Benin report - Institut Africain de la Gouvernance

APPENDIX II: BENINESE GOVERNMENT COMMENTS__________________________________________________________________________November 2006 in Cotonou. Provisions will be made in future for the organisation ofdepartmental popularisation workshops.Benin respects all the regulations on the taxation of intra-WAEMU and intra-ECOWAS exports. However, there was a specific problem with vegetable oils fromTogo. A delegation from Benin will visit Togo – if the Togolese authorities agree to it– to examine the obstacles impeding the flow of this trade between the two countries.As far as corporate taxation is concerned, the relevant regulations are beingharmonised.In Benin, two categories of rules on competition are to be applied: community rulesand national rules.The direct and immediate application of community rules entered into force on 1January 2003. These rules cover the following anti-competitive practices:- agreements;- dominant position abuses; and- public interventions resulting in distortion in competition.These standards are applied concurrently by community authorities and nationalcompetitive structures. In this regard, the tasks of the national structures are those ofsurveillance and surveys.Concerning the national rules, all individual practices restrictive of competition (thesale of bonuses, below-cost pricing, selective sales and misleading advertising) arecovered by the Bill on Competitiveness in Benin, which is being discussed in theSupreme Court. The said bill provides for the creation of a National Council onCompetitiveness.The functioning of the market is governed by rules on competitiveness, consumptionand intellectual property rights (IPRs).1.6 Crosscutting issues1.6.1 The issue of gender and gender equalityBenin has ratified regional and international political instruments so as to promotegender equality and integrate the gender approach into development policies andprogrammes in favour of women, who represent about 52% of the population ofBenin.Apart from the appropriate institutional framework that is being established, thegovernment is striving to create an environment that will enable women to be actorsin, and beneficiaries of, development. This can be achieved by strengthening theircapacity through (notably) education, health measures and equitable access toemployment and other sources of wealth.397