From 10% as its president previously announced, the Ivorian government has decided to cut its 2017 budget by 9% (FCFA54 billion), bringing it to FCFA6.447 trillion, amid global slump (about 35%) in prices of cocoa, the country’s main export.

Besides the slump in prices of cocoa of which Cote d’Ivoire is the leading exporter, the revision of budget is also explained by a rising pressure from the army and civil servants for payouts.

With the new development, investment forecasts which stood at FCFA2.216 trillion earlier are cut by FCFA177 billion (-8%).

Under the new budget, recurrent expenditures are up by about FCFA75 billion to FCFA2.691 trillion.

“Basic assumptions, including external and internal shocks as well as slump in prices of commodities, all paired with the 35% in prices of cocoa, used to draw the budget, have progressed significantly. It’s in this context that the budget was revised,” said government spokeswoman Anne-Desirée Ouloto, on Wednesday.

She added that the government has cut growth forecasts for 2017 from 8.9% previously to 8.5%.

Fiacre E. Kakpo