Benin report - Institut Africain de la Gouvernance

CHAPTER FOUR: ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT__________________________________________________________________________352. The country has defined its long-term vision in the Alafia Bénin 2025 project.This a praiseworthy step, especially as the vision seeks to construct an„emerging Benin‟ by that time. Furthermore, the government recentlytranslated the vision into „strategic development orientations‟. However,coordinating the implementation of these strategies, and particularly theirtranslation into sectoral policies, suffers from weaknesses that constitute otherchallenges for economic governance. These weaknesses are widespreadcorruption, which has become a culture and a more or less internalisedmethod, or instrument, of governance; a lack of accountability in theimplementation of macroeconomic and sectoral development policies; andpoor coordination in this area.353. Economic growth seems to be picking up again, but poverty remains at a veryalarming level and is increasing. Furthermore, it is high time for the country toaddress basic structural problems in the economy and to avoid the long-termrisk of remaining dependent and of being rooted in a transitional economywithout a solid productive base. Lastly, economic governance should also beable to deal with an important economic phenomenon in Benin: the positionand role of the informal sector, which should be integrated in economicpolicies. Indeed, this sector plays an important economic, social and evenpolitical role, and it will not disappear soon. It will continue to play a key rolein Benin‟s economy and society for a long time. It is necessary, therefore, tosee how it can be „well used‟ to solve problems, and how it can be turned intoa recognised component of the economy by keeping only a watchful fiscal eyeon it without trying to formalise it. The authorities need to strike a balance.Indeed, this sector has developed mainly because of the failure to integrate theso-called formal economy into the country‟s socioeconomic developmentpolicy.4.2 Ratification and implementation of standards and codesi. Summary of the CSAR354. Benin has adhered to or ratified several legal international and Africaneconomic standards and codes. This also shows the country‟s determination toadopt governance standards approved at the international level in order toensure better economic governance and management for the country.355. However, Benin‟s CSAR did not go into the detail, required in the APRMquestionnaire, about compliance with the standards and codes. The CRM thusnoted that the CSAR does not provide enough information on a number ofcodes and standards, or simply that it passes over them in silence.Consequently, the CSAR‟s analysis of several standards and codes is notdetailed and clear, or sometimes does not even exist. This applies to thefollowing codes and standards:The Code of Good Practices in Fiscal and Budgetary Transparency.133