VZCZCXRO2504
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHCO #0688/01 3051250
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311250Z OCT 08 ZDK (SVC 4346)
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0613
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1339
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0384

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COTONOU 000688 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W ACOOK 
LONDON FOR PLORD 
PARIS FOR BKANEDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: PRESIDENT YAYI'S SECOND CABINET RESHUFFLE 
 
COTONOU 00000688  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: After months of suspense following the April 2008 
legislative elections, President Yayi announced a second cabinet 
reshuffle on October 22.  The cabinet increased from 26 to 30 
ministers, nineteen (19) of whom are new to the government.  Of the 
remaining eleven (11), three (3) ministers changed portfolios and 
fifteen (15) ministers left the government. The titles of some 
ministries changed; others have been split or combined.  New 
ministries included the Ministry of Maritime Economy, Maritime 
Transportation and Port Reform, and the Ministry of Petroleum and 
Mine Research.  President Yayi appointed four members of the 
opposition, two each from G4 and G13 respectively.  The two G13 
members declined the appointments while those from the MADEP (a 
component of the G4) joined the cabinet. This is the first in a 
series of cables on President Yayi's new cabinet.  END SUMMARY. 
¶2. (U) To encourage opposition participation in his government, 
President Yayi appointed two members of the African Movement for 
Democracy and Progress (MADEP), a component of the G4 group of 
parties:  Charles Kint Aguiar as Minister of Labor and Public 
Administration, and Francois Abiola as Minister of Higher Education 
and Scientific Research.  He also appointed two members of G13, the 
group of 13 dissident parties formerly in the presidential majority 
(FCBE).  Leon Comlan Ahossi was appointed Minister of the 
Environment and Nature Conservation and Valentin Aditi Houde 
Minister of Sports and Leisure.  Neither MADEP or G13 appointees 
attended the hand-over ceremonies on October 23, and both political 
parties announced that President Yayi had not formally consulted 
them on the appointments.  President Yayi replaced the two G13 
candidates with two others who joined the government and attended 
the first Council of Ministers meeting.  President Yayi appointed 
Victor Topanou, his former legal Advisor and General Secretary of 
the Government as the new Minister of Justice and Spokesman of the 
Government. 
¶3. (SBU) The new Ministry of Maritime Economy, Maritime 
Transportation and Port Reform will be almost exclusively devoted to 
issues of port administration in order to ensure the success of 
recently introduced reforms.  During a luncheon at the Ambassador's 
residence on October 23, Eushbe Agbangla, Desk Officer for the 
Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told her that the 
creation of this ministry was directly related to recommendations 
stemming from the September 25 two-year review of the five-year MCA 
Compact, notably its largest project, the Access to Markets 
infrastructure program which focuses on the Port of Cotonou.  The 
new Minister, Issa Soule Badarou, is an experienced port manager who 
directed the port for over a decade in both the Kerekou and the 
Soglo administrations.  The creation of a ministry for Petroleum and 
Mines Research reflects President Yayi's aim to expand focus on the 
petroleum sector. 
 
¶4. (U) Yayi split the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Small and 
Medium Scale Enterprises into three:  the Ministry of Industry, the 
Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry in Charge of Small and Medium 
Scale Enterprises and Promotion of the Private Sector.  The 
President abolished the recently created Ministry of Literacy and 
National Languages and rolled its literacy component into the 
Ministry of Culture. 
 
¶5. (U) The new government includes four women, down from six in the 
previous government.  Reckia Madougou, a social activist and former 
U.S. "Woman of Courage" nominee, is Minister of Youth, Micro 
Finance, and Youth and Women's Employment.  Some observers 
criticized this appointment on the grounds that "Civil Society" 
should not be part of the Executive because of its role as monitor 
and controller of government action.  Bako Mamata Djaouga is the new 
Minister of Craft Industry and Tourism.  Christine Ouinsavi holds 
the portfolio of Commerce, and Mamatou Marie Joe Meba Bio is the new 
Minister of Family and Solidarity. 
 
¶6. (U) This cabinet reshuffle ensures that each of the country's 12 
provinces is represented in the government.  Yayi appointed two 
ministers per province.  According to Victor Topanou, Government 
Spokesman and Minister of Justice, the appointments reflect 
President Yayi's desire to foster national unity. Topanou added that 
President Yayi seeks to assign more responsibility to ministers and 
therefore split ministries that combined too many duties to increase 
efficiency. 
 
¶7. (U) Initial media and public reaction to the appointments 
commended the President for having chosen a well-balanced group of 
technocrats.  Some public voices, however, disapproved of the 
replacement of Seibou Toleba, the former Minister of Culture, 
Tourism and Craft Industry and the reassignment of Galiou Soglo from 
the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Leisure to Culture.  Trade 
unionists criticized the government for creating additional expenses 
while claiming that there is no money to satisfy workers' demands. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: This is the second reshuffle of the Yayi cabinet 
since he came to power in early 2006 and the first time in the 
 
COTONOU 00000688  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
political history of the country that ministers declined their 
appointments.  The reshuffle demonstrates his efforts to build broad 
consensus, although to date the G13 has refused to join.  This 
refusal most likely stems from G13 leaders' dissatisfaction with the 
assigned portfolios, than from a categorical disinclination to join 
this government.  President Yayi's choices reflect an effort to 
balance political considerations and technical qualifications.  If 
the new Speaker of the Government is right about President Yayi's 
intentions to increase ministerial responsibility and delegation, 
the donor community will welcome this change.  Many donor country 
representatives have criticized President Yayi's management style 
for a marked absence of delegation of authority, which complicates 
day-to-day interactions with ministries at the working level.  The 
new General Secretary of the Government and Minister of Justice 
Victor Topanou is close to the Embassy, and his selection bodes well 
for implementation of the Women's Justice and Empowerment Initiative 
(WJEI).  END COMMENT. 
 
BROWN