“2020 will not an easy year!” - Sandra Johnson, delegate minister for the business climate
Friday, 17 January 2020 18:20 
(Togo First) - Togo will intensify reforms to further boost its economy. The ambition was reiterated by Sandra Ablamba Johnson, minister delegate and advisor of the President, for business climate - in an interview with the local bi-monthly newspaper Imagine Demain which released its latest issue on Thursday, January 16.
On the occasion, the official also cited the national development plan, reforms that were undertaken in the past few years, as well as the many initiatives launched by the country to attract more investors (forums, roadshows, adhesion to international development institutions). Togo, she recalled, gained 59 ranks on the Doing Business Index in the past two years.
“The PND just closed its first year of implementation and over the first months, we focused on institutional issues and on creating projects to attract more partners or investors,” Johnson added. Among ongoing projects, she said, is the Kekeli Efficient Power project, the Blitta plant, a double partnership with the Dangote Group, CIZO, agropoles, industrial parks, and the construction of a reference hospital.
Another major event that took place last year, according to the minister, was the Togo-EU forum. “It produced many good things, both to the government and the private sector.” Actually, in the six months that followed the forum, “7,946 visits were recorded on its official website.”
“Reforms implemented by the government affect the lives of the Togolese people. Our current challenges focus on accelerating ongoing reforms aimed at cutting input costs (water, power - relative to newly built plants, telecommunication, and internet), improving tax earnings, access to loans, E-land, and E-justice especially, for a better appropriation,” Johnson told the media.
“2020 will not be an easy year because we’ll have to sustain our reforms to attract investments from the private sector, which is our most important partner.” This statement aligns with a similar one made by President Faure Gnassingbé, a week after the World Bank released its latest Doing Business report: “This is a race and we must keep up, accelerate even, the pace of our reforms. So let’s do it and let’s do it right!”
Octave A. Bruce
