The mayor of Toulepleu, Denis Kah Zion, in his speech during the welcoming ceremony of the Union of Cities and Municipalities of Ivory Coast (UVICOCI), wished that the devolution of powers to the mayors of Ivory Coast would finally become a reality. Speech.

The official ceremony of presenting the New Year’s greetings to the President and the Executive Office of the Union of Côte d’Ivoire Cities and Towns (UVICOCI), which brings us together today (note: Thursday, January 26, 2022), gives us another time that Joy to express to the first person in charge of our umbrella organization and to all the members of his office the fraternal bond that transcends all political divisions to bring us into the orbit of the same goal, the same ideal, of well-being. is managed by us. On behalf of all my fellow mayors, present or absent, who have honored me to speak, I would like to thank you, Mr President, the members of the Executive Board, your respective families and all those who

are dear to you, the sincere wishes for peace, happiness and prosperity without limitation. Long long life in good health above all.

Mr President, we would like to be content with speaking the usual ceremonial words with you and spending a few moments of conviviality together, but what unites us, you and us, is so strong that our meeting today gives us a pleasant opportunity to remind everyone that we, Mayors, are on a mission together, sent by the people who have commissioned us throughout the Ivorian territory. So a year has come to an end and a new one has just begun.

What have we done in the past year 2022 and what are our plans for the next 12 months? Some would call it a balance sheet, but we do

wants us to be able to speak at length about the commitments we have made to ourselves and to our people.

Mr President, we owe it to the truth to say here that what has been done has been done under your leadership. Because as soon as you were elected chairman of our umbrella organization on March 19, 2019, you took over the office without a round of observation

Bodies the many challenges we take on one after the other at a pace that demands admiration. It would be tedious to list them exhaustively here

Successes. However, it is good to remember some actions that you can credit. This is the true repositioning of UVICOCI both nationally and internationally.

international plan; improve our finances; the greater mobilization of mayors around your program of action; increasing solidarity and the social component; the striving for justice and justice; gaining leadership in the field of financial control in local authorities; of’

involvement of UVICOCI in all matters of decentralization; increasingly important support for municipalities through projects (Bank

Global, AfDB, Embassy of Switzerland, Embassy of France, Embassy of Canada, Expertise France, UNICEF, USAID etc.); the signing of agreements in favor of local authorities: BURIDA, the umbrella organization of Moroccan local authorities (AMPCC, CNTIG, UCLGAfrica, etc.); organization

recently successful 2nd parish fair…, and so on.

All these measures, which make it easier for the mayors to carry out their duties, Mr President, have been carried out thanks to your successful leadership. It is

Therefore, before all of you, I would like to express our deepest gratitude, sincere encouragement and tireless support.

Mr. President, managing the roof of those who manage communities, households and men and women on a daily basis is a constant struggle, problems, like hydras’ heads, grow as others are solved. Ours, still awaiting your skill, are actually very, very numerous. In fact, Mr President, on January 12th and 13th, 2023, during the workshop organized for this purpose, UVICOCI reflected on its contribution to the success of

Improving decentralization in Côte d’Ivoire. These around eight (8) themes that have made it possible to formulate, analyze and propose the main concerns of the mayors that, once considered and implemented by the government, will drive the progress of the local authorities. The mayors have real and great hope that the recommendations they made, after going through them with a fine comb, will be taken into account: the transfer of competences from the state to the municipalities

territorial; the financing of the communities; the statute of the elected municipal official; the sensitive issue of household waste disposal both within the country and in the communities of Abidjan and Yamoussoukro districts; the organic framework of jobs; the territorial civil service; Identification of training needs and

capacity building for locally elected officials and area representatives; the implementation of strategies to promote decentralized cooperation. You’re welcome,

Mr President, bear these recommendations well and weigh all your weight so that the government gives the expected great interest to all these concerns of the 201 mayors of Côte d’Ivoire.

We cannot end our remarks without expressing our deep gratitude to His Excellency the President of the Republic for the strong measures taken within the framework of the decentralization policy, which represent a major step towards achieving the goals. However, there are still very big steps to be taken for a full and successful decentralization that will no longer be just a word but a lived reality in our different communities.

Also, we eagerly await that the President of the Republic, as he promised during the exchange of wishes last January 5, will find time in his

Agenda which we know is very busy granting us an audience where he will discuss with all the mayors of Côte d’Ivoire. We must begin now to prepare this important and historic meeting with meticulousness and composure.

In conclusion, Mr President and dear colleagues, since 2023 is an election year for the renewal of local and regional councils, we would like to urge a peaceful and transparent vote and, above all, wish us all the best of luck, most of whom are returning, that is Candidates for their own successors are…

Happy and fruitful New Year to you, Mr President, all Mayors of Côte d’Ivoire.

Thank you