| Abstract: Two important developments since the 2001 Interim CAS have influenced the priorities of this CAS. First, Benin completed its PRSP in December 2002, and second, the Completion Point under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative was reached in March 2003. Following are the Bank-supported programs. Debt relief: HIPC assistance is being used to finance poverty-reducing expenditures, including direct transfers to schools to compensate for the abolition of school fees and to hire teachers and health care staff. Community-based social services: Increasing ownership through greater community involvement in their development holds immense potential for building social capital and meeting the felt needs of communities. Poverty reduction support credit: The wide-spread poverty incidence is related to the still limited levels of pro-poor public spending. The proposed Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSC) would support policies and spending programs designed to improve basic service delivery. It would also support Benin ' s far-reaching public expenditure management reforms to enhance the poverty impact of government expenditures. Cotton sector reforms are designed to increase competition within the cotton sector with the view to raising its competitiveness and producers ' share of sector revenues, thereby helping to reduce poverty in cotton growing rural areas. Poverty-focused Analytical and Advisory Activities (AAA) services relate to PRSP action plan: In the PRSP, the Government has identified a series of actions that it intends to take with the assistance of donors (including the Bank) in order to improve the quality of its poverty assessment. Poverty Assessment (FY03): The Poverty Assessment will provide an updated picture of poverty as a baseline for monitoring the impact of poverty reduction measures as well as a guide for future interventions. At the same time, the process leading to the production of the Poverty Assessment aims at strengthening the capacity of the Beninese Government to carry out rigorous and efficient data collection, as well as analysis and dissemination for poverty monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring and evaluation: The Government, with the assistance of several donors, is also working on improving the monitoring and evaluation system of the PRSP. The Bank will continue to provide technical assistance to the Government and the National Statistical Institute to improve data collection and analysis. |
