Special topics
Mr. KOUASSI YAO Hyacinthe is Ivorian, born December 12, 1975 in Aboissoin the south-east of Côte d’Ivoire on the Ghanaian border. He is a bilingual lawyer and project manager (French – English). He is also an Expert in Sustainable Development and in Management of extractive natural resources, in particular mining, oil and gas resources.
Mr. KOUASSI studied Administrative and Political Legal Sciences and obtained a Masters in Judicial Career Law at the University of Abidjan-Cocodyin 2003. After a few years of internship and professional experience, he first obtained in 2009 a Training Certificate on Results-Based Project Management – Canadian Agency for International Development (CIDA), and then a Certificate in Oil and Mineral Resources Governance at the NRGI Summer Center at the Catholic University of Yaoundé in 2011 He then obtained a Post Graduate Certificate in Petroleum Development and Operations in 2012 in Norway.
Finally in 2020 he obtains the Certificate for SDG Academy’s course on Natural Resources for Sustainable Development (obtained online).
Currently Founder and Executive Manager of the Expertise and Consultancy Firm, MICS (Mining Intelligence Consulting Services).
Mr. KOUASSI worked for several years as Technical Advisor to German Cooperation (GIZ) as an Expert in Regional Governance of Extractive Resources by providing technical assistance for the good management of mineral resources to the Member States of the Mano River Union (Côte d’Ivoire – Guinea – Liberia – Sierra Leone), Responsible for coordinating consultations with the World Bank and the General Directorate of Mines and Geology for the development of a national policy of local content for the Mines in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. He was also responsible for research and gender mainstreaming policy and a member of the regional pulse of experts for the promotion of gender equality in the extractive sector.
From February 2012 to April 2016, he was a Member of the Technical Secretariat of the National Council of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, in charge of the secretariat of statutory and extraordinary meetings of the Council and strategic studies. He attended the EITI World Assembly in Lima, Peru in February 2016.
From April 2008 to April 2016, he was Deputy Coordinator of the Ivorian Coalition Publish What You Pay, member of the Global Coalition Publish What You Pay.
He has regional work experience: UFM (Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone), and in other African countries such as: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo RDC, Congo Brazza, Ghana , Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.
Kouasi has several publications to his credit including Mapping Extractive Sector Legislative oversight regimes in Ghana and Ivory Coast (outstanding); Study on the evaluation of the management of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) and the control of the cross-border movement of minerals and precious metals in the area of the Mano River Union ( UFM) on behalf of GIZ (German Cooperation), the European Union (EU) and the Secretariat of the Mano River Union: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone; Preparation of a Guide on Citizen Control for the attention of communities living in mining areas as part of CDLM activities on behalf of the Center for Action for Social Development (CADES); Monitoring and evaluation of the SHILOH MANGANESE CSR strategy and implementation plan, and drafting of the Local Mining Development Plan (PDLM) of the CDLM of Korhogo and Dikodougou, according to the GIZ model; Diagnostic study and Institutional Capacity Building Plan of the National Agency for the Development of the Environment (ANDE) and other administrations in charge of Environmental Control and Monitoring (CSE) and management of explosive substances in the mining sector in Côte d’Ivoire, in collaboration with Dr Karin FUERI Dr Diderot NGUEPJOUO from Projekt Consult Gmbh (Germany); Guide to knowledge of the Ivorian mining sector and directory of the mining sector, Program Officer and Research Supervisor, in collaboration with Dr Phillipe KETOURE Lecturer-Researcher at the University of Abidjan Cocody; Mining and social cohesion: baseline study and initial training on conflict prevention and management in five mining areas of Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of GIZ, in collaboration with IDS (Grande -Brittany) and Study on the tax regime of Extractive Industries in West Africa, in collaboration with Adrien SOMDA from Burkina.
