To this end, they were able to benefit from the experience of the town's communal youth and from an open discussion with Mr. Meïté Aboubakar, a town councillor, which provided a practical insight into the working methods of town councils and their channels for consulting and including the population in municipal decision-making processes.
The issues and challenges linked to decentralized structures and local development served as a point of communication for the councillor, representing the mayor. On the question of powers and responsibilities, he explained that decentralization in Côte d'Ivoire is not yet complete. “Local structures have received less power than expected, but more responsibilities”, he added, pointing to an imbalance that complicates their management.
Mr. Méité Aboubakar explains that in Grand-Bassam, the Municipal Youth Council was elected in September 2023 and is currently being set up. On the education front, Mayor Jean-Louis Moulot is Chairman of the Comité de Gestion des Établissements Scolaires (COGES), and with his municipal council ensures a certain proximity and responsiveness in the management of schools, the speaker explained. He also presented the Maison de l'entrepreneuriat et d'insertion des jeunes. He also declared that a budget has been set aside to enable the mayor to provide financial support to populations in difficulty.
Rodrigue Amon, communications officer for the local youth association, representing its president Arthur Gbango, gave a presentation on the proximity policy with young people. Youth associations, civic participation, education and training are key activities in which young people in the commune engage with each other. He also emphasized the importance of grants, loans and insertion programs in addressing the issue of entrepreneurship and employment, respectively. According to him, in addition to these initiatives, several municipal projects have been implemented.
Following Rodrigue Amon, Arnaud Gohi, a former KAS PDWA scholarship holder who is now a researcher and founding president of the NGO Garde Citoyenne, addressed the audience on the theme of “Understanding the prerogatives of decentralized structures”.
He developed aspects of the powers of the commune and the region, the role of the commune as a tool for democratization, and the impact of decentralization on development. Arnaud Gohi also stressed the importance of accountability mechanisms in the operation of decentralization.
At the outset, Mr. Meïté Aboubakar, in welcoming everyone, had already expressed the town council's desire to strengthen the capacities of young people in the field of participative governance.
Mr. Kevin Anvo, program manager at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Regional Program for Political Dialogue in West Africa (PDWA), then took the floor. He introduced the program and its grantees, thanked the municipal authorities for their warm welcome, and reiterated the Foundation's support for this type of initiative.
The day ended with a tour of the town, including the media library and a children's education project, followed by a convivial meal. The meeting provided an opportunity for constructive dialogue and the sharing of experiences and perspectives on decentralization in Côte d'Ivoire, thus strengthening the ties between the participants and the municipal structure, in which another excellent former grant-holder works, in the person of Gnamien Attoubré, who also chairs the Côte d'Ivoire grant-holders.