1.1 Context

6. In Benin, the first Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) covering the 2003-2005 period was adopted in September 2002. It was the first genuine intersectoral and participatory planning exercise in Benin and was used as the sole framework for dialogue between the Government and all the Technical and Financial Partners (TFPs). During PRS1 implementation, the Government prepared annual reports taking stock of the progress of the priority programs and projects adopted under the PRS and the results achieved. Preparation of these annual reports enabled the Government to conduct annual program reviews with the TFPs.

7. PRS 2003-2005 had placed special emphasis on the social sectors. Cognizant of the fact that faster growth is a necessary condition for poverty reduction; the Government has adopted an ambitious and dynamic development vision embodied in SCRP 2007-2009. The aim of the SCRP is to accelerate economic growth in order sustainably to reduce poverty. SCRP 2007-2009 constitutes the Government’s reference framework for dialogue with the TFPs and seeks to be a framework for the operationalization of the Strategic Development Orientations 2006-2011. The SCRP will also contribute to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and will be a mechanism for resource mobilization and coordination in keeping with the Paris Declaration (see Box 1).

1.2 Participatory process for SCRP preparation

8. Using as a basis the shortcomings of the participatory process noted in the evaluation of PRS 2003-2005 and taking into account the principles of concerted governance, the preparation of SCRP 2007-2009 involved all stakeholders in development. The preparation process involved the following steps: (i) official launch of the process; (ii) evaluation of PRS 2003-2005; (iii) the establishment of theme-based working groups; (iv) the national forum on the new SCRP; (v) preparation of the Strategic Development Orientations 2006-2011; (vi) theme-based workshops; (vii) conduct of the Integrated Modular Survey of Household Living Conditions (EMICoV); (viii) organization of consultations with national, departmental, and local structures; (ix) definition of the strategic pillars of SCRP 2007-2009; (x) establishment of a SCRP drafting committee; and (xi) SCRP validation and adoption efforts.

9. The official launching for SCRP preparation work took place on February 3, 2006. It made it possible to demonstrate the Government’s resolve to continue its commitment to combating poverty through accelerated economic growth. All components of Beninese society took part in this ceremony, thus evidencing their commitment to the participatory process.

10. Evaluation of PRS 2003-2005 led to broad consultations which made it possible to gather the assessments of the public administration, local governments, and civil society, including the trade unions, the private sector, and the TFPs. The evaluation report underwent national validation by representatives of all the groups involved in the process of policy and program development and implementation, thereby allowing stakeholders to assume ownership of the lessons from the implementation of PRS 2003-2005.

11. The national forum on SCRP preparation brought together more than a hundred participants representing the ministerial departments and their main technical units, civil society in its broadest sense, the private sector, and the majority of TFPs. The aim of this forum was to identify the various stakeholders in the process and to define guiding principles for the preparation of SCRP 2007-2009. The forum ultimately produced a roadmap.

12. Ten (10) Theme-based Groups were then established on the following topics: (i) social sectors, infrastructure, and baseline equipment; (ii) environment and living conditions; (iii) macroeconomics and sectors with growth potential; (iv) private sector and employment; (v) good governance, decentralization, and capacity building; (vi) agriculture, natural resources, and land tenure issues; (vii) security and peace; (viii) information and communication technologies; (ix) poverty and targeting; and (x) monitoring and evaluation. Each theme-based group was made up of representatives of the administration, civil society, and the private sector. Within the theme-based groups, working subgroups were established to assess the needs for achieving the MDGs. The work of theme-based groups made it possible to perform a strategic diagnosis of the area in question, estimate the cost requirements of achieving the MDGs, and analyze the constraints on development in the sector. It was thus possible to identify the strategic priorities likely to accelerate the growth and reduce poverty sustainably over the next three years.

13. Following the March 2006 presidential elections, the new Government drew up the document setting forth the Strategic Development Orientations (SDOs) of Benin 2006-2011. This medium-term paper reflects the Government’s socioeconomic development orientations and takes account of the grassroots population’s aspirations and needs. It also follows the logic of the MDGs and the long-term vision set forth in “Benin 2025: Alafia.” It includes six (6) strategic orientations supported by cross-cutting measures relating to the conditions for implementing these orientations. The SCRP is the paper for operationalizing the SDOs over the 2007-2009 period.

14. In order to take the cross-cutting issues of the SCRP into account, studies on cross-cutting topics and training workshops were organized for all stakeholders concerned with such issues. These include in particular: (i) the ten-year outlook for development; (ii) gender; (iii) the environment; (iv) human rights; and (v) HIV/AIDS. The relationships between the thematic groups and the SCRP were the subject of conformity evaluations to ensure that these cross-cutting issues would be taken into account.

15. The Integrated Modular Survey of Household Living Conditions (EMICoV) was launched in August 2006, and covers a sample of almost 18,000 households throughout the entire national territory (see Box 2). The originality of this survey lies in its representativity at the commune level and the coupling of the first round with the Demographic and Health Survey (EDS). Its originality also stems from the inclusion of two modules on “Governance” and “The Perception of Poverty” in the questionnaire. This approach will make it possible not only to gather quantitative information, but also to learn the aspirations of all social groups and update the poverty profile.

16. To ensure ownership of the process and impart a greater understanding of what is at stake in SCRP 2007-2009, consultations were organized at all levels. This approach made it bring together the civil society stakeholders in each locality to learn their aspirations. This information was compiled as proposals from civil society. Similarly, the National Association of Communes of Benin (ANCB) and the trade union association each made proposals relating to SCRP 2007-2009 in their respective areas of concern. The concerns and aspirations thus gathered were conveyed to the theme-based groups responsible for synthesizing all the information available.

17. At the national and departmental level, the consultations involved providing the draft SCRP paper to the people to garner their support on the pillars, the priority intervention areas, and the corresponding actions. These consultation sessions provided the people with an opportunity to assume ownership of the contents of the SCRP and to take the concerns expressed by certain vulnerable groups into account. In addition, the National Assembly and the Economic and Social Council were consulted to learn their views on the SCRP priorities as regards combating poverty over the next three years.

18. A working group made up of officials from the public administration and resource persons met to finalize the selection of the strategic pillars of SCRP 2007-09 on the basis of reports from the theme-based groups and the Strategic Development Orientations 2006-2011. In addition, a group responsible for drafting the SCRP was set up. It was made up of senior officials from the administration, university professors, and national experts. Coordination was provided by the Permanent Secretariat of the CNDLP.⁴ The work of this group was buttressed by the Government’s strategic orientation papers, the reports of the theme-based working groups, the sectoral strategies, recommendations from the workshops, and consultations running up the final draft of SCRP 2007-2009.

19. The preliminary draft final SCRP paper was forwarded to the Technical and Financial Partners (TFPs) for assessment. The final SCRP paper was adopted by the Council of Ministers at its meeting of Monday, February 26, 2007.

2.1 Strengthening the macroeconomic framework

23. Overall, macroeconomic stability was maintained during the 2003-2005 period. Inflation was contained within the limit envisaged by the WAEMU convergence pact (less than 3 percent) and the current balance of payments improved during the 2004-2005 period because of the positive shift in the services and incomes areas. The Government also began to introduce an Industrial Free Zone to promote investment, the concentration of enterprises, and job creation. This said, however, the growth target set by the Government could not be met, owing in particular to external shocks that dampened economic activity. The average annual real economic growth rate was of 3.3 percent over the 2003-2005 period, as compared to an average annual target of 7 percent projected for the period.

Table 1:

Macroeconomic Indicators

(percent of GDP unless otherwise indicated)

Source: MDEF.

Table 1:

Macroeconomic Indicators

(percent of GDP unless otherwise indicated)

	Period before PRS1				PRS1 period
	1990-94	1995-99	2000-02		2004	2005
				2003			Avg. .2003- 2005
Population (in millions)	4.9	5.8	6.6	7.0	7.2	7.4	7.2
Population growth rate (in %)	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
GDP (in CFAF billions)	644	1319	1823	2067	2140	2299	2169
Per capita GDP (in CFAF thousands)	131	228	277	296	298	310	302
Real GDP growth rate (in %)	3.7	5.1	5.2	3.9	3.1	2.9	3.3
Per capita growth rate (in %)	0.4	1.8	1.9	0.8	0.2	-0.1	0.3
Gross investment	14.4	18.2	18.9	20.3	20.7	17.0	19.3
Gross public investment	4.9	6.1	5.8	6.6	5.4	5.3	5.8
Gross private investment	9.5	12.1	13.2	13.7	15.3	11.6	13.5
Gross domestic saving	10.1	9.6	10.0	10.2	12.2	8.8	10.4
Total revenue	11.2	14.3	15.8	16.6	16.4	16.7	16.6
Tax receipts	9.2	12.2	14.0	14.9	14.6	14.5	14.7
Total expenditure	17.7	17.7	18.6	22.0	19.8	19.8	20.6
Wage bill	6.2	4.7	4.4	5.1	5.8	5.7	5.5
Baseline primary balance	0.9	3.5	1.6	-1.4	-0.3	0.1	-0.5
Exports	16.3	17.6	15.8	15.2	14.0	13.0	14.1
Imports	24.7	24.2	22.7	23.0	20.8	19.9	21.2
Overall balance	6.9	-0.1	2.8	-1.2	-2.9	2.1	-0.7
Net foreign assets (in months of imports)	4	7	12	11	7	10	9
Outstanding debt	52.8	59.4	51.8	40.3	40.3	40.3	40.3
Debt service	1.8	2.0	1.3	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.7
Debt service (in % of exports)	11.9	8.6	5.9	3.8	3.6	3.1	3.5

Source: MDEF.

View Table

Table 1:

Macroeconomic Indicators

(percent of GDP unless otherwise indicated)

	Period before PRS1				PRS1 period
	1990-94	1995-99	2000-02		2004	2005
				2003			Avg. .2003- 2005
Population (in millions)	4.9	5.8	6.6	7.0	7.2	7.4	7.2
Population growth rate (in %)	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
GDP (in CFAF billions)	644	1319	1823	2067	2140	2299	2169
Per capita GDP (in CFAF thousands)	131	228	277	296	298	310	302
Real GDP growth rate (in %)	3.7	5.1	5.2	3.9	3.1	2.9	3.3
Per capita growth rate (in %)	0.4	1.8	1.9	0.8	0.2	-0.1	0.3
Gross investment	14.4	18.2	18.9	20.3	20.7	17.0	19.3
Gross public investment	4.9	6.1	5.8	6.6	5.4	5.3	5.8
Gross private investment	9.5	12.1	13.2	13.7	15.3	11.6	13.5
Gross domestic saving	10.1	9.6	10.0	10.2	12.2	8.8	10.4
Total revenue	11.2	14.3	15.8	16.6	16.4	16.7	16.6
Tax receipts	9.2	12.2	14.0	14.9	14.6	14.5	14.7
Total expenditure	17.7	17.7	18.6	22.0	19.8	19.8	20.6
Wage bill	6.2	4.7	4.4	5.1	5.8	5.7	5.5
Baseline primary balance	0.9	3.5	1.6	-1.4	-0.3	0.1	-0.5
Exports	16.3	17.6	15.8	15.2	14.0	13.0	14.1
Imports	24.7	24.2	22.7	23.0	20.8	19.9	21.2
Overall balance	6.9	-0.1	2.8	-1.2	-2.9	2.1	-0.7
Net foreign assets (in months of imports)	4	7	12	11	7	10	9
Outstanding debt	52.8	59.4	51.8	40.3	40.3	40.3	40.3
Debt service	1.8	2.0	1.3	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.7
Debt service (in % of exports)	11.9	8.6	5.9	3.8	3.6	3.1	3.5

Source: MDEF.

2.2 Human capital building

24. Overall, the human development indicators of Benin improved significantly. By comparison with other countries of West Africa, Benin’s indicators are better. For example, life expectancy is 55 years as compared to 48 in West Africa on average, and the proportion of the population living on less than a dollar a day is 31 percent as compared to 60 percent in West Africa. On the other hand, the natural rate of increase in the population (2.89 percent) is one of highest in West Africa and requires actions of adequacy with the economic growth.

Box 2:

Selected human development indicators for Benin

Source: World Bank (WDI 2006)

	Benin	West Africa
Life expectancy at birth (years)	55	48
Literacy rate (% of young people ages 15-24)	45	53
Malnutrition rate, weight (% of children under 5)	23	15
Mortality rate, under age 5 (per 1,000)	152	87
Population growth (%)	3.2	2.5
Population living on less than $1/day (%)	31	60

Source: World Bank (WDI 2006)

View Table

	Benin	West Africa
Life expectancy at birth (years)	55	48
Literacy rate (% of young people ages 15-24)	45	53
Malnutrition rate, weight (% of children under 5)	23	15
Mortality rate, under age 5 (per 1,000)	152	87
Population growth (%)	3.2	2.5
Population living on less than $1/day (%)	31	60

Source: World Bank (WDI 2006)

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25. Progress was made in the area of education through improvement in the people’s access to education, in particular baseline education. The gross enrollment ratio (GER) was estimated at 94 percent in 2005, with a boy/girl parity index of 80 percent. The Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) was 50 compared to a target of 51.4. In addition, noteworthy improvements were recorded as regards the schooling of girls and addressing gender issues. However, improving the quality of education and reducing disparities of any kind remain important challenges to face.

Table 2:

Key indicators of education

Source: PRSP progress report 2005.Note: (*) gross enrollment ratio of girls as against that of boys.

Table 2:

Key indicators of education

INDICATORS	2003	2004	2005	PRS1 target value
Gross enrollment ratio, primary level	94	96	94	94
Gross enrollment ratio of girls, primary level	81	84	83	Nd
Girl/boy parity Index in % (*)		75	80	Nd
Gross admission rate, primary level	104	106	99	Nd
Primary cycle completion rate	49	50	54	Nd
Pupil-teacher ratio	55.7	53.2	50	51.4

Source: PRSP progress report 2005.Note: (*) gross enrollment ratio of girls as against that of boys.

View Table

Table 2:

Key indicators of education

INDICATORS	2003	2004	2005	PRS1 target value
Gross enrollment ratio, primary level	94	96	94	94
Gross enrollment ratio of girls, primary level	81	84	83	Nd
Girl/boy parity Index in % (*)		75	80	Nd
Gross admission rate, primary level	104	106	99	Nd
Primary cycle completion rate	49	50	54	Nd
Pupil-teacher ratio	55.7	53.2	50	51.4

Source: PRSP progress report 2005.Note: (*) gross enrollment ratio of girls as against that of boys.

26. In the area of health, statistics from the National Health Management Information System (NHMIS) indicate a marked improvement in the quality of care during the 2003-2005 period. In particular, efforts were made to reduce infant mortality and maternal mortality and to fight the major endemic diseases, namely malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. The infant mortality rate was 66.8 per mil as compared to an objective of 65 per mil. The incidence of assisted childbirth and the rate of healthcare services access are 75 percent and 37 percent in 2005, respectively, in keeping with the objectives set. The prenatal consultation rate reached 90 percent in 2005 as against the target of 84 percent. In contrast, the continuing high maternal and neonatal mortality rates and death rates from malaria are major concerns given Benin’s ambition to achieve the MDGs.

Table 3:

Key health indicators

Source: PRSP progress report 2005.

Table 3:

Key health indicators

INDICATORS		2003	2004	2005	PRS1 target
	Infant mortality rate (IMR)	68	66	66,8	65
	Infant/child mortality rate (ICMR)	107	105	105	117
	Maternal mortality rate (per 100.000 births)	474
	Health service access rate	38	39	37	37
	Health service access rate by children ages 0 to 5	78	86	76.2	Nd
	Rate of medically/paramedically assisted childbirth	76	76	75	75
	Prenatal consultation rate	76	76	90	84
	HIV/AIDS prevalence among expectant mothers during prenatal visits to health centers	2.2	2	2.1	Less than 6%
	Death rate from malaria per 10,000 inhabitants	Nd	135	140	62.5

Source: PRSP progress report 2005.

View Table

Table 3:

Key health indicators

INDICATORS		2003	2004	2005	PRS1 target
	Infant mortality rate (IMR)	68	66	66,8	65
	Infant/child mortality rate (ICMR)	107	105	105	117
	Maternal mortality rate (per 100.000 births)	474
	Health service access rate	38	39	37	37
	Health service access rate by children ages 0 to 5	78	86	76.2	Nd
	Rate of medically/paramedically assisted childbirth	76	76	75	75
	Prenatal consultation rate	76	76	90	84
	HIV/AIDS prevalence among expectant mothers during prenatal visits to health centers	2.2	2	2.1	Less than 6%
	Death rate from malaria per 10,000 inhabitants	Nd	135	140	62.5

Source: PRSP progress report 2005.

27. The actions taken under PRS 2003-2005 made it possible to improve access to safe drinking water. The access rate in rural areas increased from 35 percent in 2002 to 41 percent in 2005, a six percentage point rise. The sector doubled its capacity to create water supply points. For the first time, in term of creation of water supply points, the performances of 2004 exceeded the threshold of the 1200 points equivalents of water. Improved planning and budget execution in the sector, coupled with the commitment of several donors, contributed significantly to this good performance.

2.3 Promotion of good governance and institutional capacity building

28. In the context of promoting good governance and strengthening the rule of law, in 2005 the Government adopted a strategic plan for combating corruption, with the five following priority pillars: (i) revitalization of the oversight system through the passage of an anti-corruption law; (ii) the promotion of administrative and institutional reforms; (iii) strengthening the capacity for action of civil society and the private sector; (iv) creation of an environment hostile to corruption; and (v) strengthening of reporting requirements and the obligation to combat impunity. Moreover, to build on the gains made in this area, the Government established an Anti-Corruption Observatory (OLC).

29. In addition, the first survey on governance and corruption is in progress and should make it possible to establish a reference base for tracking progress with implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategic Plan (PSAC) and the introduction of the public information mechanism.

30. In the legal sector, the plan for operationalizing the integrated program to strengthen the legal and judiciary systems has been adopted and is currently being implemented. To strengthen the justice sector, the Government is recruiting 40 judges and 30 court clerks a year. To improve the performance of the justice sector, the Government has also engaged in capacity building for the stakeholders in the sector through training and improved compensation of judges.

31. With a view to increasing the efficiency of expenditure in a context of transparent management, the Government undertook a reform of the budgetary system aimed at: (i) generalizing the use of performance-based budgeting in all ministries, using program budgets; (ii) transferring some public expenditure management responsibilities from the Ministry of Finance to the sectoral ministries and decentralized administrative structures; and (iii) streamlining and automating the expenditure circuit.

32. Similarly, the Government introduced various reforms with respect to procurement. These reforms made it possible to introduce a new institutional framework for: (i) increasing transparency and efficiency in government procurement; (ii) modernizing procurement procedures; and (iii) establishing an independent oversight system in order to combat corruption in government procurement.

33. In the area of civil service reform, the Government introduced a Single Reference File that can be used to determine the precise number of paid civil servants, improve the State’s personnel management, and curtail the introduction into the system of fraudulent appointment or promotion advices. Moreover, it delegated by decree, to the ministries responsible for education, the management of administrative acts pertaining to their personnel, and set up a technical framework for the integration and coordination of administrative reforms, made up of the Secretaries-General of the ministries.

34. Regarding decentralization and deconcentration, legal provisions on the budgetary and accounting framework for local governments have been adopted. To ensure that the transfer of appropriation management of the ownerships does not jeopardize the quality of public expenditure, the Government initiated a program to build local government capacities as regards fiscal management. It created an integrated organizational framework carrying out the reform in respect of deconcentration and established a mechanism for collaboration between the Prefects or the Mayors, as appropriate, and the decentralized agencies.

35. In addition, implementation of PRS 2003-2005 made it possible gradually to introduce a monitoring arrangement. Monitoring and evaluation indicators were defined and used in the preparation of progress reports. The Government recognizes, however, that some of the structures envisaged in the arrangement, such as the Departmental Monitoring Committees, have not functioned the way they should.

2.4 Promoting jobs and capacity building for the poor

36. The Government established the National Employment Agency (ANPE) and strengthened employment promotion structures. Significant advances were made in the microfinance area, in particular through capacity building for the stakeholders of the institutions concerned, support for the creation of the Regional Solidarity Bank (BRS) and its local Beninese branch, establishment of the microfinance support fund, and improvement of the legal and regulatory framework for microfinance institutions.

37. With respect to promoting community development, the Government carried out the local master plans for establishing a number of pilot villages in order to make the National Community Development Plan operational. Actions were also taken in connection with the social protection and promotion of women, in particular the exemption from primary school tuition payment for girls, the promotion of access by girls to merit-based academic scholarships, the adoption and implementation of the laws and regulations on the protection of children, and especially of girls, in the schools and apprenticeship centers.

38. Lastly, as regards security in at-risk areas, projects and programs were implemented to: (i) modernize agriculture and to improve the population’s access to essential social services; (ii) improve access to development zones by rural access roads; (iii) prevent and resolve the problems associated with transhumance; and (iv) ensure that urbanization and tow management are controlled.

2.5 Status of MDGs in Benin

39. In deciding to work toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Government of Benin renewed its commitment to implementing the public policies needed to combat poverty and hunger, HIV/AIDS, the other diseases, illiteracy, environmental pollution, discrimination against women. This commitment is all the more necessary in that the progress made to date will probably not make it possible to achieve the MDG targets set for 2015, as indicated in Table 4. The paragraphs which follow take stock of the progress made toward achieving the major MDG indicators and briefly describe the challenges to be met in order to achieve the goals established. These goals are addressed in detail in the chapters devoted to the strategic pillars of the SCRP.

Table 4:

MDGs, current situation, and path ahead for Benin

Source: Excerpt from the departmental Report on the MDGs in Benin, MDG-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

Table 4:

MDGs, current situation, and path ahead for Benin

Objectives	Targets	Indicators for Benin	2004 current value of indicator	MDG target value for 2015
1. Eliminate extreme poverty and hunger	1. 50% reduction of proportion of Beninese living below poverty line, with poverty index improving to 15% by 2015	1. Income poverty index	36.3%	15%
		2. Human poverty index	48.9%	16%
	2. By 2015, reduce by 50% the number of persons suffering from malnutrition	3. Proportion of underweight children	30%	14.6%
2. Primary education for all	3. By 2015, provide primary education to all children of school age	4. Gross enrollment ratio in primary school	80.7%	100%
		5. Primary completion rate	54%	100%
		6. Literacy rate	62%	100%
3. Promote gender equality and the autonomy of women	4. Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and at all education levels by 2015 at the latest	7. Girl-boy ratio in primary and secondary	0.75	1
		8. Percentage of elected officials by gender (% women)	3.2%	30%
		9. Female participation indicator	0,356	1
4. Reduce infant mortality	5. Reduce infant/child mortality rate from 166.5 per mil in 1996 to 65 per mil by 2015	10. Death rate of children under 5	146.4 per mil	65 per mil
		11. Infant mortality rate	65.6 per mil	39 per mil
		12. Proportion 1-year-olds vaccinated against measles	99%	100%
5. Improve maternal health	6. Reduce maternal death rate from 498 per 100,000live births in 1996 to 390 by 2015	13. Maternal mortality rate	474.4/100,000	390/100.000
		14. Proportion of assisted childbirths	75%	100%
		15. Prenatal care coverage rate	90%	100%
6. Fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases	7. Reduce the prevalence of STIs and HIV/AIDS	16. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS among expectant mothers ages 15 to 24	2%	1.9%
		17. Contraception usage rate	10.1%	40.9%
		18. Number of children orphaned by AIDS	32,810	Stabilized
	8. By 2015, bring malaria and other major diseases under control and begin to reverse the current trend	19. Malaria incidence rate	116 per mil	ND
		20. Death rate from malaria	140 per mil	ND
		21. Prevalence of tuberculosis	4.5%	Stabilized
		22. Rate of use of health services of health (curative care)	37%	100%
7. Ensure a sustainable environment	9. Incorporate the principles of sustainable development into national policies and reverse the current trend of dwindling environmental resources	23. Area of protected spaces (in %)	0.18%	1%
		24. Household waste removal method (waste collection percentage)	10.1%	34%
		24. GDP per energy unit consumed (energy yield)	3.2%	ND
		25. Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita)	300	ND
	10. By 2015, reduce by half the share of the population without sustainable access of way to a source of safe drinking water	26. Proportion of population with access to a source of safe drinking water	76%	100%
	11. By 2015,, appreciably improve living conditions of at least 2/3 of Beninese slum dwellers	27. Proportion of households with no latrine or toilet	67.3%	42%
		29. Proportion of substandard housing units	ND	ND

Source: Excerpt from the departmental Report on the MDGs in Benin, MDG-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

View Table

Table 4:

MDGs, current situation, and path ahead for Benin

Objectives	Targets	Indicators for Benin	2004 current value of indicator	MDG target value for 2015
1. Eliminate extreme poverty and hunger	1. 50% reduction of proportion of Beninese living below poverty line, with poverty index improving to 15% by 2015	1. Income poverty index	36.3%	15%
		2. Human poverty index	48.9%	16%
	2. By 2015, reduce by 50% the number of persons suffering from malnutrition	3. Proportion of underweight children	30%	14.6%
2. Primary education for all	3. By 2015, provide primary education to all children of school age	4. Gross enrollment ratio in primary school	80.7%	100%
		5. Primary completion rate	54%	100%
		6. Literacy rate	62%	100%
3. Promote gender equality and the autonomy of women	4. Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and at all education levels by 2015 at the latest	7. Girl-boy ratio in primary and secondary	0.75	1
		8. Percentage of elected officials by gender (% women)	3.2%	30%
		9. Female participation indicator	0,356	1
4. Reduce infant mortality	5. Reduce infant/child mortality rate from 166.5 per mil in 1996 to 65 per mil by 2015	10. Death rate of children under 5	146.4 per mil	65 per mil
		11. Infant mortality rate	65.6 per mil	39 per mil
		12. Proportion 1-year-olds vaccinated against measles	99%	100%
5. Improve maternal health	6. Reduce maternal death rate from 498 per 100,000live births in 1996 to 390 by 2015	13. Maternal mortality rate	474.4/100,000	390/100.000
		14. Proportion of assisted childbirths	75%	100%
		15. Prenatal care coverage rate	90%	100%
6. Fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases	7. Reduce the prevalence of STIs and HIV/AIDS	16. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS among expectant mothers ages 15 to 24	2%	1.9%
		17. Contraception usage rate	10.1%	40.9%
		18. Number of children orphaned by AIDS	32,810	Stabilized
	8. By 2015, bring malaria and other major diseases under control and begin to reverse the current trend	19. Malaria incidence rate	116 per mil	ND
		20. Death rate from malaria	140 per mil	ND
		21. Prevalence of tuberculosis	4.5%	Stabilized
		22. Rate of use of health services of health (curative care)	37%	100%
7. Ensure a sustainable environment	9. Incorporate the principles of sustainable development into national policies and reverse the current trend of dwindling environmental resources	23. Area of protected spaces (in %)	0.18%	1%
		24. Household waste removal method (waste collection percentage)	10.1%	34%
		24. GDP per energy unit consumed (energy yield)	3.2%	ND
		25. Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita)	300	ND
	10. By 2015, reduce by half the share of the population without sustainable access of way to a source of safe drinking water	26. Proportion of population with access to a source of safe drinking water	76%	100%
	11. By 2015,, appreciably improve living conditions of at least 2/3 of Beninese slum dwellers	27. Proportion of households with no latrine or toilet	67.3%	42%
		29. Proportion of substandard housing units	ND	ND

Source: Excerpt from the departmental Report on the MDGs in Benin, MDG-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

Protecting the environment and mobilizing resources for sustainable development

50. The major challenges ahead continue to be the constraints on mobilizing the resources needed to modify behaviors that are inconsistent with safeguarding the environment on the one hand, and, on the other, meeting the commitments between the international community and the Beninese State to ensure that all partners contribute to reaching the MDGs, namely: (i) the consistent easing in the conditionality associated with grants and lines of credit; (ii) good governance and the optimal absorption of the funds mobilized; and (iii) framework of the interventions of development partners in the various priority sectors and departments.

51. On the whole, it appears that the progress recorded is such that, at the current pace, it will not be possible to achieve the major Millennium Development Goals. There are many reasons for this, mostly relating to the ineffectiveness of public expenditure, insufficient access to developed country markets, and a number of structural problems such as (i) poor governance and corruption; (ii) low productivity, the lack of competitiveness, and the vulnerability of the Beninese economy; and (iii) poverty.

Evolution of the principal indicators of MDGs

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

Source: Excerpted from the Departmental report on the MDGs in Benin, MDGs-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

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Evolution of the principal indicators of MDGs

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

Source: Excerpted from the Departmental report on the MDGs in Benin, MDGs-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

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Evolution of the principal indicators of MDGs

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

Source: Excerpted from the Departmental report on the MDGs in Benin, MDGs-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

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Evolution of the principal indicators of MDGs

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

Source: Excerpted from the Departmental report on the MDGs in Benin, MDGs-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

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Evolution of the principal indicators of MDGs

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

Source: Excerpted from the Departmental report on the MDGs in Benin, MDGs-PRSP and OCS/MDEF.

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52. All in all, the evaluation of PRS 2003-2005 showed that while many reforms were initiated, it must be acknowledged that the results fell short of the objectives set. Moreover, progression toward the MDGs could also be jeopardized. This poorer than expected performance is explained by: (i) insufficient attention being devoted to growth issues, in particular the revitalization of the private sector and the development of sectoral and regional growth poles; (ii) underestimation of the role played by human capital in the growth and poverty reduction process; (iii) underestimation of the internal resistance within the public administration to the changes implied by the principles of performance-based management and good governance; and (iv) the limited involvement of local communities in the development process.

3.1 Changes in poverty over the 2002-2006 period

55. Income poverty: a significant increase. Income poverty analyzed in accordance with the customary indicators of incidence (P0), depth (P1) and severity (P2) was evaluated with reference to annual poverty thresholds⁶ established respectively at CFAF 74,886 per capita in 2002 and CFAF 82,224 CFAF in 2006. The initial provisional and partial results of the EMICoV survey show an increase in poverty since 2002. The incidence of poverty increased from the 2002 level, rising from 28.5 percent to 36.8 percent. Similarly, the depth of poverty (P1) increased appreciably during the period, from 11 percent in 2002 to nearly 14 percent in 2006, with a more pronounced change in rural areas.

Table 5:

Changes in poverty indicators from 2002 to 2006

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from the first round of EMICoV 2006.

Table 5:

Changes in poverty indicators from 2002 to 2006

		2002			2006
Area of residence	P0	P1	P2	P0	P1	P2
Urban	23.6	0.107	0.069	27.2	0.110	0.060
Rural	31.6	0.110	0.058	40.6	0.149	0.075
Together	28.5	0.109	0.062	36.8	0.138	0.071

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from the first round of EMICoV 2006.

View Table

Table 5:

Changes in poverty indicators from 2002 to 2006

		2002			2006
Area of residence	P0	P1	P2	P0	P1	P2
Urban	23.6	0.107	0.069	27.2	0.110	0.060
Rural	31.6	0.110	0.058	40.6	0.149	0.075
Together	28.5	0.109	0.062	36.8	0.138	0.071

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from the first round of EMICoV 2006.

56. Nonmonetary poverty:⁷ a decline contrasting with income poverty. When nonmonetary poverty is examined by means of a composite standard-of-living indicator, the data from the third general population and housing census (RGPH3) show that the phenomenon affected nearly 43 percent of the population in 2002, at a rate three times higher for individuals in rural areas than in urban areas (59.1 percent as compared to 17.7 percent).

57. In 2006, nonmonetary poverty declined overall: 41.1 percent of the population are poor as compared to 43 percent in 2002. However, the phenomenon appears to have worsened in urban areas. The number of urban poor increased by a factor of 1.2: the incidence of urban poverty increased from 17.7 percent in 2002 to 22.1 percent in 2006. In rural areas, the incidence of poverty fell by 12.9 percent, dropping from 59.1 percent in 2002 to 50.8 percent in 2006 (see Annex 28).

58. The correlation between the per capita expenditure and the composite is not very high (0.58), but is significant. Furthermore, this correlation is even lower for rural households, for which the coefficient of correlation is 0.29 as compared to 0.63 in urban areas. This indicates that the multidimensional analysis based on the composite index fails to yield a classification of households identical to that from the income poverty approach. However, both indicators show the extent of poverty to Benin.

59. Subjective poverty: households state that living is becoming more and more difficult. Basing analysis on the people’s perceptions of poverty makes it possible to escape the “normative” nature of defining the concept of poverty. The imposition of a single style of living is thus avoided. The determination of needs and of the reference poverty threshold is left up to the assessment of those surveyed.

60. The overall assessment by households of their own well-being is rather negative. In 2006, those deeming their lives to be difficult are estimated at 38.7 percent in 2006 as compared to 37.2 percent in 2001. Even if the analysis is limited to Cotonou, for which reference values (from the 1-2-3 household survey conducted in 2001) are available, there is a worsening perception of poverty in 2006. Those quite happy with their situation increased from 3.1 percent of the population in 2001 to 4.3 percent in 2006. On the whole, slightly over a third of the Beninese feel them more or less satisfied in terms of well-being. One can add to this group the 22 percent of households expressing relative satisfaction while emphasizing that their households are not altogether free of problems. Overall, nearly two households out of five which state that their lives are difficult, and thus should be classified in the poor category. The incidence of subjective poverty is thus relatively high (38.7 percent).

Table 6:

Assessment of the subjective well-being of households

Sources: 1-2-3 Survey, Multiple Dimensions of Poverty module, INSAE, 2001; partial and preliminary results from the first round of the EMICoV survey, 2006.

Table 6:

Assessment of the subjective well-being of households

Percentage of households stating that:		2001	2006
	Things are going well	3.1	4.3
	Things are pretty much okay	33.3	35.0
	We have to be careful	26.4	22.0
	Living is difficult	37.2	38.7
		100	100

Sources: 1-2-3 Survey, Multiple Dimensions of Poverty module, INSAE, 2001; partial and preliminary results from the first round of the EMICoV survey, 2006.

View Table

Table 6:

Assessment of the subjective well-being of households

Percentage of households stating that:		2001	2006
	Things are going well	3.1	4.3
	Things are pretty much okay	33.3	35.0
	We have to be careful	26.4	22.0
	Living is difficult	37.2	38.7
		100	100

Sources: 1-2-3 Survey, Multiple Dimensions of Poverty module, INSAE, 2001; partial and preliminary results from the first round of the EMICoV survey, 2006.

61. The primary needs deemed to be essential by Beninese households broadly parallel those usually identified in studies on the perceptions of poor population groups. They relate in particular to food, healthcare, education, access to baseline services, and housing.

3.2 Inequalities in Benin

62. Analysis of changes in the incidence of poverty does not, in and of itself, make it possible properly to assess the poverty situation. Such analysis must be supplemented by analysis of changes in inequalities in income distribution or expenditures in order to have a full sense of the dynamics of income poverty.

63. Analysis of household consumption expenditures on the basis of the preliminary and partial results of the EMICoV 2006 survey indicates that inequalities were reduced between 2002 and 2006. Indeed, nationwide, the Gini index declined from 0.430 in 2002 to 0.398 to 2006, a drop of 7.4 percent. The same trend may also be observed for urban households, but with a much more pronounced drop on the order of 21.3 percent. In contrast, for rural households, inequalities rose by 6.4 percent. This said, the urban areas, despite the drop noted, are those with the greatest inequalities.

Table 7:

Inequality in Benin between 2002 and 2006

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from the first round of EMICoV 2006.

Table 7:

Inequality in Benin between 2002 and 2006

	2002	2006
Urban areas	0.478	0.395
Rural areas	0.361	0.384
Together	0.437	0.398

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from the first round of EMICoV 2006.

View Table

Table 7:

Inequality in Benin between 2002 and 2006

	2002	2006
Urban areas	0.478	0.395
Rural areas	0.361	0.384
Together	0.437	0.398

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from the first round of EMICoV 2006.

3.3 Sociodemographic characteristics of poverty

64. Poverty and household size: a positive correlation. In 2002, household poverty increased proportionally with size. Households of more than six people had an incidence of poverty twice that of households of fewer than three, both in rural areas and urban areas. The effect household size on poverty incidence does, however, appear to be more perceptible in urban areas, where the incidence of poverty of households of six people or more is four times higher than that of households of less than three.

65. In 2006, this relationship between the standard of living and the household size of is confirmed both from the standpoint of income poverty and from that of nonmonetary poverty. Indeed, the incidence of nonmonetary poverty is 1.25 times greater in households of more than six people than in those of less than three. This ratio, which was 2 in 2002, is less pronounced in the case of nonmonetary poverty in 2006, but for income poverty increased from 2 in 2002 to 3 in 2006.

66. Poverty and education level: a strong negative correlation. Generally, poverty decreases as the education level increases. Having a sizable stock of human capital enables an individual to seize more economic opportunities and thereby improve his or her standard of living. Households headed by someone with no education are 2.5 times more likely to suffer from nonmonetary poverty than those headed by a person with primary education. This ratio is 10.8 when households are headed by someone with secondary education and 29.2 for higher education. These wide gaps are explained by the fact that the level of instruction is positively correlated with the standard of living. The ratio ranges from 1.1 to 5.5 for income poverty.

67. According to a World Bank study⁸ (2003) based on data from the CWIQ 2002 in Benin, beyond the first three years of elementary school, which have little impact on the level of the consumption expenditure, each additional year study by the head of household makes substantially improves the household consumption level. For two households of the same size and in the same location, the one headed by a person who has completed the four years of the primary cycle will, on average, have a level of consumption that is 14 percent higher than the one in which the had of household received no education.

68. In 2006, the relation ship between poverty and education level continued. Households headed by an individual with no formal education have twice the number of poor as those headed by an individual with primary education, and seven times more in the case of secondary education. These results show that the returns on investment in education are perceptible beyond four years of primary study and even greater beyond primary education. The data considerably reinforce the importance of formal education as a means of combating poverty.

69. Poverty and gender: a pronounced shift in favor of women. The effect on poverty of the gender of the head of household is pronounced. In 2002, the nonmonetary poverty index of households headed by men was 45 percent, as compared to 33 percent for households headed by women. The difference between these two rates is statistically significant at the 5 percent level. In 2006, there fewer poor in households headed by women than in those headed by men. The incidence of nonmonetary poverty is 42.3 percent for men as compared to 34.6 percent for women. There are thus 1.33 times poorer in male-headed households than in female-headed households. A substantial proportion of poor female heads of household are widowed, divorced, or separated (approximately 45 percent). As regards income poverty, there are 1.09 times poorer in households headed by men.

70. Migration and poverty: a negative correlation. Migratory movements have significant economic, sociocultural, and demographic impacts on the departure area, host area, and households. According to the 2006 World Economic Outlook, migration can improve well-being and reduce poverty. Indeed, remittances from workers abroad, in particular, are an important means of escaping extreme poverty for many individuals.⁹

71. In 2006, non migrants are, overall, poorer than migrants. The incidence of poverty for these households is estimated at 41.95 percent, as compared to 21.7 percent for migrants. This confirms the trend observed in 2002, when there were 2.5 times poorer among non migrants than among migrants.

3.4 Determinants of the various forms of poverty

72. The factors behind poverty in Benin are fundamentally the socioeconomic characteristics of households and access to social services. In both urban and rural areas, the determinants that are seen over and over again are household size, the age of the head of household, his or her level of education, his or her gender, migratory status, access to economic infrastructures (housing, health, water and electricity, telecommunications), and access to production factors.

73. Overall, the education level of the head of household has a positive influence on the household’s standard of living. Heads of household with no education are less likely to experience an improvement in living standards than are those completing primary, secondary, or higher education. Migratory status also has a positive influence on household living standards. This corroborates the fact that migration can improve well-being and reduce poverty.

3.5 Contribution of growth and inequality: a weak growth effect

74. The increase in poverty between 2002 and 2006 could stem from low growth in average expenditure (“growth effect”) or from deterioration in inequalities (“distribution effect”).

75. Point-by-point analysis of evolution of poverty shows that the decline is attributable primarily to slow economic growth, attenuated, however, by the significant decrease in inequalities, in particular in urban areas. Rural areas showed the greatest increase in the incidence of poverty. There, it increased by 9 percentage points as against 3.6 in urban areas. This deterioration observed in rural areas is attributable to the unfavorable impact of the low growth in average rural household consumption and to the increased disparities in the distribution of such spending.

Table 8:

Changes in poverty incidence between 2002 and 2006

(in percent)

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from first round of EMICoV 2006

Table 8:

Changes in poverty incidence between 2002 and 2006

(in percent)

	Total change	Growth effect	Redistribution effect
Urban	3.6	8.8	-5.2
Rural	9.0	4.9	4.1
Total	8.3	9.7	-1.4

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from first round of EMICoV 2006

View Table

Table 8:

Changes in poverty incidence between 2002 and 2006

(in percent)

	Total change	Growth effect	Redistribution effect
Urban	3.6	8.8	-5.2
Rural	9.0	4.9	4.1
Total	8.3	9.7	-1.4

Sources: CWIQ 2002 and provisional and partial results from first round of EMICoV 2006

76. Overall, the breakdown of changes in poverty incidence between 2002 and 2006 illustrates the highly unfavorable effect of the low growth in household consumption expenditure. These results, even partial as they are, should lead to an emphasis on pro-poor growth.

Box 5:

Growth Incidence Curve (GIC)

This approach considers the cumulative distribution function F_t(y) of expenditure on consumption, yielding the proportion of households having resources of less than Y at time t, so that the inverse $F_t^{-1}\left(p\right)$ in the p^th quintile shows the expenditure of that quintile:

$y_t\left(p\right)=F_t^{-1}\left(p\right)=L_t^{\prime }\left(p\right){\mu }_t\left[y_t\left(p\right)>0\right]\left(1\right)$

View Expanded

where $L_t^{\prime }\left(p\right)$ designates the derivative of the Lorenz curve and μ_t the average consumption expenditure at date t.

If we take account of the two periods of investigation (1,2), the growth rate of expenditure in the p^th quintile is given by:

$g\left(p\right)=\left[\left(y_2\left(p\right)/y_1\left(p\right)\right)-1\right]\mathrm{.}\left(2\right)$

View Expanded

By stipulating that p ranges for 0 to 1, g(p) shows what is known as the Growth Incidence Curve (GIC), or:

$g\left(p\right)=\left\{\left[L_2^{\prime }\left(p\right)/L_1^{\prime }\left(p\right)\right]\left({\gamma }_t+1\right)\right\}-1.\left(3\right)$

View Expanded

where γ =[(μ₂/μ₁)–1] expresses the growth rate of μ between the two periods. When g(p)γ for any p covering the poor, it may be concluded that economic growth is unambiguously “pro-poor” or, in other words, that the benefits derived by the poor from said economic growth are proportionally greater than those accruing to the wealthy.

77. The growth incidence curve falls below the right axis (Figure 2) representing the growth rate of average expenditure between 2002 and 2006 for the poorest. This confirms that economic growth in Benin would not have been beneficial to the poor.

Growth curve of consumption expenditure between 2002 and 2006

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

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Growth curve of consumption expenditure between 2002 and 2006

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

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Growth curve of consumption expenditure between 2002 and 2006

Citation: IMF Staff Country Reports 2008, 125; 10.5089/9781451803549.002.A001

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78. Analysis of the determinants and evolution of poverty clearly shows that economic growth is the essential factor in poverty reduction. Moreover, national consultations have shown that corruption is harmful to the business-enabling environment. For these reasons, the strategic approach is aimed at accelerating economic growth, promoting good governance, and ensuring equitable social development in a poverty reduction context.

79. The ultimate objective of the Beninese authorities targeted by this strategy is sustainable and effective improvement in the living conditions of the people through attacking the root causes of poverty. For it to succeed, the Government intends to implement a policy of accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction compatible with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which it supports. The Government is aware of the fact that economic growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for poverty reduction. Indeed, the poor lack services, resources, and prospects as much as they lack money. Accordingly, in addition to economic growth, the Actions of the Government will place priority on building human capital, emphasizing developing the capacities of individuals who have been excluded. In this context, actions will particularly stress health, education, adult literacy, relations between the sexes, and the degree of social inclusion, all of which are factors that promote or reduce the well-being of each and every individual and help determine the prevalence of poverty. In the short term, educational and health-related policies, especially reproductive health and the major epidemics, while contributing to the training and development of human capital, will have a direct impact on growth. In the long term, social investments will help achieve the objective of slowing population growth. To enhance the effectiveness of this strategy, the Government will use grassroots development and decentralization in order to create wealth and jobs through regional economic and agricultural poles.

4.1 Stabilization of the macroeconomic framework

88. Over the past few years, Benin has observed most of the macroeconomic framework stabilization objectives adopted as European Union – West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) convergence criteria. In spite of those efforts, the measures put in place to consolidate the macroeconomic framework have proved incapable of withstanding the pressures exerted by the international and regional environment, which altered the assumptions on which projections had been based. To address these problems, the Government intends to: (i) strengthen the macroeconomic framework; (ii) monitor the macroeconomic environment; and (iii) improve the fiscal framework.

89. Strengthening of the Macroeconomic framework: With the support of Technical and Financial Partners, Benin has made a major effort to conceive and implement reforms aimed at strengthening the macroeconomic framework. Over the next three years, the Government intends to build on the progress made with those reforms. To that end, it will pursue fiscal consolidation policies and seek to curb inflation. The Government has opted for policies that, combined, will have a positive impact on competitiveness and economic growth.

90. Under the 2007-2009 SCRP, fiscal consolidation policies will continue. They will aim to: (i) raise Government revenue, mainly by broadening the tax base¹⁰ and making collection agencies more efficient; and (ii) make public expenditure more effective by introducing performance-oriented public administration. In addition, the Government will make sure that increased budgetary resources are allocated to the priority social sectors, at least in proportion to increases in the overall budget, despite the investments it plans to embark on through large economic infrastructure works. By so doing, by combining resource allocations and targeted transfers, the Government will ensure greater equity in the distribution of the fruits of growth. Particular attention will be paid to improving expenditure quality and control.

91. The Government will be rigorous in its implementation of fiscal policy. It will strengthen sectoral program-budgets to reflect the Priority Actions Program (PAP) derived from the SCRP strategy. The sustainability of fiscal policy will be assured by observing WAEMU convergence criteria. To that end, the Government will ensure that the level of indebtedness is viable and that financing shortfalls are covered by debt relief and bilateral and multilateral assistance, as well as by bond issues.

92. To improve the purchasing power of the population, the Government commits to guaranteeing price stability by: (i) reducing factor costs by expediting structural reforms; and (ii) eliminating overcharging by enforcing market mechanisms.

93. Monitoring the macroeconomic environment: In 2003-2005, Benin endured external shocks (closing of the Nigerian border for transit trade, plummeting cotton prices, higher oil prices) that had a major impact on economic growth. To anticipate, and possibly implement measures to mitigate, the effects of such external shocks on the economy, the Government has decided to establish a mechanism for monitoring factors in the domestic and external environments whose fluctuations affect the business cycle. To that end, the Government has decided to (i) promote the mechanism for economic and financial monitoring of the environment for the major economic sectors; and (ii) to coordinate that monitoring process at the national level.

94. Improving the tax framework: The SCRP accords high priority to promoting the private sector and large economic infrastructure projects. To finance these investment programs and the development of the private sector, considerable internal and external resources have to be mobilized. The Government intends to place particular emphasis on domestic taxation. Thus, it will (i) expand the tax base; (ii) embark on a restructuring and modernization of tax and customs administration by reorganizing departments, computerizing procedures, and stronger and equitable human resource capacity building; and (iii) strengthening tax audits with a view to eradicating tax fraud.

4.2 Revitalization of the private sector

95. The SCRP emphasizes promotion of the private sector as the engine of wealth and employment. To maintain that dynamism, the Government intends to: (i) embark on structural reforms; (ii) improve the business climate; and (iii) facilitate financial intermediation for this sector.

96. Structural reforms: As part of its efforts to improve the business climate, the Government has adopted a number of structural measures aimed at expediting the State’s withdrawal from the productive sector and encouraging the development of private enterprise. There are still obstacles to the unfettered development of the private sector, especially with respect to the restructuring of key sectors and the introduction of regulatory systems.

97. In this context, the idea is to continue and to expedite the privatizations that are currently under way, taking care, in particular, to: (i) improve the legal and institutional framework for privatizations; (ii) enact the electricity sector policy; (iii) adopt the regulatory framework and establish the regulatory authority for the water and electricity sectors; (iv) complete privatization of the Post and Telecommunications Office and establish the regulatory authority for telecommunications; and (v) expedite the implementation of measures to enhance Cotonou port competitiveness.

98. The Government hopes to complete privatization of the industrial plant of the National Agricultural Promotion Company (SONAPRA) as soon as possible. To do so, it envisages setting up a private-law company, most of whose shareholders would be private individuals, to take over the gin mills. Moreover, to sustain growth and development of the private sector, the Government will expedite the structural reforms needed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI)

99. Improvement of the business climate: Accelerated and sustainable economic growth will require private sector development. That must translate into increased private investment and private sector competitiveness. In 2007-2009, the Government intends to implement its enhanced private sector development strategy, with particular emphasis on key actions in the areas of land ownership, taxation, the industrial free trade zone, and new agricultural activities. In this context, the Government will honor its commitment to businessmen to carry out the actions described in the enhanced private sector development strategy letter. In addition, the Government will ensure that the investments are accompanied by environmental and social risk management safeguards.

100. Financial intermediation in support of the private sector: In Benin, the difficulty of accessing financial capital is still a major constraint on private sector development, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and farmers. In recent years, the development of microfinance has, to a modest extent, eased this constraint. Its contribution to SME and farmer financing could be much more significant with increased professionalism and Government support in the form of a Microfinance Support Fund to serve the least privileged strata, with particular attention to women. As for commercial bank loans, the Government is committed to promoting term deposits, so as to free up financial capital for investment.

101. Private sector promotion and project clusters maximizing demonstration effects will require considerable volumes of finance. The Government will create incentives for the formal financial sector to support private investment in lead sectors. It will also use the “BOT” (Build, Operate, Transfer) mechanism for the investments planned in its large-scale works program.

4.3 Diversification of the economy

102. The Beninese economy is essentially based on cotton. Between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, Benin’s share of world cotton exports increased substantially: from 0.06 percent to 2.3 percent. Cotton currently accounts for approximately 40 percent of export (including reexport) revenue. However, in recent years, Benin’s that share has declined due to the fall in cotton prices on the world market and lower output.

The fact that export revenue relies so heavily on a single product renders the economy vulnerable to external shocks. Moreover, the data indicate that, of the countries in the WAEMU, Benin’s export performance is one of the weakest (Table 9).

Table 9:

Average annual export ratio

(1998-2004)

Source: WDI 2006

Table 9:

Average annual export ratio

(1998-2004)

Years	1998	2002	2004	Average
Benin	17.1	14.3	15.1	15.3
Burkina Faso	12.9	8.5	8.6	9.6
Côte d’Ivoire	39.4	49.6	48.1	43.6
Guinea-Bissau	14.4	29.9	34.9	28.1
Mali	24.8	31.9	28.0	28.3
Niger	17.8	15.2	15.9	16.5
Senegal	30.3	30.6	27.8	29.8
Togo	29.7	33.8	33.5	31.7
WAEMU	30.0	33.3	31.3	30.8

Source: WDI 2006

View Table

Table 9:

Average annual export ratio

(1998-2004)

Years	1998	2002	2004	Average
Benin	17.1	14.3	15.1	15.3
Burkina Faso	12.9	8.5	8.6	9.6
Côte d’Ivoire	39.4	49.6	48.1	43.6
Guinea-Bissau	14.4	29.9	34.9	28.1
Mali	24.8	31.9	28.0	28.3
Niger	17.8	15.2	15.9	16.5
Senegal	30.3	30.6	27.8	29.8
Togo	29.7	33.8	33.5	31.7
WAEMU	30.0	33.3	31.3	30.8

Source: WDI 2006

103. Indeed, in 1998-2004, Benin’s export ratio (exports as a percentage of the value of nominal GDP) averaged 15.3 percent, compared with 30.8 percent for WAEMU as a whole. Furthermore, that rate was under half that of the other countries, with the exception of Burkina Faso and Niger, both of which are landlocked.

104. Concern to increase exports and gradually reduce vulnerability to external shocks has led the Government to opt for diversification of the economy. This diversification will be undertaken in two directions: (i) the diversification of agriculture; and (ii) the development of project clusters with demonstration effects. Having learnt from the disappointing performance of the cotton sector in recent years, the Government intends to embark on a transition to an economy less dependent on a single product, above all by pursuing a policy of diversification of agriculture. Thus, in collaboration with the private sector, the Government is embarking on a program to support the development of new farm products and crops, namely: palm oil, cashew nuts, rice, market garden produce, pineapple, shea, cassava, and fisheries products (shrimp). To that end, the Government will step up agricultural research so as to support this diversification.

105. Because of the relative decline of primary sector products in world trade, Benin also intends to diversify its economy by developing products with high value-added, so as to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the growth of world trade in processed products. Consequently, the Government will pillar on the processing of agricultural produce, targeting market niches for which Benin enjoys comparative advantages. Such niches might, for instance, be the clothing industry for textile cotton, the cosmetic industry for shea and palm oil, confectionery for fresh pineapple, and other food-processing or pharmaceutical industries for cashew, and so on. Moreover, this approach, targeting above all markets in the region, would appear to be more promising than the commodity markets served by countries like China and Brazil, which produce on a huge scale and at lower cost. Energy and telecommunications are vital for socio-economic development, as several studies have demonstrated,¹¹ and they are key factors for enhancing the productivity of enterprises in Benin

106. The development of project clusters maximizing demonstration effects is warranted by the dearth of industrial processing. In Benin, it is generally limited to the first stage of processing of raw materials, with little value added. That being so, the Government has set about identifying potential mainstays of the Beninese economy. A survey of the principal branches of the economy of Benin indicates that no cluster exists: all sectors are at the “incipient cluster” stage. Six of the “incipient clusters” identified are: (i) textile cotton; (ii) food processing, trade, and international trade; (iii) buildings and civil engineering works (BTP) and construction materials; (iv) tourism, crafts, and culture; (v) transportation, logistics, and international trade; (vi) telecommunications and information and communications technologies (ICTs). The Government plans to base its accelerated growth policy on tightly-woven development of these incipient clusters, turning them into veritable mainstays of the Beninese economy. This intensification of project cluster development is to be accompanied by specific anti-HIV/AIDS campaigns aimed at preserving the population and ensuring that these projects have a greater impact.

107. Textile cotton: The Beninese economy depends heavily on cotton output and today cotton-growing remains the country’s chief export-oriented activity. Over 95 percent of the fiber cotton produced in Benin is sold on the international market. Today, it accounts for almost 40 percent of export revenue and 90 percent of revenue from agriculture. It provides a monetary income for more than 120,000 farmers and is the product that most contributes to exports. Unfortunately, the activity has been hard hit in recent years by unfavorable developments in international trade, disruptions caused by an unevenly managed liberalization of the sector, and under-utilization of gin mill production capacity because of low levels of grain cotton output. To revive the textile cotton industry, the Government intends not just to boost cotton production but also to create the conditions required for Benin to process a large part of the grain cotton produced. The Government will take the necessary steps to guarantee quality control of the chemical inputs and proper use of them, in order to protect the health of the population and ecosystems. In looking for highly promising market niches, emphasis will be placed on subcontracting to clothing industry companies abroad, following the example of countries like Tunisia and Mauritius which, although they do not produce grain cotton, have still managed to develop a competitive processing sector.

Table 10:

Structure of exports, Benin

(CFAF billions)

Source: BCEAO

Table 10:

Structure of exports, Benin

(CFAF billions)

	Period prior to PRSP I		PRSP I period
	2000-2002	Share (%)	2003-2005	Share (%)
Cotton fiber	92.5	32.1	103.8	34.1
Cottonseed	4.2	1.5	0.8	0.3
Cottonseed meals	2.5	0.9	2.9	1.0
Palm oil	0.0	0.0	0.9	0.3
Palm-kernel meals	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.1
Cashew nuts	10.8	3.8	9.2	3.0
Tobacco and cigarettes	2.1	0.7	8.8	2.9
Wood and woodwork	3.1	1.1	2.3	0.8
Miscellaneous products	10.3	3.6	17.1	5.6
Re-exporting	134.9	46.8	132.1	43.4
Unregistered trade	28.0	9.7	26.4	8.7
Total exports	288.4	100.0	304.7	100.0

Source: BCEAO

View Table

Table 10:

Structure of exports, Benin

(CFAF billions)

	Period prior to PRSP I		PRSP I period
	2000-2002	Share (%)	2003-2005	Share (%)
Cotton fiber	92.5	32.1	103.8	34.1
Cottonseed	4.2	1.5	0.8	0.3
Cottonseed meals	2.5	0.9	2.9	1.0
Palm oil	0.0	0.0	0.9	0.3
Palm-kernel meals	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.1
Cashew nuts	10.8	3.8	9.2	3.0
Tobacco and cigarettes	2.1	0.7	8.8	2.9
Wood and woodwork	3.1	1.1	2.3	0.8
Miscellaneous products	10.3	3.6	17.1	5.6
Re-exporting	134.9	46.8	132.1	43.4
Unregistered trade	28.0	9.7	26.4	8.7
Total exports	288.4	100.0	304.7	100.0

Source: BCEAO

108. Food processing, trade and international trade: The food processing industry in Benin is still incipient. With a view to promoting the processing of agricultural produce (cashew nuts, pineapple, palm seeds, cassava) for which Benin enjoys comparative advantages, the Government intends: (i) to boost palm oil cultivation, tailored to local ecological conditions, and to encourage investors to install modern processing plants; (ii) support the efforts under way to improve the percentage of cashew nut output processed locally and to initiate talks with private enterprises developing exports of this product; (iii) see to the proper working of the traceability system put in place by the Benin Center for Standardization and Quality Management (CEBENOR); (iv) strengthen the technical capacity of existing processing units; and (v) establish conditions conducive to the installation of nee processing units and support producer initiatives with respect to both processing and preservation. The Government will continue its support for the groups of farmers producing the aforementioned products so as to enable them to improve the quality of their products for export. The processing of shea nuts and some subsistence crops are activities predominantly performed by women and will be strongly supported by the Government.

109. Finally, the Government is counting on implementing the proposed consolidation of foreign trade support structures by establishing the Exports and Investments Promotion Agency (APEI), as indicated in the workshop to approve the trade integration diagnostic assessment.

110. Buildings and civil engineering works (BTP) and local construction materials: BTP have played a very important part in the resumption and consolidation of growth in Benin in recent years. Local BTP companies appear to be low on financial resources and physical fixed assets, but they also seem weak in terms of organizational and managerial capacity. To address that, the Government plans to carry out major works that could attract multinational BTP enterprises and lead to subcontracting to domestic companies and a skills transfer process.

111. Tourism, crafts, and culture: Despite the country’s considerable natural, historical, and cultural heritage, tourism in Benin is still incipient. Mindful that it is the second largest source of foreign exchange, after cotton, the Government has set about developing a national policy to develop the tourist industry, aimed at: (i) significantly improving the hotel and tourism services provided for businessmen and businesswomen; (ii) laying the foundations for the development of international tourism; (iii) promoting tourism related to conferences and meetings; and (iv) promoting Benin’s tourism potential in international travel markets. The low qualifications and lack of professionalism in the enterprises operating in this sector have hampered the implementation of these measures. For that reason, the Government is committed to raising the capacities of these commercial players over the next three years and to rehabilitating and developing tourist sites. The idea is to carry out major infrastructure projects for this purpose, especially the “fishing route project.”

112. Unlike the countries of South, East, and North Africa, West African countries have not yet developed their tourism potential. Benin, however, has a hugely diversified and rich ancestral cultural tradition as a result of the diversity of its population groups and habitats and its position at the crossroads of great historical currents and migratory movements, which the Government intends to exploit in its efforts to promote tourism and crafts.

113. Here, too, it is important to ensure high quality in the provision of such services as electricity, telephony, transportation, and logistics. For instance, the investment climate study showed that brownouts caused turnover losses of approximately 13.4 percent. More than 59 percent of enterprises have to go to the extra expense of purchasing electricity generators. In the tourist sector, 67 percent of firms regard electricity supply deficiencies as a major problem.

114. The Beninese crafts sector preserves, develops, and processes local resources and, as such, constitutes a veritable reservoir of jobs. Indeed, in employment generation terms, it is the third most important sector, after agriculture and commerce. It comprises approximately 210 trades, among them several activities that generate monetary income for the population. Today, it accounts for approximately 12 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Being aware of the importance of crafts for poverty reduction, the Government will strive to make it an engine of economic development. It will therefore attempt to bring about the proper conditions for implementing the National Crafts Development Policy (PNDA) by, above all: (i) strengthening and expanding the foundations for a crafts industry; (ii) strengthening the managerial capacities of the decentralized financing institutions, by training their staff and tracking and monitoring their activities; (iii) tailoring the financing system to the needs of the crafts industry; (iv) enhancing the quality of crafts products in order to both increase domestic sales and improve positioning in regional and international markets; and (v) ensuring promotion of women’s craft activities (basket weaving, weaving, pottery…).

115. Transportation, logistics, and international trade: A well-maintained infrastructure network and efficient and competitive transportation services allow companies to reduce their production costs, keep markets well supplied, and facilitate the development of economic activities. In Benin, it will be a question of developing baseline transportation infrastructure and continuing implementation of the reforms currently being carried out in the sector to encourage private investment.

116. Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs): As pointed out earlier, telecommunications are core aspects of business and growth. In terms of telecom infrastructure, Benin has markedly increased its number of fixed and mobile telephone lines, service providers, and Internet users. However, the high cost of accessing these services and poor quality customer service are two problems that need to be overcome in this key sector for boosting investment.

117. Quite apart from the run-down state of the equipment used by “Bénin Télécom S.A.” and network malfunctions, Benin telecom fees are higher than those in most countries in the subregion. The same is true of the cost of installing a company telephone line: US$280 in Benin, US$81 in Mali, US$32 in Senegal, US$50 in Ghana, US$78 in Thailand, and US$ in Malaysia.

118. The most striking comparison is with Senegal, where liberalization of the sector has been a success and where rates are among the most competitive in Africa, thanks to a strategy of broad, low-cost access to ADSL [splitter less asymmetric digital subscriber lines]. That has enabled Senegal to develop e-commerce, as in the processing of newspapers published in France. Moreover, by opting for a broad subscriber base, the telecom company has achieved excellent financial earnings.

119. To improve services to the general public, the Government has begun reforming the post office and telecommunications sector by introducing private players as a way to increase the supply of infrastructure and telecommunication and postal services. The strategy has resulted in a marked reduction of costs and has encouraged the development of information and communication technologies. This reform needs to be supported by enhancing the following: (i) liberalization of the telecommunications and post office sector by establishing a new legal and regulatory framework; (ii) privatization of the state telecom enterprise; and (iii) the development of services exploiting the availability of submarine cable and an educated population.

Table 11:

Average cost of a three-minute dial-up call to the USA in US$

Source: International Communications Union (2004), cited in the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study [DTIS] (2005)

Table 11:

Average cost of a three-minute dial-up call to the USA in US$

	Benin	Ghana	Senegal	Mali	Togo	Bangladesh	Thailand	Malaysia
1998	7.16	NA	4.48	NA	11.44	6.00	6.98	3.82
1999	6.86	2.92	3.19	14.62	7.80	4.40	2.54	2.76
2000	5.93	1.65	2.23	12.64	7.90	4.14	2.19	2.37
2001	5.76	1.26	1.81	12.28	7.67	2.47	1.49	2.37

Source: International Communications Union (2004), cited in the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study [DTIS] (2005)

View Table

Table 11:

Average cost of a three-minute dial-up call to the USA in US$

	Benin	Ghana	Senegal	Mali	Togo	Bangladesh	Thailand	Malaysia
1998	7.16	NA	4.48	NA	11.44	6.00	6.98	3.82
1999	6.86	2.92	3.19	14.62	7.80	4.40	2.54	2.76
2000	5.93	1.65	2.23	12.64	7.90	4.14	2.19	2.37
2001	5.76	1.26	1.81	12.28	7.67	2.47	1.49	2.37

Source: International Communications Union (2004), cited in the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study [DTIS] (2005)

4.4 Promotion of regional integration

120. Promotion of regional integration to enhance competitiveness: Given the need to involve Benin in a dynamic process of accelerated and sustainable economic growth, a change of approach is required in order to make the most of membership of regional groupings (WAEMU, ECOWAS, and the African Union) and of insertion in the global economy… This integration will be based on regional exchange complementarities among Benin and neighboring countries. The Government plans to take greater advantage of its strategic position as a link between Nigeria and WAEMU, on the one hand, and, on the other, of openness toward the countries in the hinterland. To do so, the Government has decided to: (i) develop its transit services potential and make the country a platform for trade; (ii) develop channels for the exchange of subsistence crops, for which there is strong demand in the region (above all in Nigeria and Niger), with a view to increasing output of those crops; and (iii) strive to establish joint ventures capable of ensuring complementarity of production factors and thereby boost Benin’s industrial potential. These options will be accompanied by programs to strengthen efforts to combat HIV/AIDS along borders.

121. Within regional organizations, the Government is committed to ongoing support for efforts to modernize ECOWAS bodies, and, especially, to strengthen its bilateral cooperation with Nigeria. That might held reduce the volume of illicit trade with that country. To that end, the Government will continue talks on the lifting of non-tariff barriers adopted by Nigeria pursuant to the Badagry memorandum. Thus, Benin’s unstructured trade may become more diversified and better organized as Nigeria liberalizes its economy, just as Hong Kong adapted to the opening up of China in 1978. In WAEMU, these developments will translate into a stronger regional market in government securities and private bond issues.

5.1 Transportation infrastructure

127. Transportation infrastructure refers to development and maintenance of the road network, including rural roads, the railways, the development of maritime and river-based transportation, and port and airport facilities.

128. Benin lacks proper transportation infrastructure, despite the fact that it is essential for trade to develop. A comparison of Benin with certain West African countries reveals huge discrepancies. Benin has the least developed rail and road network, the least road traffic density ratio, and the fewest up-to-standard airports.

Table 12:

Comparison of transportation infrastructure in a number of countries

Sources: CIA (2004) cited by UNCTAD (2004), Investment Policy Review of Benin, and documents of the MDCTT/PR.

Table 12:

Comparison of transportation infrastructure in a number of countries

	Benin	Togo	Nigeria	Burkina Faso	Côte d’Ivoire
Length of railroad network	578	525	3557	622	660
Railways (km2)	0.005km	0.009km	0.004km	0.002km	0.002km
Length of road network	6,076	7,520	194,394	12,506	50,400
Roads in (km2)	0.05km	0.13km	0.21km	0.05km	0.16km
Tarmac roads	30%	32%	31%	16%	10%
Airports with tarmac runways	1	2	36	2	7

Sources: CIA (2004) cited by UNCTAD (2004), Investment Policy Review of Benin, and documents of the MDCTT/PR.

View Table

Table 12:

Comparison of transportation infrastructure in a number of countries

	Benin	Togo	Nigeria	Burkina Faso	Côte d’Ivoire
Length of railroad network	578	525	3557	622	660
Railways (km2)	0.005km	0.009km	0.004km	0.002km	0.002km
Length of road network	6,076	7,520	194,394	12,506	50,400
Roads in (km2)	0.05km	0.13km	0.21km	0.05km	0.16km
Tarmac roads	30%	32%	31%	16%	10%
Airports with tarmac runways	1	2	36	2	7

Sources: CIA (2004) cited by UNCTAD (2004), Investment Policy Review of Benin, and documents of the MDCTT/PR.

5.2 Energy infrastructure

147. As regards electricity, the investment climate study conducted in 2004-2005 showed that it takes 104 days for a manufacturing enterprise in Benin to be hooked up to the electricity grid, compared to 12 days in Senegal, 32 days in Mali, and 18 days in China. Moreover, brownouts cause output losses in the order of 7.4 percent in Benin, compared to 2.6 percent in Mali, and 1.8 percent in China. As for the duration of such brownouts, in days per year, the figure for Benin in 2003/2004 was 44 compared to 14 days in Mali.

Table 13:

Bottlenecks caused by electricity supply problems: an international comparison

Source: ECI Benin (2005)

Table 13:

Bottlenecks caused by electricity supply problems: an international comparison

Problem	Benin	Mali	Senegal	China
% loss of output	7.4	2.6	5.1	1.8
Number of brownouts	43.9	14.5	31.5	n.a.
% of firms that have their own generator	26.9	45.3	61.6	17.0
Time it takes to hook up to the grid	104.4	31.7	12.4	18.2

Source: ECI Benin (2005)

View Table

Table 13:

Bottlenecks caused by electricity supply problems: an international comparison

Problem	Benin	Mali	Senegal	China
% loss of output	7.4	2.6	5.1	1.8
Number of brownouts	43.9	14.5	31.5	n.a.
% of firms that have their own generator	26.9	45.3	61.6	17.0
Time it takes to hook up to the grid	104.4	31.7	12.4	18.2

Source: ECI Benin (2005)

148. Benin is a net importer of electricity from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, while, on average, WAEMU and African countries are net exporters of it. To address this capacity issue, it is important for Benin to acquire a degree of autonomy and reduce its dependence on energy imports. To that end, the Government plans to build a power station.

Table 14:

Electric energy capacity, Benin

(millions of Kw)

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, November 2004 (quoted in DTIS 2005)

Table 14:

Electric energy capacity, Benin

(millions of Kw)

	1980-1985	1986-1990	1991-1995	1996-2000	2001-2002
WAEMU	1.54	1.66	1.72	1.86	1.77
Nigeria	2.86	4.57	5.91	5.89	5.89
Benin	0.02	0.02	0.03	0.11	0.12

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, November 2004 (quoted in DTIS 2005)

View Table

Table 14:

Electric energy capacity, Benin

(millions of Kw)

	1980-1985	1986-1990	1991-1995	1996-2000	2001-2002
WAEMU	1.54	1.66	1.72	1.86	1.77
Nigeria	2.86	4.57	5.91	5.89	5.89
Benin	0.02	0.02	0.03	0.11	0.12

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, November 2004 (quoted in DTIS 2005)

149. To address the challenges it faces in the energy sector, under the SCRP strategy, the Government will adopt ambitious measures and programs to satisfy current and potential demand for energy. It will do so by: (i) establishing an appropriate institutional, legal, and regulatory framework; (ii) consolidating implementation of an energy information system to provide tools for energy policy decision-making; (iii) promoting rational use of energy in all branches of the economy; (iv) diversification of domestic sources of energy; (v) taking advantage of national, economically viable, energy resources; (vi) improving the pricing (rates) system for energy use; and (vii) shortening the time it takes to hook up to the grid. Implementation of these measures in line with those designed to boost the private sector should attract DFI and encourage local investment as well.

150. With respect to electrification in rural areas, energy sector activities have to do with the consumption of biomass energy (firewood), oil and gas, and electricity. Total end-consumption of energy over the past five years has averaged approximately 1,584 kilo tons of oil equivalent (ktoe), which constitutes a relatively low level of per capita consumption of 0.252 toe per annum. Not much progress has taken place in Benin with respect to the consumption of electricity. In households and in services it increased from 154,849 MWh in 1996 to 392, 558 MWh in 2002, an increase of 15.6 percent [Tr. sic]. This translates into: (i) a low percentage of households with electricity (approximately 22 percent nationwide in 2003 and less than 5 percent in rural areas; (ii) still incipient development of the industrial sector, comprising only a limited number of industries (food processing, textile cotton ginning, pharmaceutical companies, and cement factories) accounting for only 2.1 percent of the total demand for electricity in 2002.

151. The Government’s rural electrification goal is to establish the conditions needed to bring electricity to150 rural localities each year (an average of 10 per rural electrification concession) and, at the same time, to ensure that, by 2009, the average electrification rate for all those rural localities is at least 20 percent. The achievement of that goal, which would also ease the pressure on forest resources, must depend on: (i) the electrification options chosen; (ii) the way in which electrification of rural areas is organized; (iii) rural electrification priorities; (iv) the pricing of electricity in rural areas; (v) the use of renewable and local sources of energy; (vi) support for local rural electrification initiatives; (vii) financial assistance for the installation of household electric appliances and hook-ups; and (viii) synergy with other sectoral programs.

5.3 Waterworks and sanitation

152. This priority area involves the following sectors: safe water in rural and urban areas; water management works for productive purposes, and sanitation infrastructure.

6.1 Promotion of development-oriented education

169. Since education is a condition for economic takeoff, ambitious educational policies are called for. Despite its important role in accelerating of economic growth and poverty reduction, the educational sector is plagued by numerous problems, including in particular: (i) the scarcity of pre-school facilities; (ii) a primary education system characterized by low retention rates and poor performance, especially for girls; (iii) the limited scope of higher education; and (iv) the threat posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

170. Access to high quality baseline education is an important factor in poverty reduction. The Government has therefore made primary education one of its main priorities. The main goal is to ensure primary education for all by the year 2015, in accordance with the MDGs. The importance of baseline education for development should be reflected, not only in the sequencing of activities, but also in budgetary allocations. In order to achieve this, the following strategic interventions, broken down by educational level, are envisaged.

171. Pre-school level. The goal here will be, among other things: (i) to improve access to preschool through the promotion of community-level facilities, raising the awareness of communities and local elected officials of issues related to early childhood stimulation, in order to obtain their support for the creation of pre-schools by communities. The Government will ensure equitable coverage of rural and urban areas through: (i) a communication plan, encouragement for relevant educational initiatives by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the private sector, and communities for very young children, and by raising popular awareness of the importance of schooling for girls; and (ii) efforts to ensure the quality of services for very young children through the enhancement of outreach programs dispensed in intake facilities.

172. Primary and secondary levels. The government has decided to: (i) boost the elementary school completion rate to 100 percent by the year 2015; (ii) substantially improve retention of pupils during the cycle, a sine qua non condition of achieving a universal completion rate, particularly by ensuring educational continuity over the six years of instruction; (iii) reduce grade repetition; (iv) support private education through subsidies from 2007 onward; (v) improve the quality of teaching; (vi) improve the retention rate for girls in the school system; (vii) generalize the system of financial aid sponsorship for the schooling of girls; (viii) promote residential homes and high schools for girls and orphans; (ix) substantially improve teachers’ working conditions; (x) adapt the school map to regional requirements; (xi) develop environmental education programs; (xii) provide incentives to promote the training of girls in educational tracks in which they are underrepresented; and (xiii) improve the system for the gathering and processing of educational statistics.

173. Higher education. The Government will continue to support this level of education to train high-level managers capable of driving the development process. This Government support will be reflected in: (i) improved management and policy guidance in higher education; (ii) improved quality and greater gender equity; (iii) promotion of scientific and technical research geared to sustainable development; (iv) repillaring of higher education on the country’s development needs with regard to regional integration and globalization, using an approach linking the university to the milieu it serves; and (v) stipends for girls and facilitation of girls’ access to on-campus housing.

174. Literacy. The Government will emphasize: (i) equitable access to literacy programs; (ii) promotion of women’s literacy; and (iii) improvement of the quality of human resources, programs and curricula, and enhancement of the system of subsectoral monitoring/evaluation, policy guidance and management, with a view to making literacy an instrument of social change. In addition, the Government will endeavor, in implementing these activities, to integrate environmental concerns into training curricula.

175. In addition, and in order to best exploit the opportunities associated with the country’s geographic location vis-à-vis Nigeria, the Government will develop and progressively implement a strategy aimed at imparting mastery of spoken and written English by as many people as possible.

6.2 Strengthening of vocational training

176. The people of Benin have expressed their desire for high-quality and useful education. They want schools and apprenticeship programs that are relevant and that take local concerns about sustainable development into consideration. This approach is seen by the population as a possible solution to the unemployment problem, since it encourages a match between training and labor market requirements.

177. Vocational training. To enhance the credentials of apprentices and skilled artisans, the Government approved a National Policy of In-Service Vocational Training (1998), which was implemented through the Development Fund for In-Service Training and Apprenticeship (2001). As part of this same effort, the Government opted in 2001 to reform technical and vocational training according to four themes, namely: professionalization of initial training through a revision of programs according to the skill-set approach; introduction of a dual apprenticeship system; expansion of in-service vocational training offerings and development of in-service vocational training options for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. Emphasis will be on the development and diversification of educational options. The Government has thus decided to implement the following actions over the 2007-2009 period: (i) develop and diversify educational offerings; (ii) improve quality and enhance gender equity; (iii) improve management and policy guidance; (iv) distribute and re-pillar vocational schools as a function of the comparative advantages of regions; (v) re-orient the training offered at vocational schools to take into account the employment opportunities at the département level; (vi) introduce a training plan that meets the needs of business owners and of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Benin (CCIB); (vii) offer incentives to encourage vocational training for girls; and (viii) develop specific HIV/AIDS prevention programs for those enrolled in training.

178. Employment. The educational policy assigns priority to technical and vocational training to fill the jobs that will be created by the development of clusters of structuring projects with multiplier effects. The SCRP also emphasizes: (i) the development of income-generating activities; (ii) the integration of young people into economic activity; (iii) promotion of the social economy (including the assignment of a monetary value to domestic labor); and (vi) the generalization of social security registration and efforts to combat child labor.

179. The Government has chosen to pillar, through its efforts to enhance human capital, on the issue of attitudes, with a view to encouraging the emergence of a new type of Beninese citizen no longer held back by behaviors inimical to development (e.g., inertia, a wait-and-see attitude, laziness), fostering the creation of a citizenry that is skilled, honest, and endowed with business sense and a spirit of initiative. The educational system will also endeavor to: (i) promote a sense of personal autonomy and responsibility and a sense of moral integrity; (iii) promote the entrepreneurial mindset in national and local development programs and activities; (iii) increase the number of people familiar with new information and communications technologies; and (iv) develop, with the technical and financial partners, scholarships and internship programs to train high-level managers and technicians in the design and management of development, and for private enterprise.

6.3 Greater accessibility and quality of health and nutrition services

180. Improvement of the health of the population is both an economic and social development objective. Good health helps to improve the quality and efficiency of human capital. Thus, the Government’s vision with regard to public health incorporates three (3) of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely: (i) to reduce mortality among children aged 5 and under; (ii) to improve maternal health; and (iii) to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In addition, the Government has opted to: (i) develop and equip healthcare infrastructures; (ii) ensure a stable supply of pharmaceutical products and medical consumables; (iii) develop a base-level health care package at the regional level; (iv) improve diet and nutrition; and (iv) promote athletic and recreational activities.

181. Promotion of maternal health and reduction of infant mortality. Maternal and infant health indicators have stabilized over the past few years to around 473 maternal deaths for 100,000 live births and 38 newborn deaths for 1,000 live births. Although obstetrical complications are factors imperiling the lives of women, one of the main causes of maternal and neonatal death in Benin appears to be the dysfunctionality of the healthcare system. Thus, among the actions planned to enable Benin to achieve the MDGs, the Government has chosen to: improve the functioning of the system; increase access to reproductive health services through family planning; and promote responsible parenthood, prenatal care, medical care for obstetrical emergencies, coverage of STIs, and continuous availability of the optimal package of obstetrical and pediatric interventions (for diarrhea, ARIs, fever, malnutrition, vaccinations, anemia); and ensure adequate supply and availability of reproductive healthcare services for adolescents and young people.

182. Reliable supply of pharmaceuticals and medical consumables. This consists of ensuring constant availability of the high-quality pharmaceutical products and medical consumables needed to improve the health status of the population, particularly through: (i) comprehensive and reliable funding leading to financial autonomy; (ii) harmonization of financing mechanisms between partners and strengthening of cost recovery mechanisms; (iii) reliable and affordable supply of high-quality drugs and products; (iv) ongoing availability of a comprehensive array of services and products in order to meet increased demand; and (v) efforts to combat the informal market in pharmaceutical products.

183. HIV/AIDS prevention. Although HIV/AIDS is not the main cause of hospitalization and death, it is by far the most formidable malady in terms of its social impact on those infected, their offspring, and a country’s future. HIV/AIDS prevalence rose from 0.3 percent in 1990 to 3.2 percent in 1996, and was 4.1 percent in 2001 and nearly 2 percent in 2004. The inadequacy [of the prevention effort] is apparent since, according to national statistics, one person is infected every 28 minutes, for a rate of 52 people per day, whereas four years earlier the number of infections per day stood at only 35 (PNLS, 2003). To address this pandemic, the Government will emphasize: (i) primary prevention (especially among young people), treatment and care (particularly in connection with mother-to-child transmission and the management of pediatric cases, as well as support to AIDS orphans; and (ii) management of tuberculosis cases in accordance with the DOTS (Directly Observe Therapy Short-Course) strategy. ¹³

184. Prevention of malaria and other endemic diseases. Despite the Government’s efforts, malaria has been neither eradicated nor controlled, and as of 2004 was still one of the main reasons for seeking medical attention. The Government plans to continue its prevention activities through its national anti-malaria program and to enhance access to curative care, particularly in rural areas.

185. Implementation of the policy on safe blood transfusions. In order to support other disease-prevention programs and provide effective healthcare, Benin must establish a program to ensure the safety of blood transfusions. This entails policy-making as well as infrastructures and facilities to increase the capacity of the blood bank and ensure product quality. To this end, the Government has decided to implement the following: (i) construction and equipment of a national blood storage center; (iii) capacity-building for staff; and (iv) implementation of policies for rapid and equitable distribution of blood.

186. Development of baseline set of healthcare services at the regional level. Visits to healthcare facilities are an indispensable prerequisite of improved healthcare. Admittedly, however, access to healthcare services is still difficult for most citizens. Only 66 percent of all households have a healthcare facility available nearby, while primary healthcare facilities serve only 50 percent of the population. Faced with this situation, the Government has decided to: (i) put in place an appropriate legislative and regulatory framework; (ii) assign a special budgetary allocation to the sector; and (iii) strengthen the capacities and skills of those involved in the sector.

187. Development and equipment of healthcare infrastructures. Despite efforts made in this area, there are too few infrastructures and facilities. This situation essentially affects zone hospitals, municipal health centers, arrondissement-level health centers, and village health units. There is currently very little investment in these units, although they are an effective means of promoting grassroots health initiatives. Zone hospitals or health centers are sometimes inaccessible due to the remoteness of villages. The development of healthcare infrastructures must be accompanied by an ambitious program to either facilitate access to such infrastructures or provide access. Actions to be carried out are the following: (i) an increase in the number of infrastructures, and the equipping of such structures; and (ii) promotion of a detailed human resource development plan based on an inventory of skill deficits by type of personnel and by locality. This plan includes the cost of training new employees and takes into account the norms and standards required in the area of healthcare service coverage.

188. Improved nutrition. In Benin, daily energy consumption scarcely exceeds 1,300 kilocalories instead of the minimum of 2,400 kc required by an average 65-kg adult with a normal activity level. Under nutrition and the resulting malnutrition, as well as their attendant chronic or disabling diseases, the inability to tolerate physical exertion, and high levels of maternal and infant/child mortality, are indicative of the structural food and nutritional insecurity that has prevailed over the past several years. Thirty-three (33) of the county’s 77 municipalities are in a state of chronic food and nutritional insecurity due to the precariousness of household supplies of high quality foodstuffs, large post-harvest losses, ineffective food storage/preservation systems, rudimental processing technologies with low yield and variable quality, inadequate policies and weak synergy between sectoral policies and programs, and the lack of pillar on nutrition (and particularly on community nutrition) in poverty reduction policies and programs.

189. Recognizing that the visible progress on the nutritional front would boost the productivity of human capital in the agricultural sector, and indeed in all economic sectors, the Government intends, over the next three years: (i) to develop a food and nutrition policy for Benin; (ii) to strengthen the mechanism for the prevention and management of food crises by adapting it to the decentralized environment; (iii) to conduct a prospective study, within the context of intermunicipal development, on ways to establish buffer stocks of foodstuffs for the benefit of municipalities; (iv) to promote income-generating activities, family gardens, urban horticulture, small-scale home-based livestock raising (whether traditional or not) and non-traditional foods (e.g., mushrooms, spirulina, apiary products, etc.); (v) develop and implement a communication plan on proper food processing and preservation techniques; (vi) re-energize the national committee on food and nutrition and its regional branches; (vii) step up monitoring of the population’s dietary and nutritional status; and (viii) enhance the technical and material capacities of communities to assume responsibility for the care of malnourished children.

190. Development of athletic activities. The Government recognizes the value of mass-participation sports in the process of enhancing human capital, because of their impact on the population’s well-being. The Government will install local athletic infrastructures in municipalities and will ensure that women’s access to athletic pursuits is encouraged. Regarding soccer in particular, the Government will develop, along with countries with which it is on friendly terms, programs to train young Beninese nationals in the schools and training centers of those countries.

6.4 Strengthening of the social safety net

191. The family unit is the ideal environment for learning about life in society. It is a universe organized into a system that teaches an individual the baseline rules for achieving social equilibrium and personal fulfillment. The family circle is the starting point for the individual’s social training, since it lays the groundwork for the individual’s acquisition of knowledge, know-how and social/life skills. The family is therefore the point of departure for educating the human capital needed for growth and poverty reduction. For the 2007-2009 period, the Government has decided to address issues concerning the family unit, women, gender inequality, the autonomy of women, the protection and development of children, social welfare protections, and mutual health insurance schemes.

192. Promotion of the family unit. Studies have shown that, in general, children reared in a stable and harmonious home tend to have less difficulty obtaining a good education, and to enjoy good health. The Government has therefore decided to attach particular importance to the family and to gender issues. Promotion of the family requires: (i) improving the living conditions of families; (ii) protection and preservation of the family; (iii) promotion of peace and social stability; (iv) strengthening of the capacities of family-promoting institutions and of foster homes that accommodate orphans and vulnerable children.

193. Promotion of the status of women. Experience has demonstrated the strong influence of African women in family stability, children’s education, economic growth, and in development in general. An educated woman take better care of her family and encourages her children, and especially her daughters, to attend school. However, women occupy a disadvantaged position in Benin. To address this problem, the Government has decided “to improve the social, decision-making and economic status of women by promoting awareness of gender issues.” The following actions will be required: (i) promotion of the education and training of girls and women; (ii) promotion of women’s economic autonomy; (iii) promotion of women’s health; (iv) improvement of, and respect for, the legal status of women; (v) valorization and recognition of women’s labor; (vi) valuing of cultures and traditions that allow women to realize their potential; and (vii) continued efforts to combat relationship violence.

194. Promotion of gender equality and women’s autonomy. As of the Third General Population and Housing Census (RGPH3) of 2002, women represented 51.4 percent of Benin’s population and 58.3 percent of them are in rural areas where they perform agricultural labor for the most part. Women’s demographic weight, their role in household stability, and their contributions to the sector producing goods and services mean that their status must be upgraded significantly and that all segments of the population must have equal opportunity for educational access through the elimination of all behaviors and practices detrimental to women. To this end, the Government will emphasize the following actions: (i) improvement of the land tenure code so as to grant women access to land; (ii) facilitation of access to micro-financing for women, and particularly poor women; (iii) functional French literacy; and (iv) management training as an accompaniment to micro-credit.

195. Child protection and development. The duty of parents, the community as a whole, the country, and its partners is to create for children an institutional, regulatory, educational, healthcare, and nutritional environment that can ensure the development of their full potential and enable them to become a high-quality human asset capable of contributing to economic and social development. Thus, the Government has set itself the goal, for the 2007-2009 period, of ensuring that the rights of children and adolescents are respected and that they have equal access to essential social services by: (i) protecting children and adolescents against mistreatment and child trafficking; (ii) promoting access for boys and girls to essential social services; (iii) improving the dietary and nutritional status of children; (iv) strengthening the capacities of agencies working on behalf of children; and (v) encouraging the familial and social reinsertion of orphans and vulnerable children.

196. Strengthening of social welfare protections. The Social Protection (SP) program is based on risk management. It restores labor policies, social insurance, and social security nets to their rightful position within an institutional framework involving prevention, mitigation and reaction against social risk and its effects, thanks to the efforts of numerous actors (individuals, households, local municipalities, NGOs, various echelons of public administrations and international organizations.) The goal is therefore to “ensure that the needs and socio-professional integration of vulnerable persons and social groups are addressed” through (i) the socio-professional integration of handicapped persons; (ii) support to the elderly to encourage active maturity; (iii) psychosocial services to indigents and those victimized by HIV/AIDS and other disabling diseases; (iv) support for the establishment of social protection and social security mechanisms for workers in the informal sector; (v) improved management of vulnerability to crises; (vi) strengthening of the capacities of agencies working to promote social solidarity.

197. Promotion of mutual health insurance schemes. Health is a critical factor in the improvement of human capital, but it is in accessible for much of the population, especially in rural areas, due to its cost. Lack of access to healthcare services increases the risk of impoverishment for vulnerable groups. To enable the population to obtain care and enhance its productive capacity, the Government pledges to: (i) promote micro-insurance; (ii) create incentives for the establishment of mutual heath insurance programs; (iii) encourage the creation of community mutual health insurance schemes; and (iv) boost the population’s awareness of the advantages of belonging to a healthcare mutual scheme.

7.1 Acceleration of administrative reform

206. The goal of the SCRP is to establish a creative and learning-oriented administrative culture that would optimally exploit the talents of men and women in the workplace without any type of discrimination. To that end, the Government plans to devote special attention to (i) reducing losses of public resources due to corruption and the institutional dysfunctionality of the civil service; (ii) restore Governmental authority; (iii) modernize and stabilize the civil service; (iv) accelerate territorial reform; and (v) develop mechanisms for collaborative governance.

207. Reduction of public resource losses due to corruption and institutional dysfunctionality of the public administration. Recognizing the negative impact of corruption and the institutional dysfunctions affecting the administration of public resources, the Government intends to carry out a three-pronged effort over the next three years to: (i) systematize the practice of results-based management (RBM); (ii) combat corruption, especially by reforming public procurement procedures; and (iii) improve economic management.

208. Based on its experience with the progressive introduction of RBM since 2000 and the generalization of the practice of program budgets in all ministries in 2005, which has improved the rate of execution of public expenditures (for operations and investment), the Government intends to systematize the practice of results-oriented management. This is in keeping with a culture of accountability, assumption of responsibility, and self-assessment, all of which are values associated with good governance.

209. Within the framework of the reform of public procurement procedures, anti-corruption efforts are aimed at reducing the average public procurement timeframe to the absolute minimum. The inordinately long period required to conduct public procurement is due to either poor understanding of procedures or to the dysfunctionality of the agencies authorized to handle them. In order to render public procurement procedures transparent and equitable, Benin has approved a new institutional framework under Law 2004-18 of August 27, 2004 modifying the Order 96-04 of January 31, 1996 setting forth the public procurement code applicable to the Republic of Benin and the four associated enforcement texts deriving from it. In addition, the goal is to (i) organize joint workshops to build procurement expertise for the benefit of the public and private sectors, local municipalities, and civil society organizations; (ii) to draw up a reference pricing scale for the purchase of goods and services by sector, along with a plan to disseminate it by all modes of communication and in every language used in Benin; (iii) to assess the efficacy and impact of Government oversight bodies as well as the behaviors modeled by Government overseers; and (iv) introduce a national ‘seal of approval’ for public administration service providers and suppliers who adhere to anti-corruption and accurate invoicing clauses, a national distinction that would entitle them to exceptional tax breaks over a given period.

210. To improve economic management, the Government plans: (i) to continue the reform of budgets and public finance, putting particular emphasis on the quality of expenditures and endeavoring to eliminate, over time, expenditures made by means of Payment Orders and Advance Accounts; (ii) to continue and expand the Government’s withdrawal from productive sectors; and (iii) to approve incentives encouraging dynamic involvement by the private sector in economic management.

211. Strengthening of Government authority. Firmer governmental authority is now needed to enable the Government to effectively perform its appointed tasks, which include: maintenance of the national territorial integrity, internal security, justice, and the protection of Beninese nationals throughout the world. Enhanced authority will ensure the influence and prestige of Government representatives in the exercise of their functions and the independence of the administration vis-à-vis all pressure groups. In this framework, the plan is to: (i) promote a culture that acknowledges work well done and the practice of applying sanctions, in order to encourage good practices in the management of public affairs; and (ii) institute a mandatory public service obligation geared to education in republican values, an understanding of governmental functions, the duties of civil servants, systems of prevention and avoidance of corrupt practices and embezzlement of public funds, and communication with users.

212. Modernization and stabilization of the public administration. Cumbersome administrative procedures are among the problems decried by users. Governmental continuity is critical for consolidating procedures, learning from past experience, and improving relations with users. Also, workers and users of public services consistently demand improved working conditions to facilitate the performance of tasks and shorten the time required to deliver services. In addition, Benin’s ambition of taking its place in the community of nations, as well as its insertion into the world market, require access to new technologies and a better system of resource management. Thus, the emphasis will be on: (i) clarification of the mandates of the Government, taking into account the actual implementation of territorial reform and the revision of organic texts; (ii) promotion of a computerized system of administrative e-mail management by intranet and internet; (iii) computerization of the system of career path management and implementation of skill-building plans for Government employees; and (v) development of systems for conducting surveys of customers’ satisfaction with services rendered to users by the public administration.

213. The mobility and politicization of managers are also an obstacle to the stabilization of the public administration. Therefore, the Government intends to: (i) develop and apply job descriptions and profiles, as well as objective employee performance evaluation criteria and a consistent system of sanctions; (ii) develop and implement a dynamic system of motivation and reward of the best employees; and (iii) promote a culture of social and administrative advancement based on dignity, professional ethics, conscientious work, initiative, and merit. In addition, a particular effort will be made to appoint women, assuming equal qualifications, to high public positions.

214. Promotion of collaborative governance and avoidance of misuse of human resources. Recognizing the advantages of collaborative governance, the Government has undertaken to foster broad participation by the populace in production decisions, as is evidenced by gatherings of the various organizations and institutions producing traded goods and services that contribute to the creation and accumulation of the nation’s wealth, organized at the behest of, and under the patronage of, the Head of State. This effort will continue over the next three years to deepen the democratic process within production systems through: (i) the institutionalization, in all public administrations, of the practice of general staff assemblies and the re-energizing of management committees; (ii) institutionalization, within each public agency, of a receiving department charged with hearing workers’ and users comments and/or complaints; and (iii) strengthening of the managerial capacities of managers of public services at various decision-making levels.

215. To improve management of government personnel and avoid the squandering of human resources, the Government plans to compile a roster of civil servants in categories A and B who are without assignments for purposes of their redeployment and productive use. The Government intends to consult periodically with policy-makers, civil society and the private sector to share with them any ideas and assessments emerging from administrative reform. Finally, support will be provided to citizen watchdog organizations in order to strengthen the governance mechanism.

216. Acceleration of territorial reform. The main purpose of introducing territorial reform to Benin through decentralization and regionalization is to promote grassroots development and combat poverty and inequality. However, despite the legal apparatus supporting decentralization and regionalization, implementation of reforms appears to be lagging. The Government therefore intends to make the decentralization/regionalization combination a reality by (i) assessing the degree to which existing texts are being enforced; and (ii) developing modifying and supplemental texts as needed.

217. In addition, each ministry will be given a strategic regionalization plan for effective implementation of the decentralization/regionalization combination. Likewise, coordination and coherence of département-level action, centering on the prefect, will be strengthened through the introduction of intersectoral département-level programs integrating all regionalized government departments possessing a département-level program budget. In order to achieve this, the operation of the Departmental Administrative Conferences and the Departmental Commission for Consultation and Coordination will be improved. The Government will endeavor to develop and implement a timetable for the actual transfer to the municipalities of the prerogatives, purviews, activities and financial and material resources accruing to them according to the terms of the legislative and regulatory texts on decentralization.

218. The major strategic actions that the Government intends to implement are: (i) boosting the capacity and effectiveness of municipalities in the exercise of their purviews; (ii) enhancing the effectiveness of verification of legality and advisory assistance; (iii) improving the legal framework; (iv) developing and implementing intermunicipal cooperation for the provision of high-quality services to citizens; (v) promotion of decentralized cooperation; (vi) promotion of good local governance; (vii) support to municipalities to strengthen their human resources; (viii) developing the capacity of municipalities to fully assume their role in promoting the local economy.

219. Within this context, the Government will examine the complementarity between the FIAT and mechanisms used to transfer of resources to municipalities.

7.2 Strengthening of the rule of law and individual liberties

220. The democratic system now in place in Benin is remarkably stable. The Government is not yet totally effectual, however. Indeed, the rule of law and the guarantee of security and tranquility are not yet adequately provided to all citizens, particularly due to the weak institutional capacities of the Government and the dysfunctions of the judicial system.

221. Implementation of the SCRP will: (i) improve the image of Benin’s legal system in the eyes of those pursuing redress within it; (ii) consolidate progress already made toward democracy; (iii) enhance public safety and the neutrality of the army; (iv) heighten popular awareness of civic and patriotic duties.

222. The strengthening of the rule of law also requires environmental governance and the improvement of the population’s living conditions. In addition, access to information and the emergence of a national body of public opinion entails the professionalization of the media so that grassroots populations can be better informed of their rights and duties as they help construct the Beninese nation.

8.1 Sustainable regional and local development

233. Benin possesses an abundance of regional and local economic potentialities. The failure to exploit these to any degree, however, is still preventing the national economy from embarking on a true growth path, the effect of which would be poverty reduction and increased incomes. In order to spur local development, Benin has undertaken a reform of territorial administration leading to the enactment of the law concerning the establishment of municipalities, which subdivides Benin into 77 municipalities, or communes. Benin has also developed a town and regional planning strategagy that proposes the grouping of municipalities into shared development spaces capable of driving effective regional development.

234. However, much remains to be done in terms of regional and local development. Indeed, most municipalities are still fragile and need to pool their resources with those of other contiguous municipalities. The establishment of development spaces has not yet entered its active phase, although some pilot activities have been carried out. Spatial planning is in short supply and human capacity-building is needed for local development.

235. In order to address these realities, the Government has designated the promotion of sustainable regional and local development as a priority. To this end, the Government is embarking upon: (i) the promotion of structuring intermunicipal dynamics; (ii) the promotion of spatial planning; and (iii) capacity-building for the human resources involved in regional and local development.

8.2 Emergence of development and growth hubs

249. To ensure regional balance and stem the massive exodus of rural dwellers towards the large urban centers, the Beninese authorities wish to create several development hubs distributed throughout the national territory as a function of their comparative advantages. This development hub strategy also aims to diversify and boost production in the various regions of Benin. Thus, each development hub will eventually be a space organized around an economic engine, i.e., an important city surrounded by secondary cities and rural localities, all linked to each other by efficient transport and service networks. The main measures required for the emergence of development hubs are relevant to cities as well as to the adjacent rural localities. Such measures include: (i) the spatial distribution of project clusters; (ii) enhanced security and reliability of land tenure.

8.3 Environment, natural resource management and quality of life

260. Benin has substantial ecological, cultural, and anthropological assets. With about 65 percent of its territory covered with shrubs and trees, the country is home to one of sub-Saharan Africa’s best known parks (the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve), which has an abundance of flora and fauna species. At the national level, however, the sector is essentially characterized by an ongoing deterioration of forest resources and fauna. Efforts to exploit these ecosystems cannot stop their degradation, which is the result of complex factors, the most important of which is human activity (i.e.. strong population pressure leaded to overuse of forestry and fisheries resources, ill-adapted extensive production systems, brush fires, cross-border transhumance, poaching, etc.) Indeed, the economic profile of Benin depends on its natural resources and is exhibiting a trend toward accelerated degradation of environmental quality in both rural and urban areas. This situation affects the sustainability of ecosystems, and especially the equilibrium of the biosphere.

261. In order to avoid the harm that would be caused by such a loss of ecological diversity and environmental quality, Benin has therefore signed several international conventions and agreements, and has endorsed, with its partners, the logic of ecosystem preservation through its 1994 Declaration of Forestry Policy and its implementation of important programs and projects such as the PGFTR, the PAMF, the PBF I and II, the ProCGRN, the PGDRN, the PCGPN and the PAGEFCOM. The Government intends to continue these interventions by improving the legal framework permitting sustainable natural resource management. It plans to approve the law on land tenure, the law on wildlife, the current update of tax regulations, and to improve institutional collaboration between public services and users.

262. The Government will also undertake to develop and implement a national reforestation program that accommodates the specificities of the various categories of forests and agro-ecological zones and that is aimed at: (i) broadening the supply of fuelwood, industrial roundwood, and timber; (ii) combating desertification and soil degradation; (iii) improving biodiversity; and (iv) improving carbon sequestration capacity. With regard to fauna, new community-level biological preserves will be created, especially in humid zones. In order to ensure the populations’ support of this program, the participatory approach tested in the various programs underway will be expanded to the national scale, and income generated by the exploitation of forest resources will be equitably distributed among the various actors. Privatization of the commercial lumber affiliate ‘Industrie du bois du Benin” (IBB S.A.) of the National Lumber Bureau (Office national du bois), and the resulting elimination of the monopoly on teakwood purchases, will be crucial factors in the promotion of private plantations, the resurgence of industrial activity, and the creation of new jobs.

263. Apart from this natural resource sector, significant environmental problems are affecting the quality of life and health. These problems include: (i) the proliferation of shantytowns in the main cities, and particularly in Cotonou; (ii) the growing number of uncontrolled garbage dumps and the practice of open-air defecation; (iii) the growing scarcity and pollution of surface water supplies; (iv) air pollution in urban areas and the increasing importation of used vehicles withdrawn from circulation in Europe; (v) trafficking in hazardous substances (gasoline, drugs, agricultural and veterinary inputs); (vi) the scarcity of advisory support and education about the environment; and (vii) the lack of tools available to professional associations and grassroots contact persons for facilitating outreach on environment protection issues.

264. The Government is concerned by the scope of these problems, which aggravate environmental degradation and have negative impacts on the well-being of the population and on sustainable development. The National Environmental Management Program (Programme national de gestion de l’environnement, PNGE), begun in 2002 for a period of six (6) years, was presented as an array of coherent activities aimed at optimizing the links between the environment and poverty reduction, thus reflecting the themes of the Rio Summit on Sustainable Development. The overall objective of the PNGE, as formulated, is to “contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of the people of Benin through poverty reduction, promotion of internalized participatory planning, and local governance”.

265. The Government plans to continue the efforts now underway. This commitment will be supported and maintained over the next three (3) years through (i) the strengthening of grassroots environmental management capacities; (ii) strengthening of the system through which environmental issues are incorporated into sectoral policies and the tax system; (iii) promotion of integrated natural resource management, and particularly of hydraulic and forestry resources; and (iv) promotion of local sanitation services. All of these measures are justified by the fact that the Government has chosen to incorporate environmental concerns into the SCRP.

266. Strengthening of grassroots environmental management capacities. All local governments are faced with serious natural resource management problems. Local authorities, and especially neighborhood leaders, have a weak capacity to mobilize those they administer around public health campaigns. For lack of resources, municipal communication plans pay only marginal attention to environmental protection issues. Master plans for municipal development have little chance of success unless efforts are made to support their implementation. In general, the lack of staff and technical capacities at the level of the municipalities and regionalized government departments charged with environmental and natural resource protection limits the support that local governments and their populations can expect.

267. To address these weaknesses, particular emphasis will be placed on information, education, and training of the population, along with supporting demonstration activities, in order to gradually introduce a culture of environmental management in the interest of a salubrious and appealing living environment.

268. To this end, the Government intends to strengthen the institutional capacities of municipal departments and commissions responsible for issues involving government-owned assets and environmental matters, through skills upgrades for personnel and elected officials, and by providing them with the resources they need for their work. Support will also be provided to local civil society organizations, including women’s organizations and consumers’ associations, in order to accustom them to assuming responsibility for managing the milieu in which they live.

269. The main measures to be undertaken will pillar on: (i) development of a communication plan with varied content, addressing the main environmental issues of each department; (ii) production of radio broadcasts meeting the information and outreach needs of young people; (iii) strengthening of the capacities of municipalities in the area of environmental management; and (iv) training of grassroots media facilitators and opinion leaders in order to promote behavioral change in terms of the attitudes that the population has regarding natural resources and its living environment.

270. Strengthening of the system for incorporating environmental issues into sectoral policies and the tax system. Great efforts have been deployed over the past ten years to put environmental management tools in place at the sectoral level, along with a dynamic of education at the national level. Examples include information, outreach and training activities, the creation of environmental units and an environmental police force, a resumption of public health policing, and support for officials responsible for policing forests and fisheries. A culture receptive to the preparation of environmental impact assessments of public and private projects is emerging. The decentralization process, which resulted in the establishment of municipalities (communes) in 2003 has, for its part, attached great importance to the responsibility to be borne by local elected officials for environmental protection and sustainable natural resource management.

271. Despite these efforts, behavioral change is proving to be slower than desired. The difficult economic situation, poverty, and the scarcity of resources available to local governments have made adherence to environmental protection rules somewhat sketchy.

272. In order to address these deficiencies, the Government plans to deepen the strategies for incorporating environmental issues into public territorial management and into sectoral policies and programs. In this context, the means available to prevent environmental degradation will receive greater attention within the system of public investment programming, as well as in Benin’s trade policy.

273. At the same time, and in order to more effectively promote a health environment, the Government plans to: (i) to systematically apply the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to all plans and programs; (ii) assess the environmental impact of Benin’s tax system in sectors involving the importation of vehicles, household appliances, etc.; (iii) reform sectoral environmental units and provide them with the operating resources to increase their impact; (iv) develop a performance chart on sectoral priorities in the area of environmental protection at the level of each ministry and each prefecture, that would provide a clear overview of the relevant budgetary resources; and (v) strengthen the national system of environmental information and monitoring through a revamping of the various information collection and analysis formats that feed data into the national report on the state of the environment.

274. Promotion of integrated management of natural resources, and particularly hydraulic and forestry resources. The decentralization of mandates down to the municipal level with regard to environmental protection is an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between communities in the management of shared natural resources (cf. Article 94 of Law 97-029 of January 15, 1999 concerning the organization of municipalities (communes) in the Republic of Benin). Within this framework, the town and regional planning strategy provides for support to such dynamics at the intermunicpal level.

275. The Government pledges to promote environmental governance. In this connection, it intends to orient its intervention priorities within the framework of the SCRP to: (i) establish a framework for national, subregional and international partnership in the area of sustainable conservation and management of biodiversity of protected areas and fragile ecosystems; (ii) establish a national observatory of surface water quality; (iii) strengthen local government associations in institutional and operational terms, for purposes of integrated natural resource management; (iv) strengthen the environmental management capacities of mixed and women-only farmers’ and producers’ organizations; (v) ensure baseline photographic/cartographic coverage of municipalities; (vi) promote alternative energies and fuelwood conservation systems; (vii) promote urban forestry and ecotourism; (viii) establish a system of sustainable financing of protected areas; and (ix) accelerate the establishment of measures to combat coastal erosion.

276. Promotion of local sanitation. Sanitation problems have emerged as serious handicaps for local populations, according to participatory surveys. Indeed, all large cities and main municipalities are experiencing difficulties associated with the removal and management of solid and liquid waste, biomedical waste, the absence of sanitary facilities in dwellings, and sanitation infrastructures in general. The budgets of most municipalities have few resources available for investment in sanitation.

277. Given this situation, which has multiple consequences (on both the health and productivity of the population), the Government has opted to continue its support to municipalities by: (i) promoting intermunicipal processes for household waste management; (ii) constructing and rehabilitating sanitation and sewer networks in selected cities; (iii) preparing and updating master plans and schemas for urban development and sanitation in main commune-level towns and municipalities; (iv) installing public utilities in inhabited zones or in zones slated for settlement; (v) identifying and closing-off areas unsuited for construction; and (vi) improving the management of biomedical waste in hospitals.

9.1. SCRP baseline scenario

281. The SCRP baseline scenario is the quantified translation of the various sectoral strategies that the government intends to implement to accelerate growth and reduce poverty during the years 2007-2009 while maintaining macroeconomic stability (targeted and sustainable inflation and deficit levels).

9.1.1. Sectoral strategies and growth hypotheses

282. As indicated above, growth acceleration will be based on the diversification of production, the strengthening of economic and social infrastructures, and the strengthening of good governance.

283. As a result of the implementation of the investment program in the priority sectors, public investment should increase strongly, by 20 percent per year. This, combined with the improvement in good governance and the business environment, will lead to an improved foreign investment ratio. As a result, the foreign investment ratio will increase from 22 percent in 2006 to around 25 percent by 2009.

Table 15.

Trend of economic growth and the investment ratio for 2000-2004

Source: World Bank

Table 15.

Trend of economic growth and the investment ratio for 2000-2004

	Growth	Investment Ratio
Benin	4.7	19.0
Burkina Faso	4.5	19.4
Senegal	4.3	19.1
East Asia and the Pacific	8.0	31.5
China	9.2	35.5

Source: World Bank

View Table

Table 15.

Trend of economic growth and the investment ratio for 2000-2004

	Growth	Investment Ratio
Benin	4.7	19.0
Burkina Faso	4.5	19.4
Senegal	4.3	19.1
East Asia and the Pacific	8.0	31.5
China	9.2	35.5

Source: World Bank

284. Energy. One of the major constraints on the competitiveness of the Beninese economy is the high cost of energy, particularly electricity. Moreover, load shedding now influences the competitiveness of enterprises significantly. In 2006, the government took steps through the Energy Plan to increase its energy production capacity and reduce its medium-term cost. The completion of the CEB-NEPA project in 2007 and the implementation of the Energy Plan should thus help to reduce the costs and improve the competitiveness of Beninese enterprises. Accordingly, the volume of energy production should average around 8 percent annual growth over the period 2007-2009.

285. Agriculture. The implementation of the strategy in the rural sector will translate into improvements in productivity and agricultural outputs. The pace of growth of primary sector production should average around 8 percent for the period, as compared to 3 percent average growth for the period 2003-2005.

286. Services. As a result of the implementation of sectoral strategies (tourism, telecommunications, finance, and transport), it is estimated that growth in the market services sector will average around 6 percent, as compared to 4 percent on average during the period 2003-2005.

Box 20.

Summary description of the macroeconomic and budgetary framework model

The model. The SCRP macroeconomic framework was prepared using a quasi-accounting macroeconomic simulation model, the main characteristics of which are as follows: (i) it recapitulates the different relationships between the macroeconomic accounts; (ii) it is built around supply and rests on sectoral growth hypotheses reflecting the implementation of SCRP sectoral policies and strategies; (iii) it treats inflation as an objective of economic policy because of the WAEMU monetary convergence criteria.¹ The macroeconomic simulation model is linked to a central MTEF, enabling resources to be allocated between ministries, and to sectoral modules, enabling sectoral program financing needs to be highlighted and reconciled with resource availability in order to “align” the program budgets.

The model utilized for the SCRP macroeconomic and financial framework observes the principles of financial programming and accounting equations, as the diagram below indicates. Growth is defined in a normative fashion, but takes into account the strategies that the government intends to implement.

Diagram: Macroeconomic and financial framework process

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The model operates on the basis of an iterative process requiring an ongoing dialogue between the sectoral MTEFs and the macroeconomic framework

Key to Diagram:

A. MACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORK (MOSARE)			B. OVERALL BUDGETARY FRAMEWORK (C. MTEF)		C. SECTORAL FRAMEWORKS (S. MTEFs)
Green oval:			(Central MTEF)		EDUCATION
PRSP policies					Objectives
External environment			MTEF 2007 2008 2009		Prog./Proj.
			Educ.		Costs
Yellow rectangle:				Pers.		Pers.
PROD.				G&S		G&S
Resources				Transf.		Transf.
	Agriculture			Invest.		Invest.
	Industry		Health
	Services			Pers.	HEALTH
Jobs				G&S	Objectives
Domestic				Transf.	Prog./Proj.
	Public			Invest.	Costs
	Private		Infrastr.			Pers.
External				Pers.		G&S
	Export			G&S		Transf.
	Import			Transf.		Invest.
				Invest.
Red rectangle:			Etc.		OTHER
GOVT.					Objectives
	Revenue				Prog./Proj.
	Expenditure				Costs
	Fin.					Pers.
		Dom.				G&S
		Ext.				Transf.
FINANCING GAP						Invest.
					Red rectangle: SECTORAL PROGRAM BUDGETS

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A. MACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORK (MOSARE)			B. OVERALL BUDGETARY FRAMEWORK (C. MTEF)		C. SECTORAL FRAMEWORKS (S. MTEFs)
Green oval:			(Central MTEF)		EDUCATION
PRSP policies					Objectives
External environment			MTEF 2007 2008 2009		Prog./Proj.
			Educ.		Costs
Yellow rectangle:				Pers.		Pers.
PROD.				G&S		G&S
Resources				Transf.		Transf.
	Agriculture			Invest.		Invest.
	Industry		Health
	Services			Pers.	HEALTH
Jobs				G&S	Objectives
Domestic				Transf.	Prog./Proj.
	Public			Invest.	Costs
	Private		Infrastr.			Pers.
External				Pers.		G&S
	Export			G&S		Transf.
	Import			Transf.		Invest.
				Invest.
Red rectangle:			Etc.		OTHER
GOVT.					Objectives
	Revenue				Prog./Proj.
	Expenditure				Costs
	Fin.					Pers.
		Dom.				G&S
		Ext.				Transf.
FINANCING GAP						Invest.
					Red rectangle: SECTORAL PROGRAM BUDGETS