The second Session of the Council of Ministers of the CICC took place from September 28 to 30, 2018 at the Golden Tulip Hotel le Diplomate in Cotonou, Benin. During this Session, the Presidency of the Institution passed from Côte d’Ivoire to Benin with Mr. Serges Mahouwedo AHISSOU, Minister of Industry and Trade of Benin as the current President.

Resolutions
During the third session of the CICC, seven (07) Resolutions were adopted by the Council of Ministers.

1. Resolution relating to the operationalization documents of the CICC examined during the 1st Session of the Council of Ministers held in Abidjan on September 29, 2017

The Council of Ministers, after hearing the report of the Experts attesting to the consideration of the amendments formulated during the 1st session held in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, on September 29, 2017, relating to:

• The internal regulations;
• The organization chart;
• The minimum priority action plan;
• Adopts the said CICC operationalization documents.

2. Resolution relating to additional documents for the operationalization of the CICC

The Council of Ministers, after hearing the report of the Experts on the development of additional documents for the operationalization of the CICC, after examination, adopts:

• Staff Regulations;
• CICC key personnel job descriptions;
• the Manual of administrative, financial and accounting procedures.

3. Resolution on the procedure for the appointment of the Executive Secretary

The Council of Ministers, after having heard the report of the Experts on the modalities of appointment of the Executive Secretary, and examined the description and profile of the position of Executive Secretary as well as the draft Terms of Reference for the recruitment of the Cabinet responsible for selecting a short list of candidates for the said position and, after having deliberated, approves the procedure for recruiting the Executive Secretary by call for applications open to nationals of all member countries, within a maximum period of six (6) months.

4. Resolution on the terms of financing of the CICC

The Council of Ministers, after hearing the report of the Experts on the methods of financing the CICC budget, reaffirms the principle according to which the operating budget of the CICC is mobilized at 60% by the basic contributions of the member countries in an equitable manner, and at 40% by additional contributions indexed on the average income drawn from the sector by country. The Council of Ministers, however, decides that during a transitional period of three (3) years from the date of installation of the Executive Secretary, the budget will be mobilized at 100% by an equal contribution of the members.

5. Resolution on the 2019 CICC budget

The Council of Ministers approves the operating budget of the CICC for the 2019 financial year, which stands at USD 898,748 (CFAF 494,311,368). The Council of Ministers, considering the need to make the Executive Secretariat operational as soon as it is set up, recommends that Member States make a minimum contribution of USD 100,000 (CFAF 55,000,0000) per country for the mobilization of this budget. The Council of Ministers decides that, as of the current session of August 30, 2018, the expenses incurred by a member country in the implementation of the CICC priority action plan and validated by the President in office, are considered as pre-financing to be deducted from the amounts owed by this country as its contribution to the budget.

6. Resolution on the signing of the CICC headquarters agreement

The Council of Ministers, after hearing a presentation by Côte d’Ivoire on the progress of the preparation of the draft Headquarters Agreement, gives a mandate to the current President of the Council of Ministers to:

• Proceed with the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to sign the Headquarters Agreement.
• Negotiate with the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, the granting of premises to house the headquarters of the CICC.

7. Resolution relating to the renewal of the mandate of Côte d’Ivoire within the framework of the operationalization of the CICC

The Council of Ministers, considering the need to continue the work of operationalizing the CICC while awaiting the appointment of the Executive Secretary, requests Côte d’Ivoire to continue to provide its support to the organization, under the supervision of the current President. The Council of Ministers, in order to guarantee the inclusive nature of the recruitment process of the Executive Secretary, decides to set up an Ad hoc Technical Committee composed of a Representative from each member country, whose mission will be to support Côte d’Ivoire in monitoring the recruitment process of the Executive Secretary in accordance with the terms and conditions it has approved.

The Council of Ministers specifies that the costs of participation of each of the representatives in the work of this Ad Hoc Technical Committee are the responsibility of each member country.

For the Council of Ministers of the CICC
The President
Mr. Serges Mahouwêdo AHISSOU,
Minister of Industry and Commerce and Benin

Final Press Release

The 2nd session of the Council of Ministers of the International Cashew Consultative Council (CICC) was held in Cotonou on August 30, 2018. It follows the 1st session which took place on September 29, 2017 in Abidjan in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.

This session concluded that it was necessary to re-examine the documents submitted to it during a second session to ensure that the amendments of the Council of Ministers were taken into account before their final adoption.

The 1st session also mandated Côte d’Ivoire to continue its support efforts for the effective establishment of the CICC, in particular by developing additional documents for the operationalization of the CICC, namely:

• the Administrative, Financial and Accounting Procedures Manuals;
• the Staff Regulations;
• the terms of appointment of the Executive Secretary, his profile and that of his collaborators.

The Council also requested that these additional documents be examined during its 2nd session, the organization of which was entrusted to the Republic of Benin, in accordance with the Convention establishing the CICC.

In application of its decisions and at the invitation of the Beninese Government, the Ministers and Representatives of the nine (9) member countries namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Togo and Senegal, met on Thursday, August 30, 2018 at the Golden Tulip Le Diplomate Hotel in Cotonou for the 2nd session of the CICC Council of Ministers.
This 2nd Session focused on the following agenda:

• Presentation of the Final Report of the Experts’ Meeting;
• Review of the revised versions of the documents examined at the 1st Session;
• Review of the modalities for the appointment of an Executive Secretary and key personnel;
• Review of additional documents:
• Miscellaneous.

The deliberations of the Council of Ministers are presented in this Final Communiqué.

1- Under the title of the presentation of the Final Report of the Meeting of Experts
The Council takes note of the Final Report of the Meeting of Experts, which was read by their spokesperson, Mr. Seydou ILBOUDO, Director General of Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Crafts of Burkina Faso, and congratulated them on the quality of the work carried out.

2- Under the heading of the examination of the revised versions of the documents examined at the 1st Session,
the work of the Council focused on the following technical documents:

• Internal Regulations;
• Organizational chart;
• Minimum Action Plan;
• Budget and financing arrangements.

On the Rules of Procedure, the Council made some amendments to the version presented by the Experts and validated it subject to their consideration. As for the CICC Organization Chart, the Council validated the revised version as presented by the Experts.

With regard to the Minimum Priority Action Plan and the related Budget, the Council endorses the two matrices transmitted by the Experts, taking into account the possibility that they may be refined by the Executive Secretary upon his appointment.

To ensure the implementation of this minimum priority action plan and the mobilisation of the minimum budget relating thereto, the Council of Ministers recommends that Member States provide for a minimum contribution in accordance with the adopted budget.

With regard to the financing arrangements, the Council of Ministers reaffirms the principle according to which the operating budget of the CICC is mobilized at 60% by the basic contributions of the member countries in an equitable manner, and at 40% by additional contributions indexed on the average income from the cashew sector per country.

The Council of Ministers, however, decides that during a transitional period of three (3) years from the date of installation of the Executive Secretary, the budget will be mobilized 100% by an equal contribution from the members.

3- Regarding the recruitment of the Executive Secretary and key personnel
The Council approves the principle and modalities of the recruitment of the Executive Secretariat and key personnel on the basis of an international call for applications open to nationals of all member countries.

For this purpose, it adopts the job description and profile of the Executive Secretary and key personnel proposed by the Experts.
The Council of Ministers decides that the Executive Secretary and key personnel be recruited on the basis of an international call for tenders open to nationals of all member countries.

Furthermore, with regard to the recruitment of the Executive Secretary, the Council adopts the Terms of Reference for the selection by international call for tender of a recruitment firm which must propose a shortlist of candidates within a maximum period of 6 months.

4- Under the heading of the examination of additional documents
The work of the Council focused on the following technical documents:

• The Manual of administrative, financial and accounting procedures
• The Staff Regulations
These two documents submitted to the Council of Ministers were adopted in accordance with the recommendations made by the Experts.

5- Under the special provisions
The Council of Ministers, after hearing a presentation by Côte d’Ivoire on the progress of the preparation of the draft Headquarters Agreement, gives a mandate to the current President of the Council of Ministers to: Proceed
with the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to sign the Headquarters Agreement.
Negotiate with the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire the granting of premises to house the headquarters of the CICC.

The Council of Ministers, considering the need to continue the work of operationalizing the CICC while awaiting the appointment of the Executive Secretary, requests Côte d’Ivoire to continue to provide its support to the organization, under the supervision of the current President. The Council of Ministers, in order to guarantee the inclusive nature of the recruitment process of the Executive Secretary, decides to set up an Ad hoc Technical Committee composed of a Representative from each member country, whose mission will be to support Côte d’Ivoire in monitoring the recruitment process of the Executive Secretary in accordance with the terms and conditions it has approved.

In accordance with the Convention establishing the CICC, the next Session of the Council of Ministers will be held in Burkina Faso in March 2019.

At the end of its work, the Council of Ministers pays a vibrant tribute to the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire for its strong involvement and the quality of the work carried out for the establishment of the International Cashew Consultative Council.
Finally, the Council congratulates and thanks the Government of the Republic of Benin for its hospitality and for the quality of the organization of this session.

Done in Cotonou, August 30, 2018
The Council of Ministers.

Participants

Benin
Burkina Faso
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Mali
Nigeria
Senegal
Togo

Partners

Alliance for African Cashew
BeninCaju/TechnoServe
BIT
Catholic Relief Service (CRS)
ECOWAS
ComCashew/GIZ
USADF
Actors and Organizations in the cashew sector of Benin