidjan.  The Ivory Coast is often touted as a paragon of economic success and political stability.  The country experienced an economic boom in the two decades after independence in 1960 and had an extremely pro-French President, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who controlled the country for thirty-four years, from independence to his death in 1993.  Unlike many of its neighboring countries, the Ivory Coast has not had a major domestic uprising or civil war during its independence. 

The Ivory Coast is ethnically and religiously diverse: the country has sixty ethnic groups and sixty percent of the population hold traditional beliefs while twenty percent are Muslim and another twenty percent are Christian. (Arnold, p. 67)  Forty-five percent of the approximately fifteen million inhabitants of the Ivory Coast live in urban areas which are predominantly located in the south. (Arnold, p. 67)  The cities are a diverse mix of native Ivorians, immigrants from other African nations, and European expatriates.  The Ivory Coast has a low literacy rate (40%) and a low life expectancy (45 years), but these statistics are misleading because they include the large number of poor, illiterate immigrants from Burkina Faso and Mali. (World Factbook online)  Native Ivorians are more educated and healthier than the immigrants that make up almost a third of the population. (World Factbook Online)  The Ivory Coast’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, specifically on the two products coffee and cocoa.  The Ivory Coast also exports pineapple and rubber and has an important timber industry.  The value-added industries of agricultural processing and oil refining (both imported oil from Nigeria and offshore oil) and the manufacturing and mining sectors (the Ivory Coast has deposits of manganese, iron ore, bauxite, and copper) of the economy are small but currently expanding.

            The Ivory Coast has many political and social problems such as inadequate educational and health care systems and regional economic and social disparities.  The Ivory Coast must find a way to better integrate its many immigrants  For the future, the Ivory Coast needs to decrease its dependence on agriculture and expand its industrial economy in order to compete in the global market.  The Ivory Coast will not be able  to rely on France in the future, but instead must develop new trading relationships with the European community and with other countries in Africa and the United States.

The Ivory Coast—1960’s and 1970’s

The following years after World War II, France began to transfer its power and rule of its Ivory Coast colony to pro-French Ivorian leaders. Felix Houphouet-Boigny, an Ivorian native and member of the French Assembly, emerged as the dominant political figure of the Ivory Coast with his allegiance towards France. He created a name for himself by founding the Rassemblement democratique africain (RDA), a committee that had links throughout all French West Africa, creating the Syndicat Agricole Africain (African agriculture syndicate: SAA), and leading his country under French rule. (Andereggen, pp. 26-27) His SAA group, latter will become the PDCI, consisted of a group of 200,000 southern farmers seeking to alter colonial agriculture in their favor. (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 60) Felix enjoyed the colonial times because a beneficial agricultural trade between the Ivory Coast colony and France that allowed him and other party members to prosper. With the tide of independence sweeping through the Francophile African colonies; however, the pressure was mounting untill finally Felix declared the Ivory Coast’s independence on August 7, 1960. (Arnold, p. 68)

            Since, Felix and his parti democratique de la Cote Ivoire (Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast), also simply known as the PDCI, had been running most of the Ivory Coast during the last decade and a half of France’s rule, he and his party controlled most of the country’s politics. (Arnold, p. 68) Furthermore, since he was pro-French and wanted to keep a close knitted relationship with France, Felix also obtained the support of the French government and more importantly the French military. These two factors allowed the PDCI, with Felix as its head, to easily seize control of the country. The PDCI composed of essentially a southern ethnic clan of the older elite of the Ivory Coast, which left the rest of the country to face a severely biased and one-sided government. Felix’s reign as president of the Ivory Coast would last over three decades and would shape the country’s political and social structures and consequently the economic system, including the country’s relationship with France, for a long period of time.

The political structure and rule under President Felix’s mirrored the system created during the colonial times. It lacked political linkage and kept the public voice subdued by creating misrepresentations and limiting the ability for a forum of communication between the people and its government. Within this system, President Felix grew as the supreme authority that allowed him to establish the policies he desired without much contention. The central party government had branched its power to certain “friends” of Felix’s throughout the territories of the Ivory Coast known as secretary-generals. The regions, called sous-sections, remained broken into large areas containing numerous different ethnic groups that instead of being controlled by the previous French administrators were now ruled by pro-Felix supporters who were virtual strangers to those regions. (Andereggen, p. 66) The secretary-generals were given unlimited authority as long as they followed some pro-Felix guidelines. A pro-Felix reign as secretary-generals ensured them a permanent position without any elections. Even if elections were held and the ballots showed in favor of someone else, President Felix would simply overturn them. This job security allowed the secretary-generals to develop into highly corrupt officers which hurt and stunted the growth of the public good in favor of their own. Each locality under their rule would have to bribe their administrator with gifts and money in order to have anything done which caused villages to constantly remain in struggle with one another in order to receive the necessities or luxuries they sought after.

For example, in the region of Seguela, two neighboring villages, Tjemassoba and Gbogolo, quarreled over the transferring of the market traditionally located in Tjemassoba to Gbogolo, and the decision to construct the school in Gbogolo instead of Tjemassoba. (Foster and Zolberg, p. 90) According to the secretary-general, the reasoning behind the reversal of the original decision was that Tjemassoba were “bad Muslims.” (Foster and Zolberg, p. 90) The villagers of Tjemassoba had simply not given the secretary-general enough gifts, though he had received “three sheep, a large goat, a sack of rice, and 20,000 francs,” yet this was less than the Gbogolo gifts of “130,000 francs, a cow, some rice, and much oil.” (Foster and Zolberg, p. 90) Thus, due to Gbogolo’s better financial and resource capabilities, the secretary-general at the time decided to award them with what was originally promised to the village of Tjemassoba. These types of scenarios occurred all the time throughout the country because of the lack of close surveillance on the activities of the secretary-generals and their good standing with the President Felix. The central party members in charge of these secretary-generals are so far removed from the rural areas of the country that keeping a close eye on the activities of these administrators was almost impossible. Even if the secretary-generals were caught, President Felix could easily reverse the punishment in order to protect his allies and his own interest of keeping pro-Felix sentiment administrators in power.

…ultra vires action by a secretary-general illustrates

            not only the diffuse character of the critical linkage role

            between the party center and its members, but it indicates

            the manner in which the party remains a ‘partisan’ rather

            than an integrative organization. Furthermore, poor linkage

within the party can operate as an impediment to linkage

within the administrative structure.

(Foster and Zolberg, p. 91)

This lack of communication between the central government and the people caused the pubic voice and outcry to remain unheard and instead the needs of Felix and his allies remained at the forefront. By shaping the structure of the political government in this loose formation, Felix was able to make all other decisions, including political, social, and economic, for his own good. His political authority would allow him to keep a close relationship with France and thus continue to expand the agricultural export trade that he had benefited greatly during the colonial times.

            However, President Felix would have to guarantee his security as head of his country and supreme authority of his party in order to keep his ability to make all decisions regarding the Ivory Coast. In his early years, President Felix would experience the first sign of turmoil and his own instability with the crisis of 1962-1964. These events of civil unrest and unhappiness from the young student opposition and from within some of the central government officials would foreshadow the constant problems President Felix would endure throughout his tenure in office.

            During the crisis of 1962-1964, a planned coup d’etat to overthrow President Felix by political officials of the central government and by the young students failed. (Arnold, p.68 & Foster and Zolberg, p. 16) Yet, the government had learned of these plans before the rebels were able to execute them. This event caused President Felix to secure his position even more. He limited his opposition’s rising power by abolishing certain group and individual liberties and by attracting more people on his side through money bribing. First, President Felix altered his party’s structure by tightening up his party even more than previously and by appointing even more friendly faces as central party officials and rural administrators. Second, he had more people rally behind him by bettering certain people’s financial situation. For example, President Felix issued a law that increased the wages of civil servants and thus increasing the number of countrymen that wanted to keep him in office. (Foster and Zolberg, p. 18) Finally, he created a party militia of army veteran whose sole purpose was to defend him.

Moreover, he dissolved many organizations that promoted more public freedom to better secure his position. For example, immediately after the crisis, he delayed the opening of the congress by a year and abolished the student organization JRDACI, who had been partly responsible for the failed plan to oust Felix. (Foster and Zolberg, p. 16) Felix also stripped away many individual freedoms and opportunities in order to limit his opposition’s rising power. First, a law was passed called the “law for the utilization of persons” that allowed President Felix to mobilize so called “idle” men into labor camps. (Foster and Zolberg, p. 20) Second, he only issued scholarships to students that displayed their loyalty to him through public political demonstrations. These two rules allowed him the power to vanish opposing figures into camps and curve the growth of the young second-generation opposition of students by preventing them from attending universities.

            Student uprisings would continue to plague Felix’s administration along with civil unrest caused by the large tides of immigrants seeking employment in the agriculture areas and as skilled labor in industrial cities like Abidjan. However, these tensions never posed a real threat to him because of the economic boom that the country was undergoing. In 1968-1969, the students revolted throughout the country demanding reform of Felix’s party. To the younger generation of Ivorians, President Felix represented the French colonial times and thus the wanted a younger and less pro-French government. (Arnold, p. 69) Nevertheless, throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, President Fleix’s authority was hardly limited in any way. Occasionally, in order to calm down situations and keep a peaceful balance, he would concede to certain demands and constitutional amendments. In 1976, at age 71, he agreed to an amendment that allowed the head of the National Assembly to replace him as president in case of his death or incapacity. (Arnold, p. 68) None of these agreements ever limited his power as ruler of his country and thus his ideology stayed the same as long as the economy was strong.

As many problems as they were within the country’s democratic process and with the increase in immigration, the fact remained that by being the supreme authority in the Ivory Coast’s policies, President Felix was able to keep excellent relations with France, which in turn, allowed for a great trading partner. Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Ivory Coast experienced an economic boom largely in part of their agriculture exports, foreign capital, and an increase in the world prices of their two most profitable resources, coffee and cocoa towards the 1970’s. By the mid 1970’s, the Ivory Coast was propelled to “middle-level” country and was seen as a success story of Africa. (Arnold, p. 69) Being largely dependent on foreign, especially French, capital allowed the Ivory Coast to have a secure income through trade. Elliot Berg, a scholar who was written many books on the African colonies suggests:

                        …Can any country as small, as undeveloped, and as

            short of capital and skill as African countries generally are,

            have much development without heavy use of foreign factors

            of production? There is no way out of this problem, except

            to sacrifice growth for greater national ‘control.’

                                                            (Foster and Zolberg, pp.221-222)

In the 1960’s, President Felix had great relations not only with the presidents of France but also with France’s African ministers known as “Secretary-Generals.” Two of the 1950’s ministers to Africa, Pompidou and Giscard d’Estaing, dealt a lot with President Felix while he was in charge of the Ivory Coast after World War II and became close friends. Both Pompidou (‘69-‘74) and Giscard d’Estaing (‘74-’81) would become Presidents of France and continue to aid President Felix during the 1960’s and 1970’s. (Andereggen, p.78) By sharing close relations with both of these Presidents during colonialism, President Felix was able to continue to share a close cooperation with them and France that provided the Ivory Coast with financial and military aid.

President Felix took full advantage of the “extended family” treatment he received from France and its Presidents and used the funds from French financial aids to better develop the agricultural, and the industrial sectors. (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 80) “The Ivory Coast has had policies focused on the development of agriculture, with much attention to peasant agriculture and the export sector has been regarded as the main source of growth.” (Foster and Zolberg, p. 188) By developing the industrial sector, even though a lot of the labor force consisted of foreign African immigrants, President Felix provided the country with better transportation and easier access to markets for both the farmers and the merchants. He began to develop highways and bettered the Abidjan port in order to attract and facilitate trade between the Ivory Coast and other countries. (Corbett, p. 96) Furthermore, he established certain organizations to help monitor and assist the agriculture sector, concentrating their efforts on developing the cash crops (coffee and cocoa). “The Ivory Coast is the world’s third largest exporter of coffee…it’s also the world’s largest producer and exporter of cocoa.” (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 79) First, the Stabilization Fund (CSSPPA) was formed which covers the difference between the domestic price and the price from export markets. This organization allows for a more stable environment for farmers. “This mechanism provides produces with more stable incomes and it has also generated [during the 60’s and 70’s] substantial surpluses for the government.” (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 77) Second, other organizations like the Technical Assistance Society for the Agricultural Modernization of Ivory Coast (SATMACI) and Ivorian Company for Textile Development (CIDT) provide extensive services and help regulate the marketing of the crop. (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 77) All in all, these organizations formed under President Felix’s rule main purpose is to help relieve strain on small cash crop farmers and also help the products compete in the foreign market.

Naturally, President Felix is helping the agriculture sector as much as possible since it represents the most profitable area for the Ivory Coast. “Agriculture is a major component of the Ivorian economy and the basis of its development. It contributes one-third of the GDP, provides around 50 percent of exports, and employs an estimated 75 percent of the labor force…” (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 79) Due to the impressive agriculture export sector of the Ivorian economy, especially from coffee and cocoa the main cash crops, the Ivory Coast experienced a steady increase in the GDP over those two decades. The Ivory Coast’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased at a rate of 7.5% annually during the 1960’s and the 1970’s. (Arnold, p. 67) Moreover, the income wages of the individuals within the country also increased. “With an annual growth of 4 percent per year (including 1.5 percent due to migration) per capita income increased 3.5 percent annually until the end of the 1970’s.” (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 78) Capital income also increased in the early 1970’s when coffee prices multiplied by a factor of 3.6 and cocoa prices by a factor of 2.2. (Zartmen and Delgado, p. 86) As great an economic boom the Ivory Coast experienced during the 1960’s and the 1970’s; however, their economic base, primarily only agriculture, was too limited to carry the entire weight of the country’s economy. With the end of the 1970’s there came the start of a world recession, coffee and cocoa prices plummeted and thus forcing the Ivory Coast into a decade long recession of their own.

Ivory Coast--1980’s-Present

In 1981, Francois Mitterand was inaugurated as the new French President.  Over the course of the next decade and a half, France’s relationship with the Ivory Coast would proceed in new directions as the Ivory Coast experienced economic and political turmoil.  France continued to provide economic aid, technical assistance and political and military support to the Ivory Coast even as France was experiencing a recession and other domestic problems.  The Ivory Coast experienced economic and political changes that forced the country to evaluate the vulnerabilities of the Ivorian economy and society.  The Ivory Coast began to take baby steps toward a free market economy that could better compete in a global environment and toward a more efficient, democratic government that could create durable solutions to domestic problems.

The economic boom that the Ivory Coast enjoyed in the sixties and seventies proved to be artificial and ephemeral.  At the beginning of the 1980’s the high growth rate of the GDP slowed to an average of 2.2 per cent, which was smaller than the growth rate of the population, thus causing an increase in poverty. (Azam and Morrison, p. 48)  The slow growth rate disheartened both French and Ivorian leaders, who had enjoyed the coffee and cocoa booms while essentially ignoring the weaknesses in the Ivorian economic structure. The heavy reliance of the Ivorian economy on agriculture and inefficient government involvement in many industries contributed to the economic downturn in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. 

            The Ivorian economy is primarily dependent upon agricultural products for its livelihood.  Agricultural products accounted for 86% of all exports from Cote d’Ivoire in the early Eighties. (Schneider, p. 21)  The vory Coast is the world’s leading producer of cocoa beans and the third largest producer of coffee.  These two staples of the export economy accounted for 51.2% of all exports from Cote d’Ivoire in 1980. (Schneider, p. 21)  This causes instability in the economy because coffee and cocoa prices can be affected by both large changes in the international prices of the two commodities and natural events such as droughts.  To see the impact of coffee and cocoa prices on the Ivorian economy, compare the graph of the relative prices of cocoa and coffee from 1960 to 1991 (Figure 2 in appendix) to the graph of terms of trade in the Ivory Coast from 1970 to 1988 (Figure 3 in appendix).  Other agricultural products important in the Ivorian economy include cotton, palm oil, pineapples, rubber, sugar, and rice. The timber industry in the Ivory Coast expanded during the 1980’s, but this deforestation caused waste disposal and other environmental problems. 

The Ivorian government involves itself in the agricultural economy in order to receive a source of revenue.  The state has an agency, the Caisse de Stabilsation et de Soutien des Prix et des Productios Agricoles (CSSPPA), which is intended to “stabilize and support the prices of agricultural productions.”  The CSSPPA fixes a producer price at which exporters purchase the product and then announces an authorized export price and then keeps the difference between the two. (Schneider, p. 20)  This interference hurts farmers by both setting artificially high prices at which exports must buy, which can reduce the demand, and by directly taking away revenue from the farmers.  If the market were open, the farmers and exporters would probably agree on a price that is in between the high purchasing price and the official export price.  The farmers are not the only economic segment in the Ivory Coast that suffered during the 1980’s and early 1990’s.

The overemphasis of agriculture in the Ivorian economy hurts the manufacturing and construction sections.  Manufacturing, mining, and construction accounted for approximately 20% of GDP during the 1980’s. (Arnold, p. 68)  These industries are characterized by inefficient production schedules and a lack of organization among the upper echelons of the corporations.  The poor management of industry in the Ivory Coast caused a dramatic reduction in private investment in the economy.  Private investment in the economy fell from 16 percent of GDP in the early 1980’s to 7 percent by 1987. (Grootaert, p. 44)  With falling private investment, industry was forced to rely upon government for a majority of its funding.

            In the 1980’s, the government of the Ivory Coast controlled large investments in the economy.  The government owned a majority share in many important companies in industries such as oil, gas, sugar, and rubber processing. In 1983, the government accounted for 59% of total investment. (Schneider, p. 20)  However, the Ivory Coast government did not foresee the great decline in private investment that was to come and instead began to reduce government investment in the economy. 

President Felix took steps to decrease the share of the government in the economy.  He appointed Antoine Cesareo, a French citizen to become the head of DCGTX, the government agency that focused upon gradually reducing the government’s role in the economy.  Cesareo took some important steps, such as setting a 5% ceiling per year in growth of public expenditure. (Azam and Morrison, p. 48)  This had the effect of decreasing public investment by 38% from 1981 to 1983. (Azam and Morrison, p. 48)  The government taxed petroleum and tried to stabilize prices of utilities.  The government also disbanded or privatized many businesses it controlled.  The government went from controlling a majority share in 36 companies to 7 after its reforms.  (Azam and Morrison, p. 49)  These steps intended to liberalize the economy were admirable, but the Ivory Coast did not take a comprehensive look at the management of industry within the country.  This oversight prevented the government’s liberalization measures from having a major impact because private investment fell and the economy became worse than before the governmental reforms. 

            Throughout the 1980’s, the Ivory Coast experienced political and social changes that had detrimental effects for the country.  Students clashed with officials in 1982 over the government reduction of grants, and President Felix was not very receptive to student concerns about the quality of learning in the universities.  This discouraged many ambitious young people, who left to pursue higher education in other African countries or in Europe and did not return to their homeland to apply their education and skills. 

The regional governments ranged from inactive and apathetic to corrupt and spiteful of its constituency.  Government wages and salaries accounted for 12% of GDP (Grootaert, p. 42), and civil service salaries were much higher than in the private sector.  These high salaries did not attract the best leaders, just those interested in higher incomes.  The poor, rural areas of the north were the most notable for the lack of government attention to the problems of the people.  The North contains a large percentage of immigrants from Burkina Faso and Mali, and these people are not economically or socially integrated into the Ivorian society.  The literacy rates in some towns in the north approach single digits, and the life expectancy is lower in the rural areas than in the more developed Southern cities. (Andereggen, p. 142)  The regional government leaders did not attempt to communicate with the people, and many leaders siphoned away some of the funding they received from the central government for better schools or more hospitals or roads.  In response to anti-government protests, President Felix passed a series of anti-corruption laws in 1984. (Arnold, p. 69)

During the late Eighties, economic and political troubles intensified in the Ivory Coast. Coffee and cocoa prices experienced a slight increase in 1984-1985, but this did not improve the economy as a whole because they soon collapsed to extremely low levels.  Trade decreased by 41% between 1986 and 1990. (Andereggen, p. 144)  France responded to the poor economic conditions in the Ivory Coast by sending over a new wave of technical assistants to help develop industry and infrastructure.  Unfortunately, they became discouraged with the disorganization in the Ivorian government and industry and 50% of the assistants had left the Ivory Coast by 1989. (Schneider, p. 70)  In 1988, French Prime Minister Michel Rocard argued against free trade and advocated French intervention in the cocoa market, culminating in a 400,000 ton purchase of cocoa by the French company Sucres et Denrees, the largest single purchase of cocoa ever made. (Azam and Morrison, p. 64)  Prime Minister Rocard’s comments encouraged the government to tighten restrictions on agricultural products, contradicting the movement towards a free market economy.  Since the CFA Franc is directly related to the French franc, the Ivory Coast experienced fluctuations including several downturns during the recession in France during the 1980’s.  This recession caused a 32% reduction in direct French aid to the Ivory Coast from 1986 to 1989. (Azam and Morrison, p. 65) 

President Felix was aware of the country’s economic problems in the late 1980’s.  In an address to the nation in 1987, President Felix said, “We have been denouncing for many years the deterioration of the terms of trade; but as long as we are not able to process all or part of our raw materials into manufactured or semi-manufactured products, we will be wasting our time denouncing the situation.” (Frimpong, et al., p. 358)  However, awareness did not translate into action.  The President did not provide incentives to the manufacturing companies.  He also did not acknowledge the input of the French experts who advised him to appoint a commission to determine the underpinnings of the poor production and labor management in the major corporations.

Instead, President Felix began to initiate projects that many viewed as a waste of valuable resources.  Felix had moved the official capital of the Ivory Coast from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro, his hometown, in 1983 even though most foreign countries continued to regard Abidjan as the de facto capital due to its economic and political prominence.  President Felix ordered the construction of a $200 million basilica in the late 1980’s in an attempt to develop Yamoussoukro into a major city in Africa. (Arnold, p. 69)  Teachers, students, farmers, and military leaders, many of whom were suffering from the poor economy, vehemently protested this project. 

President Felix began to realize that he was alienating many of his supporters with his policies and actions.  In 1986, President Felix appointed a new cabinet with younger ministers to appeal to young adults.  In 1990, the government faced a crisis when air force and military  personnel took control of the airport.  President Felix had to request the support of French soldiers and offer major concessions to alleviate the situation.  Student protests and labor strife continued to mount, and under pressure in 1990, Felix took the next step in the evolution of democracy in the Ivory Coast.  He enacted legislation that allowed opposition parties in the elections.  However, despite all his oppostion, Felix was reelected in 1990 with 85% of the vote. (Arnold, p. 70)  This was due to the lack of organization of the opposition parties (the PDCI had the advantage of over forty years of experience as a political party), and the overall low voting rates in the Ivory Coast.

            After reelection, President Felix expressed a desire to step down from power, but not until he stabilized the domestic situation.  During the next four years, Felix did not attempt any major changes in the economy or political structure.  In 1993, President Felix died, leaving a mixed legacy.  Felix had maintained peace and order in the Ivory Coast while presiding over both economic booms and recessions.  He was well-respected and admired by Ivorians and Frenchmen alike.   Henri Konan Bedie, the former leader of the National Assembly, became the new President of the Ivory Coast.  He was reelected in 1995, although that election was tarnished by rioting and the exclusion of a major opposition candidate. (Economist editorial, p. 20) 

In January 1994, the French devalued the CFA franc, the currency of the Ivory Coast and many other Francophone countries.  France devalued the franc by 50%, a decision that the Ivorians protested but may have been the most beneficial thing France has done for the Ivory Coast in the past thirty years. (Whiteman, p. 13)  The devaluation initially caused inflation in the Ivory Coast and the country experienced a 32% inflation in 1994. (Whiteman, p. 15).  However, inflation gradually stabilized to a level of 8% by 1996. (Ojo, p. 222)  The devaluation was the final step in the deterioration of the economic and political relationship between France and the Ivory Coast.  French development has decreased during the 1990’s and Germany has supplanted France as the primary recipient of Ivorian exports, with the Netherlands also becoming a more important trading partner.  The government has committed financial and human resources to expansion, and the Ivory Coast looks forward to the development of a single European market.

Future of the Ivory Coast--Domestic  

The Ivory Coast has many domestic problems it must solve if it is to succeed in the next century.  Primarily, the Ivory Coast needs to expand and diversify its economy.  The country needs to increase its value-added industries such as the processing of agricultural products, building furniture, refining Nigerian oil, banking, and construction.  The Ivory Coast must expand its banking industries in order to provide capital for new business ventures within the country.  A recent survey of private corporations in the Ivory Coast showed that lack of access to finance was the biggest obstacle to the growth of the businesses. (Grootaert, p. 44)  Besides increasing major loans to large corporations, the banks should also increase the number of small loans that enable entrepreneurs to set up businesses that produce exportable goods.  The government should also create an information program that conducts economic research to discover what sectors and products hold the most potential promise for production and exports. 

In order to accomplish long term changes in the economy and political structure of the country, the Ivory Coast must improve its education and healthcare systems.  In the education system, 95% of the budget is allocated to teacher salaries. (Grootaert, p. 183) This leaves a meager 5% for textbooks, science and computer equipment, and building improvements and renovations.  Without a stable education system, the Ivory Coast has no foundation upon which to build for the future.  The Ivory Coast cannot prosper economically unless it has an educated and skilled workforce.  The nation cannot afford a large exodus of students who leave to study in Europe or the United States and never return, choosing instead to take advantage of the better economic opportunities abroad.  In the health care industry, the salaries of doctors and nurses occupy 77% of healthcare expenses. (Grootaert, p. 184)  The Ivory Coast depends on charitable organizations such as the Red Cross for medical supplies.  The poor health care conditions in the Ivory Coast cause economic damage in the form of lost labor and lower life expectancies, which should urge the government to reallocate their funding.  The government can take important measures to improve public health and sanitation by insuring frequent and efficient garbage disposal and clean, safe water. 

The Ivory Coast must also improve regional cooperation and try to integrate the large number of immigrants into Ivoirian society.  Currently, rural areas in Ivory Coast have 70% of the total number of poor people. (Grootaert, p. 180)  The government must implement measures such as integrating the immigrant children into schools with native Ivorians and expanding technical schools that teach skills that are necessary for employment.  The government should continue to make its political system more free and open, encouraging political debate in the media in an attempt to discover the most practical and beneficial solutions to the Ivory Coast’s domestic problems.

President Henri Konan Bedie has experienced some economic success during the first few years of his leadership. From 1995 to 1997, the GDP of the Ivory Coast increased at the annual rate of 7% per year. (World Factbook online)  President Bedie has many plans for improving the economic future of the Ivory Coast.  He wants the Ivory Coast to increase the processing of agricultural products.  In an interview with the Washington Times, he commented, “We process roughly 20% of our agricultural products, particularly coffee and cocoa.  The rate of processing is even higher for rubber and especially palm oil.  Our main goal is to increase the percentage to 50% or half of all raw materials will be processed before export.” (Washington Times online)  The eager President also wants to develop tourism.  He explains, “Cote d’Ivoire’s tourism sector has the potential to be the leading industry of the country.  We possess 800 kilometers of beaches and beautiful lagoons.  In addition to the magnificent coasts, we also have a rich cultural heritage.  One of our outstanding cultural aspects are Ivorian masks and dancers, which have a particularly unique appeal for tourists.” (Washington Times online)     

President Bedie is skilled at foreign diplomacy, which he will use to create economic incentives for foreign countries to invest in the Ivory Coast.  President Bedie has met with leaders from Germany, Italy, England, the Netherlands, and the United States to encourage investment in the Ivory Coast.  Foreign investment will be an essential part of the Ivorian plans for economic expansion in the next century, providing the necessary capital to develop manufacturing that will allow the Ivory Coast to compete in the global economy.

Future of the Ivory Coast—International

(Relations with France and Globalization of the economy)

By the mid 1990’s, the Ivory Coast appears to be heading in the right direction in shaping its economy. As relations with France deteriorated in the early 1990’s, the Ivory Coast under the leadership of President Henri Konan Bedie gradually learned from the economic mistakes made in the past three decades under former President Felix Houphouet-Boigny. The country has learned not to be so dependent on its relationship with its former colonizer and instead globalize their economy. France’s relationship with the Ivory Coast has decreased in three areas, trade, investment, and military, in the past several years.

 In general, it appears that France has taken a more general stance towards Africa instead of concentrating solely on its former colonies. On a BBC radio address, Charles Josselin, French secretary of state for cooperation, was quoted as saying, “…the French government would like to see ‘a more genuine partnership with Africa.” (AFP News Agency, July 7, 1997) Hence, France cooperation, military and financial, with Africa is spread among numerous different countries.

In regards to the Ivory Coast, France has showed less interest in three areas. First, the trade interest has dropped. According to an interview between the Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan and a Radio France correspondent, Mr. Prime Minister claimed that trade between the two countries had declined by 5 percent between 1995 and 1997. (Radio France Internationale, March 17, 1998) Due to the recession that hampered the Ivory Coast’s economy and trade export sector, France has moved its interest in other areas in order to receive the raw materials it so desires. Second, the investment interest has also declined. Once again Mr. Duncan in the same interview stated that French investment in the Ivory Coast went down by ten percent between the years of 1994 and 1998. (Radio France Internationale, March 17, 1998) Even though, France had still given important financial help in many Ivorian areas, like the 2 million U.S dollar aid for improving the political linkage and the 27 million U.S dollar donation for bettering the drinking water conditions in the Ivory Coast, the aid has decreased since the recession according to Ivorian political officials. (Radio Cote d’Ivoire, August 21, 1997) Finally, the military agreements between Franc and the Ivory Coast also has deteriorated due to the Ivorian recession (1980-1993) France had failed to execute some clauses in the defense pact of 1961. For example, there had been no joint military exercises during the 1980’s. (Television Ivoirienne, March 1, 1997) Due to the lack of full military reliability from France, the Ivory Coast government learned to become more self-sufficient in this field. They now train their own troops within the country instead of sending them to France for training. This trend of becoming more self-sufficient and less reliant on France has also become evident in the economic sector.

The government of the Ivory Coast has begun to diversify their economic base in order not to mimic its country’s past mistakes. By diversifying their economic base, meaning exploring other resources, the country is now trying to prevent applying so much strain on the agriculture sector. The government with the investment cooperation of different foreign companies from countries all over the world started to develop other resources like mining and energy. Primarily, foreign companies are interested in the mining resources of gold. With over 14 million U.S dollars invested in gold mining in 1998, the Ivorian government is already projecting an accumulation of 1.2 tons in 1998 and 3.2 tons in 1999. (PanAfrican News Agency, July 28, 1998) Even though these amounts of gold is minimal in comparison of the world’s total agglomeration, it is important not only because the government is expanding its economic base to avoid recessions like the one of the 1980’s but also because it shows high interest in the Ivorian resource capabilities. Many mining companies are closing their digs in Africa, yet these companies seem confident in the Ivory Coast, largely because it is located above the Green Belt Region, which is known for its richness in minerals and other resources. According to Mohamed Lamine Fadika, the mines and petroleum product minister, at the opening of a gold mine was stated as saying:

This important investment, coming at a time when

            major mining companies elsewhere faced with depression

            have folded-up their operations, is an indication of confidence

            the international private investors have in our country.

                                                (PanAfrican News Agency, July 28, 1998)

The exploration by companies into gold mining has also carried over to other mining resources like nickel and manganese. Thus, the Ivory Coast has even expanded their mining area.

Furthermore, the Ivorian government has further globalized their economy by also developing their energy resources. First, the Industrial Promotion Services of the Aga Khan group and Aser Brown Boveri have invested over 305 million U.S dollars in the construction of a thermal plant in Azito, right outside of Abidjan. (PanAfrican News Agency, September 1, 1998) It is expected to generate 144MW of electricity by January 1999 and 420MW of electricity by the project’s end in 2000. (PanAfrican News Agency, September 1, 1998) There will be so much energy created with the completion of this thermal plant that the Ivory Coast will have a surplus and thus could export electric energy. (PanAfrican News Agency, September 1, 1998) “The thermal plant is one of the success stories of recent moves by Cote d’Ivoire to promote local and foreign investment in the mining and energy sectors to revive its ailing agriculture-driven economy.” (PanAfrican News Agency, September 1, 1998) Hence, the exploration into the electric energy area has allowed the Ivorian government to take some burden off of the agricultural sector and expand the country’s economic base.

Gas and oil are two other energy resources being explored by foreign investors and companies. With the discovery and exploitation of these resources, at present, the production level has reached roughly 20,000 thousand barrels of oil a day while the daily consumption is around 16,000 barrels. (PanAfrican News Agency, September 1, 1998) “Their[foreign companies] have helped the country to join the ranks of African petroleum producers in 1995, when it began to produce oil commercially.” (PanAfrican News Agency, September 1, 1998) Thus, oil and gas resource development is also in full swing and provides the Ivorian government with a surplus of oil.

Since 1995, the Ivorian government has issued over eighty exploration permits to over twenty-seven companies in both the mining and energy resources areas. (PanAfrican News Agency, July 28, 1998) The development of other sectors has expanded the economic base of the country and taken the strain of the agriculture export sector, which since independence represented “75 and 80 percent of its Gross National Product.” (PanAfrican News Agency, September 1, 1998) By diversifying its partners, ending the old reliance on France, the Ivorian government has provided the country with a stronger economy with more developed sectors that will allow the country hopefully to prosper in the future. It is already projected that the Ivorian economy will experience a seven percent GDP growth in 1998 which will put the country on the same annual GDP growth rate it experienced throughout the economic boom of the 60’s and 70’s. Yet, now the economy is stronger and more diversified.

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