Thrillers and Suspense
Last week, the committee that has taken over the management of the cocoa sector in the Côte d’Ivoire took a first step toward reform. The committee decided to lower the one of the cocoa levies from CFA25.26 to CFA 10.06 per kilo. The proceeds of that levy were used to fund the three cocoa agencies at the center of the corruption scandal.
Continue reading “First Signs of Reform in the Côte D’Ivoire”
Readers of this blog will remember my earlier post on the corruption in the Ivorian cocoa sector. Well documented in Carol Off’s book, the key institutions put in place after the 2000 liberalization of the cocoa sector (the BCC – Bourse du Café et du Cacao, the FDPCC – Fonds de Développement et de Promotion des Activités des Producteurs de Café et de Cacao – and the FRC – Fonds the Régulation et Control) were quickly turned into corrupt institutions that served to enrich a small elite surrounding president Laurent Gbagbo.
Continue reading “Côte d’Ivoire begins Cocoa Sector Cleanup”
Last week several news outlets (Agence France Press and Bloomberg, among others) reported that 23 officials related to the cocoa sector in the Côte d’Ivoire had been arrested on charges of fraud and corruption. Among the individuals arrested was Lucien Tape Do, the head of the Bourse du Café et du Cacao, the key Ivorian cocoa agency. Other suspects worked for the FDPCC – Fonds de Développement et de Promotion des Activités des Producteurs de Café et de Cacao – and the FRC – Fonds the Régulation et Control. Continue reading “A Cocoa Clean-up in the Côte d’Ivoire?”
