BENIN: NGOS CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORT

UNCLAS COTONOU 000031

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W (STEWART) AND AF/EPS
PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCOR BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: NGOS CRITICIZE GOVERNMENT ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORT


1. SUMMARY: The Government of Benin (GOB) is drawing increasingly
strident criticism for the dragging pace of its anti-corruption
campaign; much of this criticism is aimed at President Yayi, who
made the fight against corruption a centerpiece of his Presidential
campaign. FONAC, a consortium of NGOs, has recently focused on
unresolved malfeasance cases, some dating from 2006, and the
high-level appointment of a controversial corruption suspect. END
SUMMARY.


2. On 7 January 2010 Benin's Front for National Anti-Corruption
Organizations (FONAC) held a widely-reported televised press
conference to complain that President Yayi's government has failed
to sanction to civil servants who have been implicated in corruption
cases dating from 2006. FONAC's President, Maximillien Sossou-Gloh,
insisted that President Yayi's government has made no significant
progress in the fight against corruption, and that corruption is
gaining ground in Benin in spite of Yayi's often-reiterated
commitment to fighting it.


3. FONAC's Vice-President and spokesman, Jean Baptist Elias, listed
32 corruption cases involving civil servants from 2006 to 2009 (most
presented by the government in 2007) which remain unresolved.
FONAC's investigation at the Ministry of Civil Service in September
2009 found that no disciplinary committee had been established to
handle these corruption cases, and no sanctions have been applied.
However, Elias noted that the Minister of Justice reported these
cases to the Prosecutor at the Court of Appeals of Cotonou, but that
these cases remain in the hands of the court's investigative judges.
Elias and Sossou-Gloh promised that FONAC will continue to follow
the 32 corruption cases and insist upon their prosecution. They
called on President Yayi to 'utilize the rest of his presidential
mandate to prove his own good faith to curb corruption'.


4. Elias further complained that the former Manager of the public
market management parastatal SOGEMA, Lucienne Carene Azonhoumon, was
recently appointed Manager of Benin's Agency for the Promotion of
Commercial Exchanges (ABEPEC) by the Minister of Commerce. Ms
Azonhoumon allegedly embezzled CFA 100 mn (USD 200,000) while at
SOGEMA. More broadly, Elias emphasized that GOB Ministers continue
to appoint Chiefs of Staff who fail to meet seniority requirements
specified by GOB decree.


5. COMMENT: FONAC's concerns are widely shared in principle, both
among opinion leaders in Benin and the international donor community
-- the energy with which President Yayi has pursued his
widely-praised efforts against corruption appears to be waning as
Benin's 2011 elections approach. Nonetheless, Benin continues to
outperform its regional neighbors in this regard. END COMMENT.

KNIGHT