Togo works on a gender-sensitive budget for 2023

Economic governance

Thursday, 07 April 2022 12:48

Togo works on a gender-sensitive budget for 2023

(Togo First) - Lomé hosted last Monday, April 4th, a workshop for the elaboration of the gender-sensitive budget for the year 2023. During the session, participants - gender experts, senior officials, technical and financial partners of Togo - aimed to better promote women and gender equality in the budgeting and allocation of state resources.

"Gender budgeting consists in applying the integrated approach of equality between women and men to the financial aspect of public policies," said Kofi Agbenoxevi Paniah, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, at the beginning of the meeting. The official especially mentioned Togo’s efforts to support and strengthen gender equity, over more than a decade now; efforts consolidated in the first axis of the Togo 2025 roadmap.

2023: new "gender-sensitive" ministries

In Togo, the 2022 budget law came with a gender-sensitive budget covering six (06) pilot ministries, notably the ministries of grassroots development, primary and secondary education, health, social action, agriculture, and public works.

In 2023, two ministries (the ministries of justice and higher education) and two institutions (the Prime Minister's Office and the Court of Auditors) will be added, according to Kofi Agbenoxevi Paniah.

The elaboration of the gender-sensitive budget is supported by the World Bank (through the PAGE project) and the European Union. The latter’s representative, Joachin Tasso Villalonga, praised the government "for putting Togo at the forefront of GRB (Gender Responsive Budgeting) in the region and welcomed their ambition to extend it to all public institutions.”

In Togo, the development of a gender-sensitive budget was instituted on April 7, 2020.

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REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.