Country Assistance Strategy

The Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) is the most important World Bank country document. It is tailored to the needs and circumstances of each country and lays down the World Bank Group's development priorities, as well as the level and type of assistance the Bank will provide for a period of three years.

The CAS preparation is a participatory process. Before its adoption, key elements of the strategy are discussed with government representatives; and to ensure the widest possible involvement, public dialogues are also held, with Internet-based discussions taking place in many countries.

However, the CAS is not a negotiated document. Any differences between the country's own agenda and the Bank's strategy are highlighted in the CAS document. A progress report is issued in the intervening year.

Benin’s Country Assistance Strategy

The CAS for Benin, which covers the period between 2009 and 2012, incorporates the development priorities of Benin, as outlined in the 2007-2009 Growth Strategy for Poverty Reduction. Its primary objective is to help the country address key challenges, including (i) an unfavorable business climate, (ii) poor infrastructure, (iii) a lack of economic competitiveness, (iv) a lack of diversification of the economy, which makes the country vulnerable to exogenous shocks, and (v) low capacity for implementation.

The strategy rests on three main pillars: accelerated growth; improving access to basic services; promoting better governance and institutional capacity building.

Pillar 1: Accelerated Growth 

The strategy will help stabilize the macroeconomic framework and improve public finance management through appropriations to support the implementation of the Growth Strategy for Poverty Reduction and public expenditure reviews.

It will also help improve the investment climate and revitalize the private sector, through the implementation of the Project for Integrated Growth and Competitiveness, as well as technical assistance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Urgent measures are also envisioned to strengthen the contribution of the agricultural sector to growth.

The Bank intends to support the telecommunications sector, through the establishment of a regulatory and institutional framework for equitable access to telecom networks, and to help establish a program to improve access to modern energy. Regional programs that aim at increasing competitiveness and promoting greater regional integration are also taken into account.

Pillar 2: Improving Access to Basic Services 

Through this pillar the CAS continues efforts to: (i) conduct sanitation and environmental improvement work in urban areas, and (ii) increase access to health care ( i.e., the fight against malaria and HIV / AIDS), improving sanitation in the context of a sector-wide approach (SWAp). Through this pillar, the Bank will also provide support to educational programs and to increase access to safe drinking water.

Pillar 3: Promoting better governance and institutional capacity building 

The CAS will help implement the government’s agenda in the fight against corruption and the promotion of better governance through Growth Strategy for Poverty Reduction implementation loans. The Bank also intends to work with other partners to reinforce budgetary accounting, implementation and auditing, and to reinforce the implementation of new procurement guidelines. Support for decentralization will continue to be provided under the national community-driven development project, which may also continue under a SWAp.

In addition to the projects and programs mentioned above, the CAS includes provisions for a number of analytical studies to take place between 2009 and 2012. These include: (i) a study on health, (ii) a study on the diversification of agriculture, (iii) an environmental study, (iv) a study on the observance of standards and codes, (v) a review of public spending, and a study on higher education and employment, (vi) a poverty assessment, (vii) an assessment of the investment climate, (viii) a national strategy on governance and anti-corruption, (ix) a review of the energy sector, and (x) a study on decentralization and local development.