Report on economic development 1980

Onchocerciasis Control Programme in the Volta River Basin area Programme de Lutte contre I'Onchocercose dans Ia R6gion du Bassin de la Volta JOINT PROGRAMME COMMITTEE Office of the Chairman JPC.CCP COMITE CONJOINT DU PROGRAMME Bureau du Pr6sident JPCl.4 Part 1 October 1980 JOINT PROGRA]'${E COMM]TTEE First session Yamoussoukro 24-27 November 1980 Provisional agenda item 6 PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BENIN MINISTRY OF PIJ.NNING, STATISTICS AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS REPORT ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (198O) From the outsettreconomic developmentrthas been an inseparable part of the international campaign to control onchocerciasis in the Volta River Basin area which began irt L974. Accordingly a report on this aspect has always been presented to each session of the Joint Coordinating Connnittee during the first phase of the Progranrne(Le74-t97e). The present report is the second prepared by the People's Republic of Benin since the decision to entrust this task to the Participating States themselves; it focuses on Ehree points: The development strategy of the People's Republic of Benin. the onchocerciasis-freed areas.Objectives and achievements in Conclusions and prospects. 1. DEVELOPMENT SIRATEGY The development strategy in the onchocerciasis-freed areas is at present identical with the overall national strategy. Starting from the two basic characteristics of the economy of Benin, i.e. arsmall economy and an essentially agricultural economy, the State Three-Year Plan (I977/78- LgTgfBQ) defined a specific development stratery. Ttris strategy has four componenEs: - industrialization; - replacement of exports; - technological option; - self-maintained growth. I 2 3 j JPC1.4 Part 1 page 2 a) Industrializatioq s!r4!e( The industrializaLi-on stratery, which reflects our firm determination to build up an independent economy, cal1s for the development of a strong capital goods sector. However, this requirement encounters two obstacles, the country's 1ow technological leve1 and the poor living conditions of Ehe majority of the people. To overcome these two obstacles, two basic approaches have been selected: - Priority is given to investment to promote agriculture rather than direct investment in agriculture. Whereas structural transformations in agriculture will be based on mobilization of the rural rnasses, capital investments in rural areas will be limited to the construction of the basic infrastructure (irrigation systems, access routes, storage facilities, farming crediEs and marketing systems) and to the purchase of genetic materials not available in the country. Industrial development will be based on the construction of industries connected with the rural sector, either its outputs (agricultural, food processing, textile, wood industries) or its inputs (cement, chemical, mechanical industries), so that the agricultural and industrial sectors support each other's development. - The production of intermediate goods is encouraged. This sector rea11y holds together the national production system and should be the link between the short-term policy of producing consumer goods and the long-term policy of producing capital goods. (b) Strategy of replacing exports Consistent wlth the strategy of sectoral development, priority is given to the domestic market. In the short term the increase in the purchasing power of the general public and the integration of new social strata into the monetary economy will ensure the exPansion of the domestic market. These trends are strengthening with the setting-up of industries for consumer goods and the development of collective consumption. In the long term the diversification of production activities brought about by setting uP a capital goods sector will help to create a wider variety of jobs and hence a more varied domestic market. This approach to development does not mean that the importance of external trade in the operation of the national economy is reduced. Such trade will continue to benefit from Benin's role as a trade crossroads, from the need to export the increasing production, and from the flow of imports connected with the construction of the national production apparatus. The approach rea1ly consists of defining a strategy for replacing exports because, as the domestic market is created, exports should gradually become less important in the process of putting the national production to use. (c) The technological option Initially, it is che branches of activity whose mean technological 1eve1 assimilated by the national economy that will be developed, which does not by indicate the utilization of obsolete technologies. Ttris strategy will avoid in technological development, which is known to be expensi.ve, and will create for speeding up technological progress. can be any means dis c ont inui ty the conditions In a second phase the technological strategy will aim to create a technology that is adapted to the country's raw materials and can be reconciled with the strategy of replacing exports. Research will be undertaken on the miniaturization of imported technology and on JPC1.4 Part 1 page 3 the standardization of equipment in order to reduce the scales of economic production to the size of the domestic market, to develop intersectoral trade, to reduce costs and to speed up the training of manpower. (d) Self -maintained gror{th In the long run economic development must be supported by an internal process of capital accumulation. ltris stage will be reached when the economic surplus is sufficiently large and when there is a vigorous turnover of capital, i.e. when the national production system has reached a certain level of efficiency. In the meantime, as the economic surplus is insufficient at the very moment when the need for capital is greatest, recourse to external assistance remains the prerequisite for transition to the phase of self-mainEained growth. From now on, the pace of development will depend on the national capacity to absorb external aid; the latter will depend in its turn on the national propensity to invest and on the ability to ensure the profitability of invesEments. II. OBIECTIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS This development stratery, which applies to the entire national territory, is also reflected within the State Three-Year Plan in the form of objectives which concern all the regions. For example, the planned growth raEe for the gross domestic product was 13% in 1978, 19.5% in 1979 and 21.5% in 1980. The planned investments should reach the fol-lowing levels: D77f 78 Le78f7e re7 sf 8o - Construction of silos for cereals(338 million) - Determination of iron reserves in the Loumbou-Loumbou deposits - Electrification of provincial- capitals (720 million) - Cartography between 1Oo and 11o N - ExEension of urban lighting (2OO) - Cartography north of 11o N - Parakou brewery 94 272 6O0 million CFA francs l2O 699 4OO million CFA francs 28 93L 10O million CFA francs No breakdown 200 240 For the year 1980, the following tables give some idea of the size of the efforts being devoted to the onchocerciasis-freed areas, which at present comprise the whole of the provinces of Atacora and Borgou; the tables cover both projects in progress and new proj ec ts . ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF TI{E ONCHOCERCIASIS-FREED AREAS : PROJECTS IN PROGRESS (1980) Title of project Total cost(CFAfrancsxlmillion) I 200 60 488 4 200 JPCl. Part 4 1 4page - Study of electrification and water supply for districL capitals (3063 million) - Electrification of six district capitals (720) - Water supply for six district capitals (920) - Construction of Parakou electric power station - Southern Borgou livestock project - Sma1l ruminants project (143 million) - Atacora CARDER (Regional Action Centre for Rural Development) - Borgou CARDER farm - Atacora CARDER farm - Development of national parks - Progranrne of five reservoirs for grazi-tg purposes (95) - Irrigated 1000-ha farm at Nianbouli (Atacora) - Development of the Niger Val1ey - Market garden crops at Okpara - Development of food production in Atacora and Ou6m6 (1025 million) - Training of young people in rural areas (4D clubs) (85O million) - State farm at Alborix - SEate farm at Fetekou - Fruit-growing project at Beterou, 5OO-ha, irrigated - Road maintenance (4828 million) - Technical and economic study of road from Dassa to Parakou (2OO million) - Construction of telephone 1ine, Kandi - Se gbana - Banikoara - Study of road from Savalou to Djougou (425) - Construction of radio link between Bohicon and Malanville (15O0 milLion) - Construction of radio link Parakou-Dj ou gou-Nat it ingou - Construction of district telephone exchanges ( 2OOO million) - Study of art works on the OkPara - Demarcation of international boundaries (2O million) - Assistance for air navigation (1449) - Joint facilities and organization for Benin and Niger (3200) - Construction of leisure centre at Natitingou - Construction of leisure centre at Djougou No breakdown 240 No breakdown 1 000 540 No breakdown 850 250 250 80 95 1 000 1 000 296 No breakdown No breakdown 247 500 380 No breakdown No breakdown 115 No breakdown No breakdown 405 No breakdown 126 No breakdown No breakdown No breakd6wn 58 84 TitIe of project Total cost(CFAfrancsxlmillion) JPC1.4 Part 1 page 5 I Title of project Total cost(CFAfrancsxlmillion) - Construction of district offices and residences for heads of districr (233) - Construction of revenue and tax offices(29 projects to be completed) (630) - Construction of various tax offices (4980) - Construction of 950 classrooms for basic education (192) - Construction of Atacora Provincial Department of Education - Construction of classrooms for the College of Intermediate General Education (60) - Construction of teacher training colleges for Atacora and Mono (1OO) - Decentrallzation of the new judicial structures (Porto-Novo, Lokossa, Abomey, Parakou, Natitingou) (27O) - Construction of enclosing wal1 and VRD for the annex of the Benin Social Security Office at Natitingou - Enlargement of Borgou Inspectorate - Economic development of onchocerciasis- freed areas - State of ecosystems in Malanville No breakdown No breakdown No breakdor"m 64 10 No breakdown 50 108 50 1.6 269 29.2 L4 485.8 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE ONCHOCERCIASIS-FREED AREAS: NEr^r PRoJECTS ( 1980) - Mining research between 90 and 1Oo N - General census of craftsmen (40 million) - Prograuure of 50 reservoirs for drinking- rrater in Borgou and Atacora - Purchase of generators for 34 district pohrer stations (3OO million) - Study of art work on the Donga - Bridge over the M6kou at Firou - Study of art work at the entrance to Tanguie ta - Preparation of technical documentation for project for 10OO dwellings (2331 million) - Forecasting system for water resources in the Niger Basin - Coordination of nat,ional progranrne of rural water supplies (70 million) 250 No breakdorsn 63 No breakdovm 20 150 500 No breakdown 2 350 Title of project Total cost(CFAfrancsxlmillion) No breakdown JPCt.4 Part 1 page 6 I - Village \rater resources: 138 boreholes (4os ) - Village water resources: 225 boreholes + 7 pipelines (2160) - Establishment of post offices in rural areas (15) - Replacement of 1OO lcn of railway track (24oo) - Modernization of the safety and teleconrnunications ins ta1 lations of the OCBN (2548) - Conversion of Parakou aerodrome to class B - Support for factors of production by the Fund for Assistance and Stabilization of Agricultural Production (FA.S) (78O) - Improvements to saLes outlets of the National Ptrarmacy Bureau (ONP) (4L) - ConstrucEion of 30 ONP saLes outlets (400 million) - Equipment for ONP (48) - Construction of shops for Benin General Foods (AcB) in Parakou - Acquisition of rolling stock for the FA.S ( 12oo) - Equipping of the Benin Radio and Television Offices in Parakou - Study and initial construction work for 2O revenue and tax offices (1500) - Construction of polytechnic cornplexes at Pobe, Bohicon and Natitingou (2553) - Construction and equipping of polytechnic complexes I and II at Parakou - Construction of Practical School of Agriculture at Porto-Novo, Ina and Sekou (40) - Extensions to agricultural polytechnic cornplex at Ina - Construction and equipping of the School of Nursing at Parakou - Renovation of 37 dispensaries (19) - Reconstruction of the Tanguieta medical dis tric t - Construction of district health centres and loca1 dispensaries (1710) - Construction of cortrnune health cenEres (4OO) - Literacy and rural press project (19.5) - Regional workshop for young peopl-e - Establishment of 80 vilLage extension centres (24O) - Construction of provincial departments for youth activities (36) No breakdown No breakdor"m No breakdor"m No breakdown No breakdown 2 860 No breakdown No breakdown No breakdown No breakdown 20 No breakdown 408 No breakdovm 8s1 I 250 No breakdown 50 150 No breakdown 20 No breakdown No breakdovm 115 No breakdown L2 Title of project Total cost(CFAfrancsxlmillion) 1JPC1.4 Part I page 7 Title of project Total cost(CFAfrancsxlmillion) - Repairs to provincial stadiums (20) - Construction of provincial civil prisons with workshops and State farms (109) - Study on construction of buildings for use as offices (Atlantic, Du6m6, Mono and Atacora Inspectorates) (30) No breakdovm 36 6 9 111 Ttre projects in progress at the sEart of 1980, therefore, amounted to 14 485.8 million CFA francs and the new projects to 9111 million CFA francs. To appreciate the total volume of investment in Atacora and Borgou provinces, it would be necessary to add a share of theprojects which also concern other provinces and for which it was not possible to make a breakdown; these projects amount to 43 246 miLLLon CFA francs (26 579 million for projects in progress and 16 667 million for new projects). By comparison wiEh the total national investments of 306 287.5 million CFA francs (not including expenditure on national defence) this effort is considerable, particularly as it does not reflect the entire national conmitment: a number of major projects under the State three-Year Plan are in fact located within the extension area of the onchocerciasis control campaign requested by the People's Republic of Benin. These include the Save sugar complex, which will- cost 17 OO0 rnillion CFA francs, and the Onigbolo cement works, which will cost 25.5 million CFA francs. III. CONCLUSIONS AND PROSPECTS It can be seen from the foregoing that the People's Republic of Benin is rnaking considerable efforts on behalf of the onchocerciasis-freed areas. However, one point must be made quite clear: these investmenE projects would have been planned with or without onchocerclasis control. In other words, a great deal of initiative and effort is sti1l needed if the economic asPect of the international onchocerciasis control campaign is to have any specific content. To achieve this, activities must be continued in two directions: I 1 Reduction of the soc I cost of development i I Itre Onchocerciasis Control Progranrne has already achieved this objective in the treated areas where interruption of transmission has been or is being achieved. The People's Republic of Benin has requested and is sti1l requesting an extension to the area of its territory under treatment so that the Progranure will achieve more significant results, for two reasons: - At gresent the area treated covers 56 OOO km2 of the country's total area ofLl2 622 lrc,r.L. Ttre regions of highest endemicity are outside this area; - Several major projects, such as the Save sugar complex and the Onigbolo cement works, are situated precisely in zones that are not yet being treated. The case of the Ferkess6dougou sugar works in Ivory Coast shows that the implementation of such large investment projects can be seriously disrupted if the r{atercourses are not treated. JPCI .4 Part 1 page 8 2. Continued efforts under the eco devel nt proifreed areas for the onchocerc 1as 1s - Responsibility for this is being taken over by units in the onchocerciasis-freed areas. the project for assistance to development Activities are all the more possible now that the inventory of natural resources byremote sensing has been completed, because the socioeconomic studies have just been launchedand one of the 1ikely comPonents of the next state Plan will be rrcreation of conditions forthe harmonious spatial development of Benin, with particular reference to the settlement ofthe north and centre of the countryrt, regions that are located either in the zone currentlyunder treatment or in the extension zone. t I t I