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The word 'economy' may mean different things to different people. The average economist, for instance, would see the totality of a given economy as his economy. But a country's economy, taken from any perspective is broader than the ordinary person's point of view. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, economy is the control and management of the money, goods and other resources of a community, society or household.
In Benin today, food is gradually leaving the reach of the common man. Few people can hardly afford three square meals a day while an average Beninoise can afford only one or two a day. This tempts me to wonder how the masses can survive in times like this. Essential food items are not only scarce, but are very expensive. In terms of productivity, we produce local food such as garri (processed cassava), pepper, onions and palm oil. One would wonder why things are very expensive.
Mrs. Martin Tengue, a fish seller at Dantokpa international market in Cotonou, the commercial nerve-centre of Benin republic, said, "We increase our commodities in order to match the high cost of living in Benin. Take for instance, after buying a basket of fish at 20,000 to 35,000 cfa and paying transport fare, the 5,000 cfa worth of dried fish from the village to Dantokpa; there's no magic one can apply to make your gain than to increase the selling price arbitrarily."
Take a look at this analysis: bread sold for 50 cfa three years ago; it now goes for 100-200 cfa. A tin of garri which used to cost 600 cfa in 2000 now costs 1,300 to 1,500 cfa, not to talk of oil, meat, fish, vegetables and other commodities.
After food, clothing and shelter are the most important necessities of man. In Cotonou, a three-bedroom house with one toilet and bath costs 750,000 cfa to rent a year, and a three-bedroom flat with two toilets and two bathrooms is 960,000 cfa a year, a duplex one million cfa a year. A small shop measuring about 10'x 8' costs about 15,000 cfa per month and one has to pay for two years including an agent's fee. How can the poor survive under these conditions?
The provision of an adequate and efficient health service for the people also has been a problem for the medical profession and administration. The country has been burdened with high import costs, high consumer prices, a complete absence of foreign investment, acute scarcity of foreign exchange and a high degree of faking and counterfeiting of products which have become critical for the sustenance of people's health.
Owing to a lack of drugs and functional intensive care units, many patients have died while some are neglected by nurses. During a visit to one of the hospitals, an old man who had an accident was bleeding profusely from his head. But he was not being taken proper care of by the
nurses who complained that the relatives of the dying man had been unable to provide or pay for the drugs needed to treat his case. Those prescribed drugs are beyond the reach of the ordinary citizen. The following day the man died.
Pharmaceutical companies should fashion out effective market communication strategies that will make their products available to consumers and hospitals at affordable prices. Transport fares have gone up in terms of an increase in domestic fuel prices, resulting in commuters' pockets being over-stretched. Vehicle spare parts prices are unbearable; yet we buy them in order to keep our vehicles on the road. And in the educational realm, the non-payment of teacher's salaries is a monster to our growth. One wonders why teachers should be left unpaid at the end of the month. It becomes impossible for the teachers to teach our children effectively when they are not paid for the services they render.
In order to protect and promote the economic interests of Benin, the government should ensure that goods and services including food, water, housing and healthcare be provided, rather qualitatively, for the well-being of the people. Hopefully the government would be definite in its march towards attaining a better economy. This is only possible if its shortcomings are arrested and smashed.
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Writer Profile
EDITH
I am a Nigerian journalist presently residing in Cotonou Benin Republic. I completed my secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria.
I worked in Champion Newspapers Limited from 1992 to 1994 as a news reporter. During my stay at Champion Newspapers, I was exposed to basic newsrooms operations, including coverage of field assignments such as newsgathering and generation from beats like economy, business reporting, politics, feature and opinion writing and news monitoring on radio and television. I displayed a great amount of skill in all my assignments.
I worked with the Federal Radio Co-operation of Nigeria (FRCN) as a scriptwriter, presenter and a producer of Children’s Programme, Today’s Woman, Health Corner and Radio Drama from 1994 to 1999.
I later joined my family in Cotonou Benin Republic in 1999. Due to the love I have for my career, I did not allow it to die or sweep away. I continued from where I stop in Nigeria.
Presently I am working with Capp Fm 99.6 as a presenter in Cotonou Benin Republic. I joined Capp Fm 99.6 in October 1999. Contributing Editor Les femmes magazine South Africa.
I am a member of African Economics Editors Network (AEEN) and International Women Media Foundation (IWMF) USA.
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