Benin report - Institut Africain de la Gouvernance

APPENDIX II: BENINESE GOVERNMENT COMMENTS__________________________________________________________________________Within the framework of the acceleration of economic growth, the government hasreflected on ways of making it possible to identify clusters of high-potential sectorslikely to constitute growth and development poles. These include, notably:- transport, logistics and trade: this key pole comprises all transport services;financial, banking and health services; education services; telecommunicationsservices; etc.;- agro-industry (food and bio-energy);- tourism, culture and the cottage industry;- buildings, public works and construction materials; and- textile (notably cotton): given the importance of cotton in Benin‟s economy, thegovernment plans to create a stabilisation fund capable of dealing with cottonprice fluctuations on the international market.In addition, the development of sectoral strategies and the delineation of strategicpositions are under way. Three have already been completed and concern theagriculture, energy and education sectors.Concerning the last-mentioned sector, the government has decided to offer freeeducation at the nursery and primary school levels, in terms of the basic right ofaccess to knowledge enshrined in the constitution of 11 December 1990. Thisdecision implies taking up the major challenge of rapidly constructing schoolinfrastructure, meeting the numerous needs for pedagogical and teaching materials,and recruiting and training more teachers.In the area of macroeconomic forecasting, actions are under way to update theeconomic simulation and forecasting models as part of the improvement of thenational statistical system.As regards the creation of the Tribunal of Accounts, recommended by the WestAfrican Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), this calls for the prioramendment of the constitution of 11 December 1990.1.2 Corporate governanceThe Country Review Report focuses on the need for an entrepreneurial andpartnership-based culture capable of reviving the business sector in Benin, taking intoaccount the planned economic traditions inherited from French colonialism and theexperience of years of Marxist-Leninist ideology.This will be achieved by improving the business climate; modernising the economicand social infrastructures; developing and implementing a development-oriented taxsystem; restructuring and establishing a new style of governance in the cotton sector;and controlling the informal sector.The government is aware of the need to improve corporate governance.Consequently, it intends to pay serious attention to strengthening this sector in orderto make it a wealth producing sector within the framework of constructing an392