Ivory Coast: Affi N’Guessan blames Ouattara for the deadly floods in Abidjan

Former Prime Minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan called into question on Thursday, June 4, during a press conference, the management of the Ivorian government in the face of the annual flooding in Abidjan, stating that Alassane Ouattara’s regime has failed to address the structural causes of the problem despite fifteen years in power. The president of the Ivory Coast Popular Front (FPI) and leader of the Cap-CI coalition backed his statements with an old quote from Ouattara, who, in opposition, himself denounced the poor management of the state regarding floods.

“We invest billions in bridges because they are visible and visitors can talk about them saying: ‘Ouattara is a good builder.’ But the drainage systems that allow rainwater runoff to be evacuated, that prevent water from blocking so that Ivorians do not die in floods, are neglected,” Affi N’Guessan said. “They have been in power for 15 years, but people continue to die in floods. That is a sign of failure, and this problem will arise again next year.”

Floods are a recurring problem in Abidjan, which hosts over five million inhabitants in a densely populated urban fabric intersected by wetlands. In June 2024, the rains officially caused 24 deaths and over 16,000 people affected, according to the National Civil Protection Office (ONPC). The 2026 rainy season, which starts in May, has already triggered interventions from firefighters in the municipalities of Koumassi, Bingerville, and Yopougon on the night of May 19 to 20.

An institutional questioning targeting ANAGED

Affi N’Guessan focused part of his criticism on the restructuring of solid waste management and its impact on stormwater evacuation. According to him, the dissolution of the National Agency for Urban Cleanliness (ANASUR) and its merger into the National Waste Management Agency (ANAGED) was decided to assign a position to Sarrahn Teinin Ouattara, whom he presents as a relative of the president. He added that municipalities were similarly stripped of their trash collection responsibilities, and that drainage channels were blocked due to lack of maintenance.

“Since they’ve been in power, they’ve stripped municipalities of their trash collection duties. Mayors no longer have the right to collect garbage. They are no longer sent money to pick up trash. Why? Because a relative of President Alassane Ouattara needs a lucrative position,” he asserted. The government had not publicly responded to these statements by the time this paper was published.

An opposition figure whose space for expression remains constrained

Pascal Affi N’Guessan, 71, is one of the few opposition leaders to publicly express himself in Côte d’Ivoire. A former Prime Minister under Laurent Gbagbo (2000-2003), he chaired the FPI before leading a split and founding the Cap-CI coalition. Close to Gbagbo, he has been placed under house arrest and has seen his home blocked several times by supporters of the government in previous years, according to available sources.

The issue of flooding transcends the divide between the majority and opposition. Since 2020, a Sanitation and Urban Resilience Program (PARU) worth 315 million dollars, funded by the World Bank, has been underway in Abidjan and several Ivorian cities for the construction and rehabilitation of drainage networks. Its initial duration runs until October 2026. Every year since 2014, the rainy season has caused between 15 and 30 deaths in Abidjan according to the official reports from ONPC.