The third Session of the Council of Ministers of the CICC took place from December 17 to 20, 2019 at the Sopatel Silmandé Hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. During this Session, the Presidency of the Institution passed from Benin to Burkina Faso with Mr. Harouna KABORE, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Crafts of Burkina Faso as the current President.

Resolutions

During the third session of the CICC, nine (09) Resolutions were adopted by the Council of Ministers.

1. Resolution on the appointment of the Executive Secretary of the CICC
The Council of Ministers, after hearing the report of the Experts on the recruitment process of the Executive Secretary, having taken note of the shortlist proposed by the GECA Prospective firm, approves its conclusions and appoints Mr. André Mahoutin TANDJIEKPON as Executive Secretary of the CICC. To this end, the Council of Ministers mandates the President in office to inform the Member States by official letter of the effective choice of the Executive Secretary of the CICC.

2. Resolution relating to the formalization of the employment contract with the Executive Secretary of the CICC
The Council of Ministers, after having designated the Executive Secretary of the CICC, mandates the President in office to notify him of his choice and to proceed with the signing of his contract before the end of the first quarter of 2020.

3. Resolution on obtaining premises to house the headquarters of the CICC in Abidjan
The Council of Ministers, after having appointed the Executive Secretary, mandates the President in office to finalize, with Côte d’Ivoire, the ongoing negotiations for obtaining premises to house the headquarters of the CICC. The Council of Ministers requests the President in office of the CICC to officially contact the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire for this purpose.

4. Resolution relating to the installation of the Executive Secretary of the CICC
The Council of Ministers mandates the President in office to proceed with the installation of the Executive Secretary upon signing his contract.

5. Resolution on the support of the Executive Secretary
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 complementary contributions indexed on the average income from exports and imports of cashew products 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 Secretariat, the budget will be mobilized at 100% by an equal contribution of the members.

6. Resolution on the CICC Minimum Action Plan and 2020 Budget
The Council of Ministers approves the 2020 Minimum Action Plan and the operating budget which stands at USD 693,798 (FCFA 381,588,790). The Council of Ministers, considering the need to make the Executive Secretariat operational as soon as it is set up, urges Member States to make a minimum contribution of USD 70,000 (FCFA 38,500,000) per country for the execution of this budget. To this end, the Council of Ministers mandates the current President of the CICC to urge Member States by official letter to release their contribution before the end of the first quarter of 2020.

7. Resolution on the reimbursement of expenses related to the organization of Sessions of the Council of Ministers of the CICC
The Council of Ministers decides that a lump sum of 55 million CFA francs is recognized as a ceiling for expenses related to the organization of a session of the CICC deductible from the annual contributions of the organizing country up to 20% per year.

8. Resolution relating to the recruitment of the staff of the Executive Secretary of the CICC
The Council of Ministers mandates the President in office to take the same measures as those taken in the choice of the Executive Secretary for the recruitment of the rest of the management staff.

9. Resolution on the translation of CICC working documents into the three languages
​​The Council of Ministers decides that all documents relating to CICC sessions be translated into French, English and Portuguese.

Done in Ouagadougou, December 20, 2019
For the Council of Ministers of the CICC
The President

Ms. Alimatou Shadiya ASSOUMAN
Minister of Industry and Commerce of Benin

Final Press Release

The 2nd session had requested Côte d’Ivoire to continue the work of operationalizing the CICC, under the supervision of the current President, in particular the recruitment of a cabinet for the proposal of a shortlist of candidates for the position of Executive Secretary of the CICC.
The Council of Ministers, in order to guarantee the inclusive nature of the recruitment process of the Executive Secretary, had decided to set up an Ad’ hoc Technical Committee composed of a Representative from each member country to support Côte d’Ivoire in the recruitment process of the Executive Secretary.

The Council of Ministers had designated Burkina Faso to host the 3rd session of the Council of Ministers of the CICC.
In accordance with this resolution, the Burkinabe Government organized the 3rd session of the Council of Ministers of the International Cashew Consultative Council (CICC) at the Sopatel Silmandé Hotel in Ouagadougou.

This session brought together Ministers and Representatives of member and observer countries, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Togo and Senegal. Ghana was not represented at this session.
The session focused on the following agenda:
1- Presentation of the Experts’ report;
2- Appointment of the Executive Secretary of the CICC;
3- Adoption of the Minimum Action Plan and the 2020 budget;
4- 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 one of the rapporteurs, Mr. BASSIA BASSIA Amos, Head of the Projects and Programs Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Cameroon, and congratulated them on the quality of the work carried out.

2- As Nigeria’s accession to the CICC convention,
the Council of Ministers welcomes Nigeria’s accession to the International Cashew Consultative Council as of today, December 20, 2019.

3- Regarding the appointment of the Executive Secretary of the CICC
The Council approves the report of the Experts relating to the recruitment of the Executive Secretary of the CICC and appoints Mr. André Mahoutin TANDJIEKPON to the post of Executive Secretary for a two (02) year contract, renewable once.

4- Under the minimum action plan and the 2020 budget
The Council approves the minimum action plan and the 2020 budget, which amounts to USD 693,798, or 381,588,790 CFA francs. To this end, the Council urges each Member State to make a contribution of USD 70,000, or 38,500,000 CFA francs for the 2020 financial year.

5- Under the various provisions
In accordance with the convention establishing the CICC, the next session of the Council of Ministers will be held in Cameroon in 2020.
At the end of its work, the Council of Ministers pays a vibrant tribute to the Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the member countries of the Adhoc Technical Committee for conducting the recruitment process for the Executive Secretary. The Council of Ministers also thanks the outgoing President for having successfully carried out her mandate.

Finally, the Council congratulates and thanks the Government of Burkina Faso for its hospitality and the quality of the organization of this session.
Done in Ouagadougou, on 20 December 2019
The Council of Ministers.

Participants

Country :

Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Ivory Coast
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Mali
Mozambique (observer)
Nigeria
Togo
Senegal

Partners:

Alliance for African Cashew

BeninCaju/TechnoServe

ComCashew/GIZ

GECA-PROSPECTIVE

Actors and Organizations in the Cashew Sector of Burkina Faso