BENIN GPRA REPORT: TRANSPARENCY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE PROGRAM

UNCLAS COTONOU 000241

PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON)
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/PD (ANYASO, TITUS, LISENBY),AF/W (ACOOK)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIRC OIIP KDEM KPAO KISL PINR ML
SUBJECT: BENIN GPRA REPORT: TRANSPARENCY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE PROGRAM
REPORT

REF: SECSTATE 012205


1. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY: Benin's participants in the March
16-April 3, 2009 Transparency and Good Governance Program, Dr. Eric
Adja, Communication Assistant and Technical Advisor at the
Presidency of Benin Republic and Evelle Gomez, Head of Debt
Collection and Prosecution at the "Agence Judiciaire du Tresor,"
returned to Benin and debriefed the Public Affairs Officer, the
Cultural Affairs Assistant and the Program Support Assistant about
their visit. Both were very satisfied with the program and promised
to share with their office colleagues and the Government of Benin
the insights, knowledge and perceptions they gained during the
program in the U.S.


2. DATE OF ACTIVITY: March 16-April 3, 2009; second and third
quarter, FY 09.


3. PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION/OBJECTIVES: The program was a good
opportunity for both participants to explore the role of citizens,
the media, and civil society in fostering transparency and good
governance and this enhanced their understanding of the U.S. system
of ethics and accountability in government.


4. MPP UMBRELLA THEMES AND AUDIENCE REACHED: Subject program meets
Post's objectives in Democracy and Good Governance, Human Rights and
Mutual Understanding.


5. ACTIVITIES/IMPACT/RESULT: During the debriefing session, both
participants said they were impressed by America's strong democracy
which, according to them, is essentially based on three pillars: (1)
the Constitution, which is highly respected and clearly defines the
roles and rights of the citizens, the Executive Branch and the
legislative and judicial branches of government,(2) a free press and
(3)a strong, active and volunteering civil society.
In his interview publicized at America.gov, Eric Adja said
that he "felt privileged to be chosen to learn not only how the U.S.
government deals with good governance, ethics and transparency but
also to find out more about America." The U.S. experience revealed
to the participants the challenges facing Benin before it can expect
to reach a similar level of good governance. They commiserated that
there is still a lot of hard work that needs to be done to support
President Yayi Boni's efforts to combat corruption and change
Beninese habits and mentality. Both Adja and Gomez are,
nevertheless, optimistic that changes can be made. They reasoned
that by taking steps to raise salaries and Beninese living
standards, improve education, combat corruption and raise the
awareness among young people of the need for public accountability
in government and business, democracy in Benin (which is still
young) can be improved. This means that there needs to be a strict
application of the laws and sanctions must be imposed against those
who have been convicted of corruption, which is not now the case.
"The main lesson I have learned from the various presentations is
that good governance is not just a moral recipe, but is a win-win
process, which profits both people and their leaders, whereas
corruption profits only a limited category of people," Eric Adja
said in his interview.


6. As an immediate result of their participation in this program,
Gomez organized a lessons-learned workshop with his colleagues at
the "Agence Judiciaire du Tresor," and Adja is preparing an official
report to the Government and planning to organize a youth seminar
for leadership training, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy's
Public Diplomacy section. Both IV participants will lead this
workshop for the members of the National Youth Organization, an
organization comprised of all the youth associations across the
country. Eric Adja heads this organization and is assisted by a
board of 15 members. In spite of the entrenched mentality of
corruption among the older generation, Gomez and Adja are hopeful
that by working with the youth to change this mentality and to
increase their sense of personal responsibility in working for the
good of the country, they can foster improvements in the country and
promote a stable democracy.


6. The participants found the program to be well organized and
tightly focused. Nonetheless they wished there could have been a
moderator for the debates after the presentations to give the
participants the equal opportunity to ask questions.


7. NON-USG SOURCES OF IN-COUNTRY FUNDING/IN KIND SUPPORT: None


8. QUALITY OF USG SUPPORT: Excellent. The participants were very
impressed by the quality and professionalism of the speakers, ELOs
and programs.

RAWLINGS