Benin launches historic open government action plan
Benin launches historic open government action plan
Eighteen months after joining the Open Government Partnership (OGP), Benin hosted a five-day national workshop in Cotonou to deepen its commitment to open governance. The gathering, held from July 27 to 31, 2026, brought together public officials, civil society members, private sector representatives, technical partners, financial backers, and media professionals to lay the groundwork for the country’s first National Action Plan.
Laying the foundation for transparent governance
The workshop aimed to align stakeholders with OGP principles and co-create measurable commitments for Benin’s inaugural action plan. Victorin Honvoh, Cabinet Director at the Ministry of Budget and Civil Service, framed the OGP membership as an extension of ongoing reforms, emphasizing transparency, accountability, information access, anti-corruption efforts, and citizen participation.
Honvoh stressed that success hinges on sustained dialogue between government agencies and non-state actors. He urged participants to develop concrete proposals and embrace open governance principles wholeheartedly.
From regional insights to national action
Mireille Hortense Codjovi, Head of the Open Budget Unit and National OGP Focal Point, described the workshop as a preparatory step before nationwide consultations. These consultations, planned across Benin’s twelve departments, will collect citizen priorities to shape the first draft of the National Action Plan.
Codjovi explained that feedback from these discussions would be analyzed, prioritized, and integrated into the plan. The process is supported by partners including Expertise France’s PAGOF2 program, GIZ, Swiss Cooperation, UNICEF, and the European Union.
Translating progress into measurable commitments
Jean-Pierre Degue, Vice-President of the OGP Technical Committee, highlighted Benin’s existing strengths in budget transparency and citizen participation while noting the need to convert these into verifiable OGP commitments.
International expert Gustavo Pérez Ara outlined the OGP’s three core pillars—citizen participation, transparency, and accountability—and commended Benin’s existing dialogue between administration and civil society as a foundation for further progress.
The workshop, chaired by Chabi Kassim Taba, Advisor to the Audit Court, focused on embedding open governance principles into public institutions’ daily operations. Recommendations from the event, combined with departmental consultation results, will form the basis of Benin’s first OGP National Action Plan.
