COTE D'IVOIRE: TRANSPORTATION MINISTER PROMISES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000238

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

KINSHASA PASS TO BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2016
TAGS: PGOV ASEC IV
SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: TRANSPORTATION MINISTER PROMISES
POLICE ROADSIDE RACKETEEERING WILL BE REDUCED


Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (U) On March 1 the Minister of Transport, Innocent Anaky
Kobanan (who is from the opposition Movement of Forces for
the Future (MFA) party),announced the introduction of a new
"single ticket" system for public transportation (mini-busses
and taxis). In addition to the single ticket system, the
Minister announced that the number of police checkpoints in
the Abidjan area would be reduced from 200 to 26.


2. (U) The new scheme would charge 500 CFA (about one USD)
per day for each taxi and 1,000 CFA (about two USD) for each
mini-bus, and it would provide a window sticker that would
supposedly permit the drivers to pass unmolested through any
police checkpoint that day. Drivers also have the option of
purchasing a ticket valid for one month, for 15,000 CFA
(about three USD) for taxis and 30,000 CFA (about 10 USD) for
mini-busses.


3. (U) The Minister instituted the single ticket as an answer
to numerous complaints from taxi and mini-bus drivers who are
the targets of roadside checks, where they lose anywhere from
30 to 60 minutes each time they are stopped and are often
forced to pay bribes. However, the main transportation union
Coordination National des Gares Routieres de Cote d,Ivoire
(CNGRCI) came out against the Minister,s new "single
ticket," on the grounds that it not only places a new tax
burden on the drivers (they estimate that it will cost
transportation companies the equivalent of USD 14 million a
year),but also institutionalizes racketeering by the police.
They also questioned its legality, since police checkpoints
are the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Security
and the Ministry of Defense.


4. (SBU) Indeed, the previous government tasked these two
ministries with coming up with a solution for the problem of
extortion at the police checkpoints in January 2005, over a
year ago, but they have done nothing. At the ceremony
unveiling the new system, Ministry of Defense officials were
conspicuously absent, and the Ministry of the Interior sent
only a low level representative.


4. (C) Comment: If it actually happens, the reduction of the
police checkpoints from 200 to 26 would be a tremendous
relief for all drivers in Abidjan. However, the single
ticket is unlikely to stop the racketeering activities of the
defense and security forces. The money extorted at the
checkpoints represents an important second income, not only
for the "beat cops" at the roadblocks but also for those on
up in the chain of command. As long as the security forces
remain poorly disciplined and underpaid, they are as likely
to ignore the single ticket as they are to respect it.
Still, even if it does not have much impact, this new system
is yet another sign of the Banny government's determination
to tackle even the seemingly most intractable problems,
especially those that affect the daily lives of the
population. End Comment.
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