MCC: Togo reports its progress in Washington

Economic governance

Thursday, 16 June 2022 11:48

MCC: Togo reports its progress in Washington

(Togo First) - A Togolese delegation was in Washington last week, from June 6 to 10, to report the country’s progress in the Threshold Program to the top management of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). This program is funded by the U.S. Department of State.

The West African delegation included Cina Lawson, Minister of Digital Economy and Digital Transformation, Christian Trimua, Minister of Human Rights, Frederic Hegbe, Ambassador of Togo to the U.S., Stanislas Baba, Special Advisor, and Jeanne Bougonou, Executive Director of the Millennium Challenge Account Togo.

“Minister Cina Lawson presented to MCC, the vision of Togo in the digital world being implemented and how the Threshold Program’s ICT project contributes to this vision,” said MCC.

During one of the high-level meetings held, Jeanne Bougonou, Director-General OMCA-Togo, presented the "excellent results" of the program, after 10 months of work, in terms of implementation and compliance with procedures and policies established by the MCC, implementation of the project on land reform for agricultural productivity (LRAP Project), and the project on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT Project).

The Threshold program was signed three years ago between Lomé and Washington. With a CFA20 billion ($35 million) budget, it is mainly designed to support the country in reforming and improving the ICT and land sectors. The two projects carried out in this sense should make the country’s ICT sector high quality and affordable, within four years. Also, it aims to improve the regulatory framework, especially in rural land tenure, hence facilitating investment and increasing rural productivity.

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.