EXECUTIVE SUMMARY __________________________________________________________________________ 3.59 Transparency in, and information on, Benin’s enterprises. Generally speaking, there seems to be a lack of information on and in Benin’s enterprises. At the macroeconomic level, there are no sectoral studies or information on the various markets. This is depriving enterprises of knowledge of their environment and threatening the survival of a number of enterprises. At the microeconomic level, very few enterprises in Benin have internal audit structures. 3.60 The lack of transparency in enterprises in the formal sector, obscurity of enterprises in the informal sector, as well as governance problems of stateowned enterprises, create conditions for the chartered accounting profession that are not yet conducive to providing reliable accounting and financial information. 3.4 Socioeconomic development 3.61 The socioeconomic development challenges faced by Benin are numerous. The economy is still dominated by exploitation of agricultural resources, primarily cotton, and the activities of Cotonou Port. Growth driven by these sectors remains inadequate to reverse the negative trends in poverty, which still affects more than 30% of the population. This situation could, if it persists, undermine the attainment of the key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, particularly in education, health, access to drinking water and poverty reduction. The response to this situation requires a development framework conducive to the creation of decent and sustainable employment in urban and rural areas, driven by strong economic growth. 3.62 However, given the small size of the domestic market (about 7.6 million inhabitants), the generation of an annual average growth of more than 7% requires greater integration into the world market so as to boost and diversify the exports of goods and services. Improvement of the overall and sectoral competitiveness of the economy remains the lifeblood of this new strategy, and it is an important challenge that has to be accepted. This requires the creation of an economic and institutional environment of international standards. 3.63 Concerning international commitments, the CRM noted with satisfaction that Benin has ratified all the conventions and adhered to the standards and codes recommended by the CSAR. However, much effort still has to be made in publishing these documents in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Benin. They should be included in national legislation and disseminated to the population who would benefit from them. 3.64 Promotion of, and capacity building for, self-reliant development. Ownership of the socioeconomic development process with less dependence on external aid and policies for socioeconomic development constitute major challenges in the democratisation process. Meanwhile, the influence of TFPs in development programmes and policies is strong. Overseas development assistance (ODA) accounts for more than 60% of the financing of 20