Meeting people with disabilities, the 31 December 2022, President Patrice Talon reiterated the government's commitment not to let, in the dynamics of development, none of his fellow citizens on the quay. In this view, President Talon and his government have just made a good decision. That of adoption of the implementing texts of law no. 2017-06 of 29 September 2017 protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities in the Republic of Benin. In this file, you will discover the important points of said application texts. Moreover, les acteurs directement impliqués ont apprécié l’acte posé par le gouvernement béninois.
With a view to better social integration of people with disabilities, five draft decrees implementing this law were developed in a participatory and inclusive manner, by involving all the stakeholders involved in this topic in the work. These are the decrees relating to : Creation, attributions, composition and functioning of the Interministerial Commission for the implementation of measures for the inclusion of people with disabilities ; Special measures to promote employment and entrepreneurship for people with disabilities. Also these are the decrees fixing : Tax measures relating to imports, the manufacture and sale of means of transport and equipment for the benefit of disabled people ; Preferential measures in public transport and public cultural and leisure centers for the benefit of people with disabilities ; then Modalities for supporting the promotion of education and training for people with disabilities.
Under the terms of these various decrees, social measures for the benefit of people with disabilities concern, in a non-exhaustive way :
. Ease of access and priority reservation of seats in cultural and leisure centers, priority for boarding and disembarking on rail transport, road, river, maritime and air transport within the national territory for any transport company ;
. A reduction of 10% (not exclusive of other commercial type reductions) on paid entrances to public cultural and leisure centers as well as on rail transport costs, road, river, maritime and air transport within the national territory of public transport companies ;
. Special conditions of access to competitive examinations and recruitment tests in public and private salaried jobs. This is more precisely the increase of five (5) years of the required age range, of the reservation of a quota of 5% of the number of places put up for competition for public jobs, taking into account their abilities and skills.
– Sur ce point particulier, It should be noted that application criteria excluding disabled people during competitive examinations and recruitment tests for public and private jobs are prohibited.. However, recruitment into specific jobs or trades requiring proven physical abilities and particular sensory faculties deviates from this.
– Par ailleurs, the State takes care of the payment of employer contributions due by the company which employs a disabled person according to the level of incapacity mentioned on its “equal opportunities card”. It also supports any individual business created by disabled people.. Production cooperatives and small and medium-sized businesses bringing together exclusively people with disabilities benefit from the same measures..
– De façon spécifique, businesses created by the people thus targeted are exempt from fees and taxes linked to formalization, just as a business created by a disabled person is eligible for total or partial exemptions, temporary or permanent, under the conditions set by order of the Minister responsible for Finance.
As other measures contained in these texts, it should be remembered that :
. Any education and training establishment for people with disabilities benefits from technical and educational monitoring from the ministries in charge of Education and Social Affairs ;
. The State grants an annual subsidy to private education and training establishments for people with disabilities to support their operation, the acquisition of adapted teaching and IT materials as well as the development of educational initiatives and approaches compatible with their specific needs ;
. Applicants with disabilities who are in school can, according to the methods for taking into account physical and sporting education defined by the examination regulations, participate in a one-off adapted physical education and sports event ;
. The competent administrative authority responsible for awarding scholarships, emergency, housing and other social works in schools and universities takes into account the nature of the disability as well as the difficulties linked to the deficiency in question to define the specific criteria for allocating social support to disabled learners ;
An increase of five (5) years of age is applied to disabled people on the age required for any registration or allocation of support such as scholarships and assistance in schools and universities ;
. Annual financial aid is granted to students with a disability who do not benefit from a scholarship or university aid. ;
. All means of transport in new condition specially adapted for the use of disabled people are exempt from VAT and customs duties both on importation and on purchase.. Are concerned, adapted and equipped public transport vehicles, adapted and equipped motorized tricycles, adapted and equipped private vehicles, all other specialized means of transport ;
. All materials, mechanical and electronic inputs intended for the manufacture of means of transport specially adapted for the use of disabled people are exempt from VAT and customs duties on import and purchase ;
. Any equipment intended for the use of disabled people is exempt from VAT and customs duties on import and purchase.. These include orthopedic equipment, wheelchairs, tricycles, prosthetics, orthotics, white or English canes, all other equipment necessary for the care prescribed for disabled people.
The ministers responsible for the matter will take appropriate measures for the effective application of these decrees..
The actors appreciate….
Abdel Rahmane Ouorou Barè, president of the National Paralympic Committee of Benin, expert on the rights of people with disabilities : “it is to the credit of the Head of State who by this act has just marked a point in his attachment…”
“Before giving my impressions, we must still remind everyone that Benin ratified the United Nations convention on the rights of people with disabilities in July 2012 and the article 4 of this convention asked each state party including Benin to legislate with regard to the rights of disabled people. Which therefore allowed the government of President Patrice Talon to pass Law No. 2017-06 of 29 September 2017 protecting and promoting the rights of people with disabilities in the Republic of Benin. Certains articles de cette loi nécessitaient donc des décrets pour leur application efficace. Les décrets sont au nombre de 8. And, it's on 8 decrees 5 were taken by the government. Mes impressions, this is to say that we are really satisfied because, Me personally, I started the fight for the vote of a law for the benefit of disabled people, the fight for social inclusion for people with disabilities since 1994 and God wanted it to be in 2017 so that we have this law. I believe that it is to the credit of the Head of State who, through this act, has just marked a point in his attachment to shared prosperity., to national solidarity. So, by this action, the president of the Republic, Head of state, shows us that we are really not second-class citizens, that in its development dynamics of this country, Disabled people will never be left behind under his mandate.”
Nassirou Domingo, president of the Federation of Associations of Disabled People of Benin : We can only welcome this decision…”
“The impressions are good. I have a very good impression of this decision because we have really been fighting for the adoption of these decrees for six years.. And if finally, it happened, we can only welcome this and thank the Head of State with his government and all those who contributed to these decrees being finally taken.”
Marcel Candide Hinvi, journalist and host, specialist in disability issues and human rights : “It’s a great pleasure, the president promised it”
“I am a physically disabled person and it is with great pleasure that we learned of the government’s decision. This was good news because the law was passed in September 2017 and six years later, the decrees implementing this law were a reality. It's a great pleasure, the president promised it during a television program with our disabled fathers. Here we are at this decision which is taken so that the decrees are truly a reality. And it really shows the government's commitment to putting this mandate on highly social. We are satisfied with these decisions and the rest, is that we really want the content of the law, everything that is provided, law and regulations are applicable, become a reality so that we can be truly proud”.
Patrice ADJAHO