The Benin government’s efforts to fight corruption were reinforced in January 2022 with the launch of a toll-free hotline service that enables members of the public to report allegations of corruption in all its forms.
Citizens can call the hotline as well as make a complaint online. The website has been designed to not only allow members of the public to lodge an allegation or complaint but also to track uptake and monitor progress on the investigation if the special unit assigned to it finds there are grounds for investigation. The system was established specifically to encourage citizens to play their part in fighting corruption.
Complaints and allegations may be made in French and local dialects via the web platform to do away with any language barriers. “If a case is proven after investigation, the unit must propose the terms of prosecution,” a government spokesman explained.
The system has been a success, and the country now has more than 10 toll-free lines to report allegations of public sector corruption and embezzlement. Last year, the digital system played a role in the case of diesel theft at the Adjohoun zone hospital in the Ouémé department in southern Benin. Two suspects, the driver of the hospital’s managing director and a security agent, were arrested in November last year after a member of staff reported the crime to the authorities via the platform.
Government spokesman Wilfried Houngbédji, in an interview with Africa in Fact, attributed Benin’s improved score on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index (Benin was ranked the 70th least corrupt country out of 180, in contrast to 90.75 in 2004, reaching an all-time high of 121 in 2006 and a record low of 70 in 2023.) to the implementation of the public anti-corruption platform.
“The implementation of the digital system has allowed Benin to move up in the ranking for at least three years, he said. “The fight against corruption begins by producing visible results in the country.”
Human rights lawyer Magloire Houeto told Africa in Fact that the system had created much greater public awareness around corruption, and people were no longer afraid to directly denounce malfeasance because they did not have the risk of being identified to the suspects involved.
But political scientist and consultant Richard Boni Ouorou cautions that there is still much to be done to eradicate corruption once and for all. “Corruption, in both its active and passive forms, must be fought globally and systemically, in ministries as well as in parliamentary chambers, in institutions and offices, at the top of the state as well as in the streets, a culture of truth and transparency must take root,” he told Africa in Fact.
For now, the authorities, in collaboration with civil society, are working tirelessly to continue awareness-raising campaigns across the country to further encourage citizens to denounce the alleged perpetrators of acts of corruption via the available digital platforms.
Mamah-Djiman Hairith is an investigative reporter from Benin with more than 10 years of field experience in Africa's media industry. She has worked across various platforms including radio and newspapers like Le Paradoxe and Togo Finance et Business in Benin and Togo. She holds a degree in linguistics and communication and is passionate about telling stories around science and technology.
