Millennium Development Goals in Benin
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Young child in Benin © Dan Gerber
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Benin has a
very underdeveloped economy with about half of its people considered poor or extremely poor. Over a quarter of the population suffers from such extreme poverty that it cannot meet its own basic food requirements. In addition to the HIV/AIDS crisis, the country faces serious health problems particularly with malaria, poor nutrition, maternal and child health, and tuberculosis. Life expectancy is estimated at under 55 years.
The national progress report issued in 2003 indicated that prospects for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Benin are mixed. On the positive side to date, primary school enrollment has increased from 45 per cent in
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Benin school room © Dan Gerber
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1990/1992 to 83 per cent in 2004/05 and the percentage of underweight children was reduced from 20% in 1990/92 to 15% in 2000/02. While the population with access to improved sanitation (toilets and latrines) is only 33%, this figure has trebled in just 10 years. On the negative side, the rate of poverty in rural areas has actually increased from 25 per cent to 33 per cent. Also, progress on women’s equity has been slow with a literacy rate of only 23.3% compared to 47.9% of men. Only 67% of the population has access to improved water sources.
Increased development assistance and better governance through reduced corruption and transfer of resources from the center to the newly created decentralized government structures are needed to help empower people and achieve MDG goals.
Politics in Benin
Historically, Benin has exerted regional and at times worldwide influence as the center of the Abomey kingdom of the 17th Century, the birthplace of voodoo, and as a major player in the West African slave trade. During French colonization, Dahomey (Benin’s name until 1973) was the “Latin Quarter” of Francophone Africa providing a high proportion of the region’s intelligentsia.
Now, Benin is at the forefront of African democratization. In 1990, facing economic paralysis, Benin held a National Conference that brought an end to the Marxist Leninist government led by Mathieu Kérékou and established a new liberal democracy. The National Conference brought together leaders from civil society, business and government, and the change of government occurred in an orderly fashion without bloodshed. A new constitution emerged that abolished Marxist ideology as the state philosophy, reestablished a multi-party system, dissolved all one-party structures, released all political detainees and prisoners and scheduled a national multiparty election in March 1991.
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Soglo campaign; Benin 1996 © Dan Gerber
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In that election, Kérékou ran against a former World Bank Official, Nicephore Soglo, and was soundly defeated. Kérékou’s willingness to accept the democratic decision turned out positively for him as he then defeated Soglo in the 1996 and 2001 elections. Soglo has since become Mayor of Cotonou. Kérékou flirted with the idea of changing the constitution to run for a third consecutive term but this provoked outrage of civil society groups and, in July 2005, Kérékou indicated he would respect the constitution and
retire from the Presidency. Despite some controversies in organizing and funding the election, the Beninese population participated actively in the March 2006 elections that resulted in former West African Development Bank official and political newcomer
Yayi Boni’s overwhelming victory (75% of the run-off vote) over political veteran Adrien Houngbedji. The new president promises to revive Benin's faltering economy and
clamp down on corruption.
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Woman leader at meeting, Benin © Dan Gerber
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The most positive political accomplishments of the past 17 years include: a liberalized economic system, enhanced human rights and political freedom, a slowly embarked decentralization program that resulted in the first local elections in 2002, and peaceful national elections. However, widespread corruption, centralized and non-accountable decision-making, regionalism, and a poor and ill-educated populace are evidence of the incomplete democratic transformation for Benin.
Corruption in Benin
Corruption is a significant problem in Benin, impacting people’s lives in numerous ways and existing at many levels. For example, in the privatization of the state-owned oil company SONACOP, it is commonly accepted that the sale to a Kérékou associate was non-transparent and at a significant discount. In 2005, the US Securities and Exchange Commission fined Titan Corporation over $28 million in criminal penalties and for settlement of a civil law suit stemming from more than
$2 million in bribes it gave to the Kérékou re-election campaign in 2001. This was the single biggest penalty under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In Benin, however, to date there have been no arrests and, immediately after Kérékou's election, his government authorized the quadrupling of Titan’s fees for establishment of its Libercom cellular phone project.
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Transport in Benin © Dan Gerber
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Corruption is also rife in everyday life. Citizens encounter corruption in the judiciary (the government announced in 2004 its plans to try most of the country’s judges for bribe-taking and embezzlement), in education where grades and degrees can be purchased, in health care where bribes to health workers are needed to obtain treatment, in commerce (where petty bribes to policemen at road stops is common), in government and private sector contracts and in employment opportunities. Cumulatively, corruption is a major impediment to development.
Human Rights in Benin
Political and minority rights are well respected in Benin and in recent years the country has rarely been accused of any significant violations. The major human rights issues noted for Benin have involved
female genital mutilation (FGM) with approximately 50% of women impacted, and child trafficking. One survey indicated that 8% of rural children aged 6-16 worked as agricultural workers or domestic servants either in Benin or neighboring countries. The discovery of Beninese children working in appalling conditions in Nigerian mines led to a
signed agreement between the two countries to act more decisively against child traffickers.
The trafficking of children stems from a combination of poverty and culture as do the related issues of child prostitution,
infanticide and a child abusive servitude tradition called "vidomegon”. On a positive note, FGM was outlawed in 2003 and the government finally adopted a new Family Code in 2004 after several years of lobbying by women’s organizations and others.
HIV/AIDS in Benin
In Benin, the
HIV prevalence rate was 1.8% in 2006 and an estimated 87,000 people currently live with AIDS. While this is not as significant a problem as in some African countries, it has the
potential to increase dramatically due to widespread poverty, poor health of many groups, cultural practices and the ever-increasing flows of traffic across the Nigerian border.
The government and international donor community have done much to educate Beninese on the risks of HIV transmission. However, the Roman Catholic Church has actively campaigned against promoting use of condoms and there are many unfounded rumors regarding negative aspects of condom use.
The Economy in Benin
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Selling cloth in Benin © Dan Gerber
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Agriculture accounts for a third of the GNP and employs 64% of the population with main export crops being cotton, palm oil products, coffee and cocoa beans. Cotton, in particular, is important but its competitiveness on the world market is severely hindered by US and European
unfair trade cotton subsidies and policies.
There is a small
oil refining industry and also some mineral resources (gold, limestone, marble, precious stones, iron, and phosphates) though these are not fully exploited. Food processing, textiles, beverages and cement are the major industries which account for about 14% of GDP. Services account for 50% of GDP and include much petty trading as well as import/export via road and the Port of Cotonou. A recurring problem for the small industrial sector has been
electrical shortages – most recently felt in early 2007 - though
measures are being taken to remedy this.
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Black market fuel, Benin © Dan Gerber
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Benin has followed IMF prescriptions for economic liberalization leading to more open markets and a privatization policy that was implemented in 2001. Despite the dampening effect of corruption, economic growth has averaged 5% pa over the past decade but has had little impact on the poor.
Obeying the rules of the game however ensured that Benin reached the completion point under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative, thereby qualifying for the round of debt cancellation agreed by G7 ministers in 2005. The substantial savings in interest payments are understood to be
redirected to poverty reduction programmes.
The Environment in Benin
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Benin's own Venice © Dan Gerber
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In the south of Benin,
coastal erosion has become a growing problem, resulting in loss of land and buildings. The economic capital, Cotonou, is particularly prone to flooding due to being
located barely above sea level. Should there be a rise in sea levels due to global warming, these problems will intensify. Cotonou and other urban areas are also increasingly prone to air pollution due to use of poor quality fuels.
Deforestation and
soil degradation are problems throughout the country, but especially of concern in the more arid north. Harvesting of old growth trees for lumber and the cutting of over 5 million tons of timber (247,000 acres) for fuel are significant issues. As elsewhere, poverty is a major contributor to environmental deterioration as well as lack of local community ownership to manage resources.
Information and Media in Benin
The 1990s brought to Benin a
free press willing to criticize government and personalities. There are numerous free newspapers and a growing community radio network. The state’s monopoly on television was also recently challenged with the opening of two independent commercial TV stations. Internet access is still limited, primarily to urban areas, but is growing.
Conflict in Benin
Benin has had some recent border issues with Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. The dispute with Niger led to some armed skirmishes on Lete, the largest island under dispute in the Niger River. In 2005, the
International Court of Justice issued a ruling siding with Niger by awarding it Lete and 15 of the other 25 disputed islands in the river. Benin has agreed to abide by the ruling.
Political problems in neighbouring Togo in 2005 - the death of its dictator Gnassingbe Eyadema and replacement by his son - resulted in an influx of refugees to Benin and there had been concern about consequent economic and social tensions. The
Togolese refugee situation has however greatly improved with only 4,700 of the 25,000 refugees now remaining.
Violent crime in Benin, as evidenced by numerous car-jackings and incidences of armed robberies, is on the increase. Part of the rise is attributed to the porous border with Nigeria and part to the increased economic problems stemming from fuel price hikes and unemployment.
Dan Gerber has been involved in African development programs and issues since entering the Peace Corps in Niger in 1973. He lived in Benin from 1994 to 1997 and has returned frequently. He currently works on African democracy and governance programs within the International Development Group of RTI International.
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