Benin - Economic development

Benin's economic development program is conducted within the context of a 2000–2004 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative with the IMF and the World Bank, for which Benin reached the completion point in 2003. The devaluation of the CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine) franc, the local currency, in 1994, made imports more expensive and brought the CFA Fr closer in value to the Nigerian currency. This was meant to inhibit imports while stimulating local production and raw material exports, but little progress was made in these areas by 2003. A privatization policy was enacted in 2001, and there were hopes privatization would be carried out in the areas of telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture. As of 2003, a joint hydroelectric project was planned with Togo, which would reduce Benin's energy dependence upon Ghana.