CHAPTER FOUR: ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT __________________________________________________________________________ Chamber of Accounts and the National Assembly. It was at the specific request of the head of state that the Chamber of Accounts only produced its report on the 2002 accounts in July 2007. Thus, there was a delay of five years. Consequently, it can no longer be used to define and implement appropriate corrective or preventive measures or to impose the necessary sanctions. 419. The weakness and inefficiency of this function sustain the general climate of financial misappropriation, illicit enrichment, the much-denounced scourge of corruption, and the impunity that is widespread in Beninese society. This has a very negative impact on economic governance and management and, therefore, on the effectiveness of implementing development budgets. 420. The budget policy should be based, among other things, on the implementation of previous budgets. Yet, the CRM noted that there were no detailed reports on budget implementation – either in terms of figures spent on specific budget items, or in terms of the results of implementing development programmes for which the expenditures were incurred. This made it impossible to assess the effectiveness, optimality and, therefore, the quality of public expenditure in the different development programmes. Moreover, these reports are required for monitoring the outputs, achievements and progress made in this area and of its shortcomings. 421. The CRM was informed that the lack of transparency in economic policies is even more crucial in public procurement and public finance. With regard to the latter, apart from the revenue and expenditure channels – which remain opaque for the majority of Beninese people and even the controlling bodies – there are still revenues that are not budgeted for today. This is particularly true in the case of revenue from the sale of second-hand vehicles and from escorting these vehicles to neighbouring countries. These revenues are said to provide Benin with nearly 1.2 billion CFA franc per month, according to the Ministry of Finance, but they are not budgeted for. This seems applicable to funds looted some time ago and recovered in one way or another, but their budget allocation was not brought to the attention of the public. 422. Despite campaigns personally initiated by the head of state against corruption, and therefore for the promotion of transparency and accountability in the management of public resources, the opinion of stakeholders seems to be that the ideology of each successive government is: “it is now our turn to eat”. With the entrenchment of the culture of corruption and the climate of impunity, the people are sceptical about whether the fight against corruption can be successful. Corruption seems to have become a measure of success in life. Fighting against a practice that has been entrenched as a culture calls for exemplary and systematic sanctions for economic crimes, especially those committed at the top. 423. This seems all the more true since the legal texts make no provision for the publication of budget statements for wide dissemination, or for the participation of the public in the allocation of public resources and the monitoring of budget implementation. The current slow budget 153