Togo Concludes AFRISTAT Presidency, Marks 12 Billion CFA Budget Approval

Economic governance

Wednesday, 14 January 2026 13:29

Togo Concludes AFRISTAT Presidency, Marks 12 Billion CFA Budget Approval

(Togo First) - Togo ended its term as rotating chair of the Council of Ministers of the Economic and Statistical Observatory for Sub-Saharan Africa (AFRISTAT) on Dec. 31, 2025, and Equatorial Guinea took over on Jan. 1, 2026.

Sandra Ablamba Johnson, minister and secretary-general of the presidency of the Council, presented a report on Togo’s tenure on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. After talks with AFRISTAT Director General Paul-Henri Nguema Meye, she said major progress was made in 2024-2025, including the renewal of the institution’s funding mechanism, which lapsed in 2025, and the approval of AFRISTAT’s vision and strategic priorities for 2026-2035.

Other achievements included training programmes and progress on rebasing national accounts. The strategic framework is backed by a 12 billion CFA franc budget to support the development of economic, social and environmental statistics in AFRISTAT’s 22 member states.

Togo said it completed 70% of planned activities over the 2024-2025 period, despite challenging conditions, including difficulties securing resources from member states and development partners.

As the outgoing chair, Togo said it remains available to support AFRISTAT during the handover to Equatorial Guinea, which will chair the Council in 2026-2027.

AFRISTAT was created to coordinate statistical efforts and mobilize resources to support national and regional statistical systems, and plays a key role in harmonizing data.

Esaïe Edoh

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.