The special representative of the UN Secretary General in Côte d’Ivoire, Choi Young-Jin, has said several donors, including France and Japan, will contribute more than 115 billion FCFA to finance the country’s forthcoming general elections and its post-crisis programme. “The time has come for us to accompany the Ivorian people by putting at their disposal substantial technical and financial means,” he told a news conference here. “With the date of the elections, we can see the (light at the end of the) tunnel,” the UN official said, adding that 11 billion FCFA of the amount would be devoted to preparations for the presidential election, slated for November 30. He said the remaining fund – 104 billion FCFA – will be used to finance the post -crisis programme established by the country’s authorities. He also announced that the international community had committed itself to drawing up a National Poverty Reduction Strategic Paper that will take into account the need to cancel the country’s debt and incr ease the official development assistance to it.
