Benin: summary of the council of ministers meeting on Wednesday, July 2, 2025

I- Regulatory measures.

I-1. Creation of the Ruminant Livestock Development Agency and approval of its statutes.

Recent studies have shown that the coverage rate of meat needs by national production is estimated at 49.3%. Although this rate has been steadily growing in recent years, it is not enough to meet the demand for animal protein. 

The observed shortfall stems from several causes, including the persistence of traditional livestock farming practices, the dominance of low-performing breeding stock, unsuitable feed, but also and above all a need for substantial investment in production techniques and tools.

This is why, recognising the situation, the Government has made the meat sector a priority, with the ambition of ensuring national coverage of meat products through various projects and programmes aimed at increasing local production.

However, the weak synergy in carrying out the various actions undertaken, the cumbersome administrative practices and the unsuitability of procurement procedures are some of the factors hindering the achievement of the expected results.

The creation of this agency and the adoption of its statutes therefore address the need to fill these gaps. Its mission is to ensure the development of ruminant livestock farming, and to optimise resources by improving the effectiveness and impact of interventions. Administrative management rules will also be simplified, as will those relating to public procurement.

The Minister of Economy and Finance, and the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, will take the necessary steps to ensure its operationalisation.

I-2. Transmission to the National Assembly, for review and vote, of the bill on the environment in the Republic of Benin.

This bill stems from the evaluation of the framework law on the environment. It revealed the law’s limitations, particularly regarding its content, which was deemed too restrictive for regulating pollution. It had become necessary to optimise the management of certain environmental compartments, as well as to strengthen the sanctions faced by offenders. 

The need to revise this law is also evident from the fact that, after more than two decades of application, environmental concerns have evolved considerably, suggesting an update of the legislative foundation for better handling of these issues. 

This text results from a participatory process that brought together the main stakeholders in the field, as well as multisectoral contributors. The innovations introduced relate notably to:

• the definition of new and important concepts related to the environment;
• taking into account the green economy, climate change, chemicals including mercury, and hazardous waste such as that from electrical and electronic equipment;
• greater involvement of local authorities, the private sector and civil society within the institutional framework for environmental management in Benin;
• the integration of new provisions relating to hazardous waste management;
• facilities classified for environmental protection;
• the establishment of a greenhouse gas assessment system and corporate social responsibility.

The ministers responsible for the Environment and Legislation will follow up to ensure the completion of the legislative process.

I-3. Adoption of the implementing texts for the law establishing the Digital Code in the Republic of Benin.

These are eight (8) texts whose provisions complete the regulatory framework of the said Code and strengthen the development of initiatives by stakeholders in the sector. These are the decrees setting:

• the conditions for operating as an electronic archiving service provider;
• the technical specifications, standards and minimum procedures relating to the assurance levels of electronic identification schemes and their interoperability framework;
• the procedures for managing and processing electronic waste in the Republic of Benin;
• the obligations of operators of alternative infrastructure in the energy, transport or water sectors;
• the rules and procedures applicable to competition in the electronic communications sector;
• the rules applicable to State facilities using certain radio frequencies.

Figurent sur cette même liste, les décrets portant :

• the procedures for declaring, authorising and approving cryptology means and services, as well as the procedures for settlement transactions;
• rules for the interception of and access to data, defining the authorised authorities and setting the procedures for carrying out operations, along with specific provisions relating to cryptology.

I-4. Adoption of decrees relating to the institutional framework of Sèmè City and the implementation of its restructuring.

In order to strengthen Sèmè City’s standing, in keeping with the scope conferred on it, the Council of Ministers approved its organisational and functional restructuring at its session on December 11, 2024, with the aim of strengthening its support for academic excellence and innovation in the service of socio-economic development.

It is to facilitate its proper implementation that this regulatory framework is established. The adopted texts concern:

• the institutional framework specifying the existence of four (4) entities, namely the Foundation as the governing body for Sèmè City’s development and coordination of its governance, the Development Agency, the Academic Commission, and the public and private institutions;
• the Academic Commission, which is the body defining academic strategy and which evaluates applications for the creation and opening of programmes, the approval and accreditation of institutions on the Sèmè City site, and ensures their quality control, periodic evaluation and programme accreditation. It is administratively attached to the Sèmè City Foundation but has administrative and management autonomy; 
• the general conditions for the creation and operation of Sèmè City’s higher education institutions, whose missions primarily concern training, research and entrepreneurship;
• the model statutes of Sèmè City’s public higher education institutions; 
• the statutes of the Sèmè City Institute of Technology and Innovation (SCITI), a public institution of a scientific, technical, professional and cultural nature, with legal personality and benefiting from academic, scientific, administrative and financial autonomy.

The ministers concerned are instructed to ensure its diligent implementation.

Under other regulatory measures, the Council adopted decrees concerning:

• the creation of the Poultry Farm Development Company and approval of its statutes;
• the integration into the judiciary of eighty (80) judicial trainees;
• nomination de commissaires aux comptes près de certaines entreprises publiques ; puis celui fixant
• the procedures for obtaining Beninese nationality by recognition.

II- Communications.

II-1. Technical inspection missions for two projects under the Government Action Programme.

In order to facilitate the imminent execution of these projects in compliance with the specifications, the Council of Ministers approved contracting with experienced firms to provide technical inspection and ensure the quality of the works to be carried out.

Les projets concernés sont : 

• the construction of the School of Fashion and Fine Arts;
• the headquarters of the Regulatory Institutions.

The ministers responsible for these matters will carry out all the necessary steps to this end.

II-2. Approval of the 2025-2029 National Strategy for the Promotion and Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

On May 28, 2025, the Government had approved the National Policy for the Promotion and Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises for the 2025-2034 decade. Its objective is to promote their growth under optimal conditions.

It is to facilitate its implementation that this Strategy was developed for the 2025-2029 period. It aims to eliminate current obstacles and build an ecosystem conducive to the emergence of dynamic, competitive and resilient Beninese micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Furthermore, the execution of its action plan will facilitate the monitoring of all interventions in favour of these categories of enterprises and will make it possible to take socio-economic changes into account in order to better respond to the new challenges they face.

The Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Employment Promotion will, in collaboration with the other ministers concerned, take the necessary steps for the effective implementation of the main guidelines and actions adopted for this purpose.

II-3. Reconstruction works at the René Pleven stadium.

Among the modern sports infrastructure projects, suited to the practice of sport at both amateur and professional levels, particularly among young people, is the reconstruction of the René Pleven stadium in Cotonou. 

The planned developments include:

• the main football pitch to be redone with 45mm FIFA Quality Pro synthetic turf, the earthen training pitch, and the handball, basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, all with a polyurethane sports surface;
• the stands, fencing and guardhouse, ancillary buildings, canopy and signage, swimming pool, site utilities, landscaping, water tower and borehole.

The appropriate steps must be taken by the ministers involved with a view to signing the contract with the selected company and monitoring the works to be carried out within the prescribed timeframe.

II-4. Full project management assignment for the project to build the School of Paramedical Sciences Training in Benin.

Our country’s health system, in its ambition to be more effective for more efficient and higher-quality health coverage, needs, among the many challenges to be addressed, human resources with various skills, including paramedical health professionals. These are professionals who act on a doctor’s prescription to support, treat, prepare, fit or rehabilitate patients.

However, the two dedicated training schools are at capacity and are unable to supply enough personnel of this profile to meet the shortfall in the public and private sectors. Indeed, these institutions are unable to absorb the applications of candidates for basic paramedical sciences training at the national level, nor to meet specialisation needs. 

Added to this situation is the strong demand from the international job market, which some of our fellow citizens find attractive. It is therefore imperative to train paramedics primarily oriented toward resolving the health problems facing the population.

To this end, the construction of a paramedical sciences training school adapted to the Beninese context is planned, with the aim of:

• pooling all existing human and infrastructural resources;
• introducing information and communication technologies into teaching and learning;
• bringing to market quality human resources in line with the development of medical projects and the establishment of centres of excellence. 

This school will be large in scale and will provide training in several paramedical fields, with the aim of combining innovation and originality across health facilities at all three levels of the health pyramid.

The Council therefore approved entrusting an experienced company with the full project management assignment, which will notably involve carrying out architectural design studies, technical studies, environmental and social impact studies, as well as supervision and monitoring of the works.

II-5. Measure prohibiting public technical services from offering paid phytosanitary services.

Under the regulatory texts, paid phytosanitary services provided by a company or service provider may only be carried out by holders of a professional licence issued by the minister responsible for Agriculture.

In practice, it appears that some State technical services, through a number of their agents, carry out these services in disregard of these texts, in place of licensed operators.

These agents use the opportunity of phytosanitary inspection, control and certification activities for plants, plant products and regulated items for import and export — which fall under the State’s sovereign authority and the remit of these services — to achieve their own ends. 

In this way, they carry out parallel activities such as insect control, rodent control, mosquito control, fumigation, chemical weeding, and pest management for crops and stocks, among others.

It is therefore not acceptable for these abuses to continue. In light of these irregularities, the Council wishes to reiterate that such practices are formally prohibited.

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries is instructed to ensure strict compliance with this prohibition and to impose appropriate sanctions on any offender.

III- International meetings and events.

Il a été autorisé, sous cette rubrique : 

• the participation of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance in statutory meetings and other events abroad within its sector, for the year 2025; as well as
• the organisation in Cotonou, from July 10 to 11, 2025, of the 1st High-Level Conference on Health Financing in Benin. 
  

Done in Cotonou, July 2, 2025, 

The Secretary General of the Government,

Edouard OUIN-OURO.