In the African public procurement sector, private companies’ works are most of the time delayed by the non-processing of invoices sent to public authorities. Côte d’Ivoire wants to address that situation and boost transparency in government expenditures with that platform. 

Last Wednesday, Côte d'Ivoire inaugurated its digital platform dedicated to government suppliers. The platform called “e-fournisseur” (e-suppliers) was launched, in Abidjan, by Prime Minister  Patrick Achi (photo, left) during a ceremony attended by government officials, executives, and professional organizations. 

This “unprecedented” platform aims to reduce the time it takes to pay government service providers' invoices. It will also allow suppliers to monitor all stages of the process, from the contracting date to invoice payment, in real-time. 

According to Prime Minister Patrick Achi, the platform helps solve several issues including deadline-missing problems. It will also reassure private contractors, “particularly SMEs for whom cashflow is key to meeting commitments” given that they will get to know that their invoices are being processed. 

For quite some time, private contractors have demanded a reduction in the time it takes to process public procurement invoices. They also require an integrated system to monitor the status of their submissions. During a seminar, in April 2021, the government promised to create a grading system setting invoice maturation periods of 30, 60,  and 90 days starting from the invoice submission date. 

Specifically, invoices of less than XOF30 million (97% of the invoices) will be processed within 30 days. Invoices concerning amounts ranging between XOF30 and 100 million (2% of the invoices) will be processed within 60 days. Any invoice exceeding XOF100 million will be processed within 90 days. The new platform integrates that grading system. 

According to Finance Minister Adama Coulibaly, the platform and the reduction of payment processing days would strengthen businesses’ cashflow and ability to finance the  2020-2021 national development plan, which is expected to be 75%-financed by the private sector.  The platform will also boost private actors’ trust in the government, he added.  

Samira Njoya