Benin’s Minister of Economy and Finance was recently the Great Guest of the Economy RFI-Jeune Afrique. The national treasurer gave an interview to these two media in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on the occasion of theAfrica CEO Forum. There was talk of the Ukrainian crisis and its impact on Africa, while the continent is not completely finished with the management of Covid-19. Faced with this situation, M Wadagni suggested measures to governments to limit social damage.
According to him, these measures are four in number. The first of these is “Waiving tax and customs levies to allow the price to be accessible to the population”. For him, by taking the risk of leaving VAT and customs duties at the same level, the products will be even more expensive for the populations. it is therefore necessary to completely or partially renounce these levies on most consumer products, while taking care not to penalize local industries.
The second step to take is the direct grants for products such as diesel for example. “All construction machinery, tractors, factories, public transport use diesel. If we do not act, the consequences on productivity and wealth creation would be disastrous” warns the Minister of Economy and Finance of Benin. It will then be necessary to regulate and monitor the prices of heavily subsidized products, in order to ensure that the population benefits from state support.
The fourth and final measure, according to Mr. Wadagni, is to put in place social safety nets. “Part of our population is extremely poor and we must ensure that these people have access to the minimum during the crisis period” did he declare.
