NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alassane Ouattara, the man the United Nations says won Ivory Coast's presidential elections, will soon control the revenues from customs duties on Ivorian cocoa exports, Ouattara's U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.
Youssoufou Bamba, the Ivory Coast's U.N. ambassador, also voiced confidence that the west African regional group ECOWAS was prepared to intervene militarily to oust Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to resign as president since a disputed November 28 election, and was determined to do so.
"I have no doubt about it," Bamba told Reuters in an interview when asked if ECOWAS was ready and willing to use force to remove Ggagbo. "ECOWAS is very sound and has shown maturity, if you will, in previous crises."
Bamba gave as an example the ECOWAS operation in the late 1990s to reinstate Sierra Leone's ousted President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah after forcing out junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma.
Gbagbo's access to state accounts at West Africa's central bank has already been frozen, but he still controls taxes, customs and the lucrative oil and cocoa sectors. Ivory Coast is the world's top cocoa producer.
Bamba was asked if Ouattara would be able wrest control of the ports and the cocoa income from Ggagbo.
"Definitely," he said. "The Ouattara administration will gain control of every structure in the state of Cote d'Ivoire very soon."
"I don't think Mr. Gbagbo has much room to manoeuvre; his room for manoeuvring is smaller and smaller," he said. "He has to step down."
Bamba also dismissed media reports that he was suggesting Ouattara might be willing to form a unity government with Gbagbo's people provided Gbagbo steps down.
"Never ever (was) it about a power-sharing agreement," he said. "That should be very clear. Mr Ouattara has won the election."
Bamba said Ouattara had promised during his election campaign to "associate with people from various parties."
"In that context he will welcome competence from other parties ... including people from Mr. Ggagbo's party," he said.
(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
