With growth of 9.8 per cent in 2012, Côte d’Ivoire has recovered from a period of political instability to become the 11th fastest-growing economy in the world. Charles Kouassi, Director General of the CNPS (National Social Insurance Fund), attributes this to more than simply the possession of abundant natural resources.
He highlights three other factors, namely continuous investments in universities and engineering institutions, an emphasis on the extension of the reach of social protection, and the use of national savings to promote national and social development.
Mr Kouassi sums up the country’s philosophy succinctly as “growth is for national development and national development is for the social benefit of the people.” In this growth with a social purpose, the CNPS plays a major role managing the national pension and social security funds, the scope of which is gradually being improved and extended with the aim of covering between 30-50 per cent of workers by 2020, a huge step up from the present 10 per cent.
The CNPS aims to invest surplus funds to foster national development through nationally financed growth, rather than for the country to be dependent on borrowing from overseas.
“Côte d’Ivoire has subscribed to a kind of economic growth that serves the people and CNPS plays an important role in financial, economic and social terms”
Charles Kouassi, Director General
of CNPS |
Besides subscribing to government bonds, CNPS may also take direct stakes in commercial companies, such as banks or in mining or hydrocarbons, playing an active role in helping companies to grow, and then, when the time is right, selling their shares on to private investors. Mr Kouassi emphasises that the presence of the CNPS is seen very positively by other investors.
He also sees the health sector as a priority for future investment and he highlights the opportunity to set up a cancer centre in Côte d’Ivoire, something lacking in most West African countries.
Determined to realise tangible results together, the CNPS and Côte d’Ivoire are certainly showing the way forward as a model of socially impacting and self-financed economic development – a model that could even be studied and mirrored in some of the world’s more developed economies that over the past several years have seen their social security systems begin to show weaknesses and slowly unravel.
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