Benin – Public funds management: the committee responsible for verifying Akponna’s denunciations delivers its report
The High Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (HCPC) has reached a critical milestone in the investigation opened following accusations of public fund embezzlement within the Ministry of Energy, Water and Mines.
Ministre Conseiller aux affaires économiques près la Présidence de la République du Bénin, Kègnidé Paulin AKPONNA, est le nouveau Ministre de l’Energie de l’Eau et des Mines
PH: Présidence du Bénin
After a month of investigations in the town of Parakou, the investigation report was officially handed over on July 31, 2025 to Jacques Migan, High Commissioner for the Prevention of Corruption, by Alexandre Dagba, Chairman of the Commission.
Speaking at the ceremony, Alexandre Dagba noted that the mission began in Cotonou, with working sessions involving several sector actors, before continuing in Parakou, on the sites of the implicated projects. He also emphasized the complexity of the case, which involves many intermediaries and requires rigorous handling.
The presentation of this report is a significant step forward in the fight against corruption in Benin, just a few months before major election deadlines.
“We are determined to shed full light on the use of public resources. No gray areas will be tolerated,” reaffirmed Jacques Migan at the end of the meeting.
All of this started from public declarations made on June 21, 2025 in Parakou by Paulin Akponna, a member of the Republican Bloc party while he was Minister of Energy, Water, and Mines. In that declaration, he highlighted an alleged embezzlement of several tens of billions of CFA francs intended for potable water supply and electricity projects.
These funds are alleged to have been mismanaged under the previous administration of the ministry. In response, the HCPC set up, as of July 1, 2025, a special Verification Commission, responsible for conducting a field investigation on the projects concerned.