An audit on the situation of public finances, covering the period from 2019 to 31 March 2024, revealed the sale of several State-owned buildings to the Société nationale de Gestion et d’Exploitation du Patrimoine Bâti (SOGEPA). According to the document, the SOGEPA, created by law n° 0923-36 of 22 November 2021, mobilised a bond loan in the form of Sukuk in the amount of 330 billion CFA francs on 21 April 2022. To guarantee this fundraising, the State has ceded some of its buildings to SOGEPA, in accordance with Decree No 2022-163 of 3 February 2022. This transfer, amounting to CFAF 198 092 million, was made on the basis of an evaluation report and after validation by the Commission de Contrôle des Opérations Domaniales (CCOD), following a consultation at the company’s domicile. Article 4 of the law establishing SOGEPA authorises the transfer of rights and immovable property belonging to the State to that company, whether for free, for a fee or by any other means, within the framework of its social purpose. In the present case, these assets have been integrated into a common securitisation fund in order to guarantee the bond loan. The mechanism put in place is based on a cession-bail: after the sale, the buildings are leased to the State, which pays rent as a return to investors. At the end of the maturity of the loan, the assets will be bought back to ensure the full repayment of the capital mobilised.
The transfer of State-owned assets to SOGEPA: a financial transaction under close supervision
