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M APRM REPORT AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM NO. 6 APRM COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT REPUBLIC OF BENIN JANUARY 2008 COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN THE AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM (APRM) AND PANEL OF EMINENT PERSONS APRM Participating Countries As of 31 August 2007, the following are the APRM Participating Countries: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia African Peer Review (APR) Panel of Eminent Persons Prof. Adebayo Adedeji of Nigeria, representing West Africa (Chair) Prof. Dorothy Njeuma of Cameroon, representing Central Africa (Member) Mrs Marie-Angélique Savané of Senegal, representing West Africa (Member, leading the Benin review process) Prof. Mohammed Seghir Babés of Algeria, representing North Africa (Member) Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat of Kenya, representing East Africa (Member) Dr Graça Machel of Mozambique, representing Southern Africa (Member) Dr Chris Stals of South Africa, representing Southern Africa (Member) APR Secretariat Unit A101; Gateway Park Corner Challenger & Columbia Avenue Midridge Park 1685 Tel: 011 256 3401 Fax: 011 256 3456 www.nepad.org/aprm i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The APR Panel of Eminent Persons is pleased to present its review report on Benin. An undertaking such as this is clearly impossible without the extraordinary goodwill and contribution of a large number of people. The panel would therefore like to acknowledge the unfailing support of the Beninese people and, in particular, the personal involvement and availability of His Excellency Dr Thomas Boni Yayi, president of the Republic of Benin, and his predecessor, His Excellency Mr Mathieu Kérékou, who set the country on the APRM path. The panel would also like to express its thanks to the national APR Focal Point; Mr Okanla Moussa, minister of foreign affairs, African integration, Francophony and the Beninese diaspora; Mrs Mariam Diallo, special advisor to the president and ex- minister of foreign affairs; Mr Séraphin Lissassi, director of African integration; Professor Honorat Aguessy, president of the Independent National Commission for the Implementation of the APRM (INCI-APRM); and all the other members of the commission who carried out the self-assessment exercise with diligence and meticulousness and who, with the same skill and determination, facilitated the assessment of the country by the APR team. Representatives of the government and state institutions, the private sector and civil society sensitised the grass-roots communities, popularised the APRM and gathered extremely useful comments for the Country Review Mission (CRM). In addition, the local office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided logistical support to the mission. The APR Panel would like to take this opportunity to express its warm appreciation and acknowledgment to these role-players. This report, the sixth of its kind, is the product of five months of work and effort by a team of high-level African experts who have worked patiently and relentlessly under the intellectual leadership of Marie-Angélique Savané, member of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons, and under the enlightened leadership of the panel, with the administrative support of the APR Secretariat. This team comprised Mr Mbaya J Kankwenda, Mr Donatien Bihute, Mr Ousmane Diallo, Mr Yenikoye Ismael Aboubacar, Mr Karim Ben Kahla, Mr Léopold Donfack Sokeng, Mr Racine Kane, Mrs Souad Abdennebi-Abderrahim, Mr Daniel Gbetnkom, Mr Gaston Bushayija, Mr Moise Nembot, Mr Sudir Chuckun and Mr Dalmar Jama. The APR Panel would like to express its deep gratitude to them and to emphasise the debt that is owed to them. It would not have been possible to assess the four focus areas of the APRM in Benin without the decisive and unconditional support of the APRM‟s strategic partners. These are the African Development Bank (ADB), the UNDP and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The APR Panel also undoubtedly owes its grateful thanks to its respective heads, and would like to pay homage to Donald Kaberuka, Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo and Abdoulie Janneh for their unfailing support of the APRM since its inception. ii Finally, the APR Panel would like to express its heartfelt thanks to all those who, behind the scenes, have translated, revised, improved, amended and corrected the initial documents, and thanks to whom you now hold the final product in your hands. Their devotion and the time that they have devoted to this report are hugely appreciated. Members of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons Professor Adebayo Adedeji (Chair) ------------------------------------------------- Mrs Marie-Angélique Savané, member leading the Benin review process ------------------------------------------------- Professor Dorothy Njeuma ------------------------------------------------- Professor Mohammed Seghir Babés ------------------------------------------------- Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat ------------------------------------------------- Dr Graça Machel ------------------------------------------------- Dr Chris Stals ------------------------------------------------- iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................... ii Map of Benin .............................................................................................................. viii Country fact sheet ......................................................................................................... ix Some economic and financial indicators of Benin ....................................................... xi Abbreviations and acronyms ....................................................................................... xiv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE .......................................................................................................... 32 1. INTRODUCTION: THE APRM PROCESS AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN BENIN ................................................................... 32 1.1 The APRM and its implementation ................................................................. 32 1.2 Implementation of the APRM process in Benin .............................................. 35 1.3 The CRM ......................................................................................................... 38 1.4 Activities conducted during the review mission .............................................. 39 1.5 Commitment of the head of state in the APRM process .................................. 42 CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................... 44 2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CURRENT CHALLENGES ...................... 44 2.1 First kingdoms in independent Dahomey ........................................................ 44 2.2 From independent Dahomey to the National Sovereign Conference .............. 46 2.3 The period of the democratic renewal of the 1990s ......................................... 47 2.4 The current dynamic drive and its sluggishness: the strong points and weaknesses of the advent of an emerging Benin ............................................. 51 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................... 58 3. DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE .................................... 58 3.1 Introduction: the challenges for democracy and political governance ............. 58 3.2 Ratification and implementation of standards and codes ................................ 61 3.3 Assessment of APR objectives ........................................................................ 69 CHAPTER FOUR ...................................................................................................... 130 4. ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT .............................. 130 4.1 Introduction: the challenges for economic governance and management ................................................................................................... 130 4.2 Ratification and implementation of standards and codes .............................. 133 4.3 Assessment of APR objectives ...................................................................... 138 CHAPTER FIVE ....................................................................................................... 181 5. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ................................................................... 181 5.1 Introduction: the challenges for corporate governance .................................. 181 5.2 Ratification and implementation of standards and codes .............................. 185 5.3 Assessment of APR objectives ...................................................................... 190 iv CHAPTER SIX .......................................................................................................... 243 6. SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ........................................................ 243 6.1 Introduction: the challenges for socioeconomic development ....................... 243 6.2 Ratification and implementation of standards and codes .............................. 244 6.3 Assessment of APR objectives ...................................................................... 247 CHAPTER SEVEN ..................................................................................................