Benin

There is currently no legislation regarding PB processes. However, the current legislation is favorable to the experimentation of the PB.​

The methodology adopted for the implementation of the PB in the Municipality of Segbana is generally based on:

1. Informing communities through community radio stations and public criers;
2. Teaching the PB process to city officials (C/SPDL, C/SAEM) for appropriation;
3. The organization of borough forums that have prioritized the needs to be included in the 2019 budget;
4. The organization of a municipal forum which validated the projects selected within the framework of the PB. This communal forum was attended by the Mayor, his Deputies, the C/SPDL, C/SAEM, the Heads of Boroughs and the members of the CPC.

A strong mobilization of stakeholders around the PB. The PB processes have produced major qualitative results that should be highlighted here as an achievement for future actions: A massive adherence to the philosophy and approach of the PB in a short period of time. This commitment has been a key factor in the success of the process: without the commitment of the public authorities at the outset and throughout the process, the exercise is futile, and the results are compromised. The citizens also showed support for the process through the general level of mobilization observed throughout the process: more than 2% of the population in each of the boroughs directly participated in the process. An unprecedented expression of the will and ability of the people to contribute. All the authorities were surprised to learn that the people spontaneously decided to contribute to public office (“When we were told at the training session that the PB would strengthen resource mobilization, many of us said that it is very likely that this will happen in our municipality. But our astonishment was great when people made promises and especially when they were offered a written commitment, they did it spontaneously. That’s something you’ve never seen before!”, about the head of the planning and local development department”). A strengthening of the communal dialogue. The forums at the village, district and commune levels have created a forum for exchanges and debates on development issues and challenges related to territorial governance. It is a process that has led to mutual knowledge and a better understanding of collective challenges. Beyond the stakes related to development, the exchanges made it possible to free the voice in the public space: “The forums showed me that the citizens needed to be listened to. In most cases, our attendance was as expected and the people really needed to talk, confide and learn a little more about how public affairs are conducted...” (President of Thematic Group 3 of the CPC of Ségbana). In short, the PB processes have provided spaces for dialogue that can, in the future, contribute to further strengthening of the links between authorities and citizens. A remarkable presence of women. The PDC document recognizes that “women remain the weakest link in society and continue to suffer from the weight of sociological obstacles” . It is in contexts where there are few women in decision-making bodies that the PB has performed significantly. Women took part in the forums, about 25% of the participants. At least one woman sits on the PB Steering Committee in the communes. These entities, although modest, go beyond all current statistics on the level of women’s representation in decision-making bodies. They therefore represent an interesting performance in the particularly unfavorable contexts of these municipalities, and above all show how much the PB is a mobilizing and integrating mechanism. An active inter-village solidarity. Solidarity is an important principle of the PB and has been taken into account in the experiences. Whether this principle has been able to work in a context of more or less significant poverty where needs are numerous. However, solidarity had admirably manifested itself in the prioritization of needs at the intra-community level and then between villages during the Borough Forum. Solidification of the credibility of civil society. The process has helped to reinforce the trust and confidence of the organizations that initiated it and led it, in particular the SOCIAL WATCH BENIN Network and the local structures that are the CPCs.

Concerned about the real involvement of citizens in the development and implementation of public policies, Social Watch Benin and Alcrer have been working for years in Benin’s municipalities in order to strengthen democracy and transparency regarding this issue. This is done through PB, a process of participatory democracy in which citizens can allocate part of their local authority’s budget, generally to investment in projects. It started in 2016 with 2 municipalities (Ségbana and Pèrèrè). Now, in 2019 there were sixteen (16) PB municipalities in Benin. The main difficulty is the ignorance and lack of ownership by the communal authorities and technical frameworks of the process in order to set up the Participatory Budgeting experiences due to the lack of an institutional anchoring in the State’s budgetary reforms.

Municipalities of Ségbana, Pèrèrè, Sinendé, Boukombé, Ouessè, Dogbo, Athiémé, Adjarra, Ifangni, Toffo, Kouandé, Péhunco, Ouinhi, Kétou, Zogbodomey, Covè.