Candidate for the presidential election on October 25 in Côte d’Ivoire, businessman Jean-Louis Billon, leader of Sifca, the country’s most powerful private group, is preparing to campaign for this election. In this exclusive interview with Financial Afrik, the former Minister of Commerce, Handicrafts and SME Promotion in the Kablan Duncan government discusses his project, his economic program, the situation of the PDCI-RDA, and his disagreements with Tidjane Thiam.
Interview conducted by Alexandre Varel.
You are campaigning for the presidential election on October 25 at the head of the Democratic Congress (CODE), a coalition of about twenty formations. Do you plan to benefit from the support, under your name, of the PDCI-RDA, your former party whose candidate, Tidjane Thiam, was not allowed to run by the Constitutional Council?
I already have many endorsements from figures of this party and members of the political bureau. Ivory Coast is a large country where everything is known. And its inhabitants are not fools. Neither about my orientations, nor about my program. These endorsements are discreet for now, but they will be revealed at the right time. The PDCI-RDA apparatus has been following me for years. It helped me a lot during my campaign for the deputy position. After the rejection of Tidjane Thiam’s candidacy, I therefore think that I embody a kind of natural continuity even if it is not under this banner.
However, I remain a member of this party. I have not resigned. From 2012 to 2017, I served in two governments of Daniel Kablan Duncan under the PDCI label. Inspired by liberalism, my program advocates less state intervention. It is aligned with the ideological foundations of this party. Ivorians are well aware of all this.
You have distanced yourself from Tidjane Thiam since his election, at the end of 2023, as the head of the Houphouëtist party while you refused to run for this position. You have also always expressed skepticism about the viability of his candidacy for the October presidential election due to his French nationality. Have you approached him in recent days? Is the contact maintained?
We have not spoken for several months. I believe he spends a lot of time abroad. According to the latest news, he was in the United States…
You remain close to Laurent Gbagbo, whom you personally welcomed upon his return to Côte d’Ivoire in 2021. Like with the PDCI-RDA, do you wish for a transfer of votes to your name?
All forces are naturally welcome. But the official statements of the PPA rather indicate a lack of voting instructions.
Do you have contacts with the former president?
Not directly, but through several emissaries.
Does your candidacy mark a lasting schism within the party of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, one of the oldest political formations in Africa?
It is not for me to judge. I do not ask myself that question. If there is a schism, it is not of my making. I remember many discussions I had with President Konan Henri Bédié, including shortly before his death. They were formalized after his disappearance in August 2023, during a party Congress. He expressly wanted the presidency of the PDCI to be clearly dissociated from the presidential candidacy, knowing that he did not intend to run. Tidjane Thiam undermined this line of conduct probably out of a need for visibility. He went against everything that had been done and decided, which I regret. This party must reconnect with its internal regulations and a certain orthodoxy.
A political arc around the CODE ranging from the PPA to the PDCI-RDA through Generations and People Solidarity of Guillaume Soro seems possible to counter the Rally of Houphouëtists for Peace and Democracy (RHDP), and benefit from the support of other political apparatuses?
I am not in conflict with anyone. All good intentions are welcome to support, carry, and defend my project for a new Ivorian society.
What do you think of the non-acceptance of Laurent Gbagbo’s candidacy? Do you regret it?
One can always regret the rejection of candidacies. I remind you that there were about fifty of them. The former President Gbagbo is a political heavyweight, but this decision was expected. Just like that of Tidjane Thiam with questions related to his French nationality. Laurent Gbagbo is still under judicial convictions. It would have been necessary to ensure, before submitting the files to the Constitutional Council, that an amnesty was voted by the National Assembly.
An uncertain outcome vote, with the RHDP being dominant.
I am convinced that agreements and appeasement could have been possible, including from the majority deputies, once Laurent Gbagbo had been acquitted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and allowed to return. If he remains under national judicial convictions, his exclusion from the list of candidates was almost certain.
What is your response to criticisms judging the Constitutional Council as “partisan” regarding the final list of presidential candidates?
I can hardly make criticisms, as my candidacy was validated. But that’s politics. In each presidential election, those who have been excluded cry foul and partisan bias, while others are satisfied with the decision of this jurisdiction.
Was President Ouattara’s candidacy valid according to the Constitution?
Here too, this debate seems outdated to me. Ivorians need a project, a better future, perspectives. They do not need controversies. Even less boycotts. As soon as a third term was made possible and carried out, the 4th is just as legitimate since our Constitution allows for two successive terms.
New president of Côte d’Ivoire. What will be your very first decision?
To strengthen national cohesion and peace. There can be no strong and sustainable growth without security. Security is also the guarantee of greater sovereignty with a very robust economy. All Ivorians, whether inside or outside the country, not just political actors, must come together to build a solid project for economic recovery that can benefit everyone.
Through a general amnesty?
Of course. It is essential. It must get the country back on track.
Including for personalities like the former President of the National Assembly, Guillaume Soro?
Yes. Especially since he is in exile. I hope that all Ivorian nationals forced to leave their country can return without being harassed.
What would differentiate this decision from the large national reconciliation forum organized after the crisis of 2010-2011 with, ultimately, the report of former Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny, president of the Commission for dialogue, truth, and reconciliation, buried?
The times have changed. This commission was created in the aftermath of the greatest crisis the country has experienced. Minds were still extremely bellicose, hateful. And I am well placed to know. Needless to recall the tragic disappearance of my mentor Yves Lamblin, assassinated at the height of this crisis with our collaborators Raoul Adéossi and Pandian Chelliah. The situation is very different now.
What assessment do you make of Alassane Ouattara’s 3rd term, especially in terms of the economy?
There are good and bad things. If we were in a class, I would say, “Could do better.” And I would even add that with Alassane Ouattara, Ivorians have a Formula 2. With me as president, they will have a Formula 1.
Good things have been done on infrastructure, but there is a slowdown in growth, which is mainly driven by public investments. Companies continue to be heavily taxed and administrations continue to experience serious dysfunction. It is necessary to give more weight to the private sector.
How do you plan to support and improve the purchasing power of Ivorians?
Through a revival of production and support for the key companies. This will involve a considerable improvement in business law and the legal environment. I plan to clarify the existing texts and simplify the Investment Code or the General Tax Code. Economic actors will be supported by a much more incentivizing new taxation. The rate of loss in administrations and public services will also be closely monitored.
If you were compared to the outgoing president of Benin Patrice Talon, also a businessman like you?
It wouldn’t bother me, quite the contrary. Economically, his record is very positive with an undeniable increase in infrastructure levels. His management is rigorous. The fight against corruption or state waste has had its effects.
What are the new growth drivers of the country outside of agriculture?
They are everywhere. Whether it is commerce, extractive industries, transportation, services, handicrafts, but also the environmental sector which can generate a significant source of jobs. Take the waste management sector, renewable energies, the circular economy, or everything related to recycling, the potentials are there.
What attitude will you adopt towards the juntas of the Sahel States Alliance?
These countries have made their choice even if we may regret their desire to leave ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). But I do not rule out any discussion with these states that have chosen a path. Let us respect this choice as I would expect them to respect the choice of Côte d’Ivoire. We need each other for our respective economies. We will maintain a good level of dialogue with these countries in a context of strong sub-regional insecurity. We must continue to exchange and share information in terms of intelligence.
Are you supported by heads of state in the sub-region?
I know them all and many of them encourage me…
