(Ecofin Agency) - Defended by Mamadou Sanogo (pictured), Minister of the Digital Economy and Post Office, the draft law ratifying Ordinance No. 2019-495 of 12 June 2019 - establishing a system for monitoring the electronic telecommunications flows of companies operating in this sector - was adopted on 8 October 2019 by the members of the National Assembly's Committee on Research, Science, Technology and the Environment (CRSTE).

The technical system that should be installed shortly will contribute to combatting tax fraud, and will also enable operators to pay the right tax. The Ivorian government will no longer rely solely on the declarations of telecom operators to estimate the tax mass to be paid in relation to the flows of electronic communications generated.

According to daily Fraternité Matin, the regulatory text relating to the establishment of the technical control system, proposed on 12 June 2019 at the Council of Ministers by the President of the Republic, Alassane Ouattara, has yet to be examined in plenary. The latest statistics from the telecoms regulatory authority (ARTCI) showed that Côte d'Ivoire has 34,411,807 mobile phone users out of a population of nearly 25 million people. This makes a penetration rate of 134.08% for a turnover of XOF17,423,446,097. About 10 million people have access to the Internet. Mobile money, which is growing rapidly, has exceeded XOF19 billion in daily transactions. Fixed-line telephony has a total customer base of 301,579 subscribers. Currently, the telecoms sector alone generates nearly 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes 7 to 8% of the country’s GDP.