BENIN: MEDIA REACTION TO PROPOSED CHANGES ON THE MCA-BENIN

UNCLAS COTONOU 000105

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/PD (ANYASO, TITUS, LISENBY),AF/W (ACOOK)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO OFDP BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: MEDIA REACTION TO PROPOSED CHANGES ON THE MCA-BENIN
BOARD OF GOVERNORS


1. Beninese media reacted strongly to President Boni Yayi's
unilateral decision to restructure the MCA-Benin board of governors,
referring to a leaked Embassy letter to the Finance Minister that
reminded the Government of Benin (GOB) of MCC's right to prior
approval of such changes.


2. On March 19, the right-of-center independent daily, Fraternite,
carried a front page article titled "Unilateral modification of the
members of MCA-Benin's board of governors: Boni Yayi compromises
MCA-Benin's billions CFA."
The article points out that a few weeks ago, the government of Benin
decided to implicate itself in the management of MCA-Benin's
activities, and decided that MCA-Benin's National Coordinator should
always be assisted by a government Minister. The article underscores
the fact that this decision raised a lot of criticism.


3. The author of the article pursues his analysis with the
following comments: "As time goes on, the government is more and
more interested in interfering in the management of this great
program funded by the United States of America." ... "The latest
information is Government of Benin's decision related to the
modification of the members of MCA-Benin's board of governors."...
"The government recently decided to appoint the Minister of Maritime
Economy as President of MCA-Benin's board of governors and five
other Ministers including the Minister of Finance and the Minister
of Justice as members." ... "Officials at the U.S. Embassy disagreed
with the government's decision, arguing that the compact signed
between the government of Benin and the United States clearly
defined the structure and the functioning of MCA-Benin's board of
governors." ... "US Embassy Officials are requesting that the
government of Benin should respect the terms of article 16 of the
compact." ... "According to reliable sources, the U.S. government
has not yet released the necessary funds to pursue the project
because the Beninese authorities are trying to jeopardize the smooth
implementation of the compact."


4. Also on March 19, the left-of-Center independent daily, Le
Matinal, carried a lengthy story about the government's decision to
change the members of MCA-Benin's board of governors. The article
postulates that in deciding to unilaterally modify the structure of
MCA-Benin's board of governors, the government of Benin has provoked
the protest and anger of the American government through its
Ambassador to Benin. The author of the article pursues his analysis
with the following comments:

"The President locked himself up in his office to take a decision
that involves two countries, the United States of America and
Benin." ... "As soon as the Ambassador of the United States of
America got the information notifying MBA-Benin's National
Coordinator about the government's decision, she replied to
President Boni Yayi through his Minister of Finance." ... "In her
letter, Ambassador Gayleatha B. Brown underscored that according to
the compact, no modification of the board of governors can be made
that way." ... "The U.S. Ambassador clearly notified the government
that it is not authorized to change the members of the board of
governors." ... "The only purpose of what the government is trying
to do is to evict MCA-Benin's National Coordinator, Pierre Simon
Adovelande, because he spoke about his intention to run for
President in 2011."

BROWN