In Togo, communication tariffs are still too high for low-income consumers, the regulator says

Telecom

Thursday, 05 May 2022 17:42

In Togo, communication tariffs are still too high for low-income consumers, the regulator says

(Togo First) - In Togo, Togocel and Moov Africa’s “consumers are still paying a lot for entry-level services”. This was disclosed on May 4, 2022, by the country’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP), which, a few months earlier, had recommended a tariff overhaul.

According to a statement from the regulator, a copy of which was obtained by Togo First, the two phone companies started reducing their rates but kept entry-level tariffs high; only mid-range and high-end tariffs were lowered, the ARCEP notes.

While it welcomes this reduction, the authority stresses the need for the firms to also reduce the tariffs of their entry-level services, since the latter is mostly used by low-income consumers.

"Togo still has the highest tariffs for data and voice packages but is in the regional averages for mixed packages”, the ARCEP indicated after assessing the operators’ recent tariff overhaul. In a recent study, the institution headed by Michel Yaovi Galley sounded the alarm on the fact that the rates of voice and data packages in Togo were higher than those in other countries of the WAEMU zone.

At the country level, the regulator pointed out that Togocel's mixed and voice packages are more expensive than Moov Africa’s.

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REFORMS OVERVIEW

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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 .

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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.

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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.

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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.

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