President Alassane Ouattara of the Ivory Coast nominated a regional central banker as his vice president on Tuesday and reappointed his prime minister to lead a reshuffled cabinet focused on fiscal austerity.

Following a period of political turmoil, the 80-year-old president named Tiemoko Meyliet Kone, governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), as his deputy in a major statement.

Kone, a technocrat with a background in financial and monetary policy, was hailed by him as a “great economist… a man of consensus and honesty in whom I have complete faith.”

Ouattara also announced that Prime Minister Patrick Achi will be reappointed to lead a reshuffled cabinet in a state-of-the-nation address to a joint session of parliament in the political capital Yamassoukro.

The government stepped down in a long-expected move last Wednesday ahead of cabinet changes expected to usher in official austerity.

Ouattara has been in power since he won elections in 2010, whose disputed outcome sparked a conflict that claimed several thousand lives.

His succession has been a key issue in the West African state, fuelling tensions that have boiled over into violence.

After his handpicked successor, then-prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died abruptly, Ouattara’s plans to retire in 2020 after two terms in government were put on hold.

Ouattara revived his ambition for a third presidential term, prompting accusations that he was bypassing the constitution’s time limits.

In election-related violence, 85 people were killed and 500 were injured, while the country’s main opposition boycotted the vote.

In the aftermath, Ouattara appointed Laurent Gbagbo, a former opponent, and predecessor, as the elder statesman in a professed endeavour of national reconciliation last year.

– Technocrat VP –

The post of vice president has been vacant for nearly two years, when Daniel Kablan Duncan stepped down, citing personal reasons.

Ouattara heaped praise on Kone, who was given an ovation by lawmakers as he stepped forward to shake the president’s hand.

“He is a figure who has demonstrated his personal and professional quality at every senior level that he has occupied in public service, the Ivorian government and outside Ivory Coast,” Ouattara said.

Kone, 72, has been head of the BCEAO for 11 years, notably overseeing a reform of the CFA franc — the eight-nation currency shared by Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

He previously served as chief of staff to former prime minister Guillaume Soro; as minister for construction; and as special advisor to Ouattara himself, with responsibility for economic and monetary affairs.

– Austerity –
Achi has been tasked with forming a government with a maximum of 30 ministers, compared with more than 40 today.

He was appointed in April last year after his predecessor Hamed Bakayoko died of cancer the previous month. Bakayoko himself succeeded Coulibaly on his death in July 2020.

“The government that will take office this week will be streamlined to take into account the world economic outlook and the need to reduce state expenditure,” Ouattara said.

Eyeing concern about rising inflation, the authorities last month placed a ceiling on the price of around 20 staple products, such as rice and sugar.

The government has also been worried that jihadists who have launched a bloody campaign in the Sahel region to Ivory Coast’s north are seeking to push southwards towards the Gulf of Guinea.

But Ouattara said, “The security situation is calm and under control across the country.”

He also paid tribute to the “dialogue” in domestic politics, which he said had helped strengthen “peace and stability.”

Municipal and regional elections are due to take place next year, while the next presidential elections are scheduled for 2025.

Ivorian political analyst Arthur Banga said “no message came out today on (Ouattara’s) succession… it remains totally unclear.”

“The prime minister has a greater political impact than the vice president, but we don’t know yet how the president intends to share out the roles” between Kone and Achi, he said.