ABIDJAN – Cote d’Ivoire has budgeted a total of 30 billion CFA (about N10 billion) for the conduct of its 2015 presidential election, the Budget Minister, Abdourahmane Cissé has said.
Cisse made the announcement on Tuesday in Abidjan, while briefing journalists on the details of the 2015 budget passed by parliament on Monday.
He said the amount budgeted for the Independent Electoral Commission in 2015, was a remarkable improvement from the previous years.
“The preparation and conduct of the 2015 presidential elections has deep socio-economic implications to us as a country.
“Government is making sure of adequate support for the commission to guarantee electoral credibility in 2015,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government parliament on Monday passed the 2015 appropriation bill of 5.1 trillion CFA.
Cisse said the budget’s main target was to implement programmes that would promote socio-economic infrastructure, employment, healthcare, education and strengthen agricultural development.
He said the amount passed by the parliament represents about 13.8 per cent increase in the 2014 budget.
The minister said the targets sought to be achieved by the 2015 budget was a clear demonstration of government’s readiness to scale-up its public investment programmes.
“The budget is clearly a proof of government’s willingness to scale-up public investment programmes in key sectors of the economy.
“It also falls in line with our 2012-2015 National Development Plan, which is a strategic plan to return the economic fortunes of the country,’’ he said.(NAN)