Faure Gnassingbé urges his administration to sustain and pursue reforms to improve Togo's business environment, after major leap in latest Doing Business report

Economic governance

Thursday, 31 October 2019 16:02

Faure Gnassingbé urges his administration to sustain and pursue reforms to improve Togo's business environment, after major leap in latest Doing Business report

(Togo First) - Togo released today its country report for the Doing Business 2020. This was during a ceremony chaired by President Gnassingbé, in the presence of some public figures, diplomats, representatives of the private sector and civil society and executives from the World Bank.

On this occasion, participants reviewed Togo's achievements in the latest Doing Business report.

Hence, various figures, such as the Minister-Counselor in charge of the business climate improvement, the World Bank's local representative, and the IFC's vice president mentioned some of the reasons behind Togo's astounding leap in the global rankings over the past two years (from 156th to 97th). They also detailed indicators where Togo improved the most and those where it still has much effort to make.

"The government's decisions, its strong desire, paired with the senior authorities' leadership and pragmatism," are some reasons behind the "Togolese miracle," according to the head of the business climate cell, Sandra Johnson.

For her part, Hawa Wagué from the World Bank declared: "The World Bank is satisfied by these results and Togo's commitment is lauded. On various indicators, Togo is an example that other countries should follow."

The IFC's VP, Sergio Pimenta, also congratulated Togo and especially lauded the strong involvement of the President who in his opinion greatly contributed to the achievement. However, he stressed that "there is still room for improvement and the IFC will support both the authorities and the private sector in the process." The World Bank's arm for the private sector, it should be recalled, opens its offices in Lomé today.

"In Togo, boasting about our victories is not our habit, celebrating them neither. However, today we will put our differences and quarrels aside and celebrate Togo," declared President Gnassingbé.

However, the leader adds, "This is a race so we must increase our pace."

"We have all our chances to attract investors to our country so do not tire of implementing new reforms. Let's work together to pursue and sustain this motion, We have no other choice so let's do it and let's do it well", Faure Gnassingbé said.

Octave A. Bruce

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.