sensitive. In fact, the Act of 9 July deals with postal and electronic communications, and a national information and communications technology policy (ICT) also exists, as does access to electronic communications services, although its exercise is not yet consistent nor indeed known. A wide range of information sources is available, enabling citizens to access national and international media, but this is not affordable by all. There are at least 13 private commercial radio stations in operation, 5 religious/denominational stations, 31 community stations and 5 local rural stations. The price of a daily newspaper is 300 CFA francs (0.60 US dollars), equivalent to the cost of a breakfast for the average citizen. There are 495 Internet cafés in the country, with an average Internet connection hourly rate of 250 CFA francs (0.5 US dollars) in a country where the legal minimum wage is 40,000 CFA francs (90 US dollars). The absence of legislation protecting the editorial independence of the public print press media (La Nation, a national daily and ABP – l’Agence béninoise de presse (Benin Press Agency)) should be noted, and transparency in the ownership of the print and audiovisual news organizations is not guaranteed; nevertheless, the authorities do not exercise direct influence on their editorial policies. Benin has no legislation on advertising, the advertising budget allocation is a matter of conjecture and the advertising market is nebulous and controlled for the most part by mobile telephone companies. The Government and its services use their power and “non-aggression” agreements (contrats de “non-agression”) to influence editorial content. According to law, the HAAC (Haute Autorité de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication – Supreme Audiovisual and Communications Authority) is responsible for regulating competition. But in practice these legal provisions are not often applied or enforced. The Government does not promote an economically viable and independent environment. Most press media barely survive. The law on the audiovisual media has been in force and applied since 1997. However, it does not necessarily create a favourable environment for the public, private and community audiovisual sectors. The HAAC, which regulates the audiovisual media, is independent in form, but not sufficiently protected against interference, and its composition is strongly influenced by the Government. Much arbitration has taken place concerning the allocation of frequencies by the HAAC, and complete equity has not yet been achieved. The ORTB (Office de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision du Bénin – Benin Radio and Television Office) has a board of directors, but it is neither accountable to the public, nor independent, nor representative. By law, it is endowed with legal personality and financial autonomy, but it is placed under the control of the Ministry in charge of Communications. The decree establishing the ORTB does not guarantee its editorial independence. Public television programmes do not take the public AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BENIN 2014 61