2023-05-05 02:18:29
In its ambition to strengthen and boost tourism potential in Benin, the government can count on the support of the French Development Agency (AFD). As part of the project Museum of the Kings and Amazons of Danxomè (MuRAD) for the development of the palatial site of Abomey, it is more than 23 billion that the AFD has made available in addition to other technical support.
Bidossessi WANOU
Rehabilitation of the palaces of the last four sovereigns of Danxomè (Ghézo, Glèlè, Béhanzin, Agoli-Agbo) recognized as the palace of King Akaba and where Queen Hangbé also reigned, founded by the female troop of Danhomey, the Amazons then erection of a amazon museum. This is the consistency of the Museum of Kings and Amazons of Danxomè (MuRAD) project initiated by the government of Benin which covers an area of 47 hectares. A project which has received support from the French Development Agency which , in addition to making financial resources available, mobilized the Compagnons du Devoir, a group of French craftsmen for the transfer of skills and technology with a view to building the capacity of building craftsmen and other local craftsmen in Danxomè and taking from the days of royalty to the present, an important craft function in the royal palace. By the way, “We taught them to build a structure that will last 50 years, 60 years, 100 years or even more,” explained Dimitri Andriot, instructor on the site and member of Compagnons du Devoir. The overall cost of the project is 30 billion CFA francs, AFD has made a contribution of 23 billion from AFD in addition to various technical skills. In presenting the project, Alain Godonou, Director of the Museums Program at the National Agency for the Promotion of Tourism (ANPT), explained that it is one of the flagship projects of the Government’s Action Program and is part of the government’s vision of making Benin’s cultural heritage a major asset for the country’s development. Thus, the MuRAD project includes the rehabilitation of the existing fabric of the royal palaces of Abomey, the construction of a new museum to international standards and the development of a heritage promenade without overshadowing the strengthening of the technical capacities of human resources. Added to this is the development of an area of the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa (IFAN) housing school buildings or models that will also serve as administration. In this project, the palaces being rehabilitated will be assigned to new functions according to the representative of the ANPT. These include craft functions, restoration, education and research… all of which aims to promote daily life in the museum space. A high-impact project, according to the mayor of Abomey, Antoine Djèdou who indicated that it will allow a new animation of the city of Abomey with substantial economic benefits for a better development of the populations. He thanked the government of Benin and the AFD which agreed to support the project. For the Director of the French Development Agency, Jérôme BERTRAND-HARDY, it is an honor for AFD to be associated with this important project. “It’s not every day that we get close to a heritage listed by UNESCO”, he acknowledged, proud to have had this privilege with the Beninese government through support on this project. The Director of AFD also justifies this support by the interest in heritage tourism, which plays an important role in economic development. He then hammered home ADF’s readiness to continue supporting Benin with a view to mobilizing all the skills necessary for the success of this project. It should be noted that this support from AFD addresses the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDGs 09 and 17, and enables Benin to build a diversified, strong economy for sustainable development.
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