Togo just received new support from the World Bank, through the International Development Association (IDA). The country sealed the deal–a double financing agreement–on September 26, in Lomé. The first financing supports a program fostering sustainable and inclusive development policies, and the second is an additional financing for the West African Food System Resilience Program (FSRP).

Both agreements were inked by Sani Yaya, Togo’s Minister of Economy and Finance, and Fily Sissoko, the World Bank’s Resident Representative. They are worth $150 million (CFA92 billion) and $20 million (CFA12 billion), respectively.

Supporting the Government's Roadmap and Accompanying Key Programs

Approved on September 1, 2023, the first facility supports the government's five-year roadmap for more sustainable and inclusive development, while providing adequate financing for key programs. The package will specifically help stimulate the rural economy, modernize agriculture, improve human capital, and rebuild budgetary space.

"The reform program is strong, and the government has shown strong commitment to its implementation, which is reflected in the increase in this financing representing over 35% of the IDA allocation," said Fily Sissoko. He added that the Bank is currently preparing another financing focusing on an "ambitious reform program." This facility "should be finalized in the next 12 months,"  according to Sissoko. 

Intensifying Government's Response to Food and Nutritional Security Issues

The second facility, of $20 million, is an additional financing for the Food System Resilience Program in West Africa (FSRP) launched two years ago by the World Bank. According to Minister Sani Yaya, the funds will help Lomé enhance short-term food supply and better tackle issues like climate change. 

Also, the financing will help bolster Togo’s information system, provide households with improved livestock breeds, enhance animal health, and the use of organic inputs, and support vegetable chains and high nutritional value products, among others.

"These two facilities reflect the excellent relations between Togo and the World Bank," said the Minister of Economy. He then reiterated the government’s commitment to "continue its reforms, despite the triple shock of health, inflation, and security" the country currently faces.

The Agence Ecofin released the second edition of its Top 50 Most Trusted African Personalities ranking on September 26. In this edition, like in the previous one, the Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé and the Togolese economist, Kako Nubukpo, are featured in the ranking. 

Gnassingbé and Nubukpo ranked 49th and 37th, respectively, thus losing 4 and 7 places compared to 2022 (they were 45th and 30th).

A morphing List

The survey panel is made up of Agence Ecofin's 88,000 subscribers, and this edition received 684 valid votes.  Ten new names were added to the list from the first edition last February, allowing for a partial renewal.

"We drew up the list of 50 personalities from the first Ecofin Barometer conducted in February 2023, adding 10 alternative names. We then invited our 88,000 subscribers to select the 5 personalities they trust most from these 60. The selection was based on the responses of 684 voters. Multiple votes were eliminated," wrote Agence Ecofin.

Key Actors

The top three most trusted personalities on the ranking are Senegalese writer Fatou Diome (3rd), Cameroonian Journalist, Alain Foka (2nd), and Aliko Dangote (1st). Diome gained seven places compared to the previous edition. The fourth most trusted personality is Tidjane Thiam, whose influence grows with the coming presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire in 2025.

Youssou N’dour, meanwhile, lost 19 places, falling to the 38th position. It would seem that leaving Senegal’s ruling party cost N’dour, in terms of trust.

ECOFIN TRUST INDEX
September 2023 

Japan just donated a billion CFA (250 million yen) to Togo, under the Kennedy Round (KR) food aid project. The funds will be used to buy 3,600 tons of rice, according to the agreement inked on September 25, in Lomé, by the Japanese Ambassador to Togo, Ikkatai Katsuya, and the Togolese Minister of Agriculture, Antoine Gbégbéni. 

The rice, which will arrive next December, will be sold at “a reasonable cost” and returns from its sale will be pooled into a counterpart fund that will finance various socio-economic development projects in areas including agriculture and education.

"The importance of this food aid from KR projects in the economic, social, and food life of our populations no longer needs to be demonstrated. That's why, once again, we want to welcome the continuation of this food aid, and especially the strengthening of this program," said Antoine Gbégbéni, the Minister of Agriculture.

The Togolese official added that funds collected from Kennedy Round (KR) 2018, 2019, and 2020, will serve to accelerate agricultural mechanization in the country. 

Between 2008 and 2022, Togo benefited from thirteen KR projects, totaling around CFA20 billion for a total volume of 100,551 tonnes of cereals.

Esaïe Edoh

Speaking last Thursday at the podium of the 78th United Nations General Assembly, Togo's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey, addressed the issues of terrorism, climate change, socio-political crises, and political transitions in Africa.

The Togolese diplomat noted that leaders' commitments are not sufficient to meet the world’s current challenges. This lack has pushed the world into a sick state that “calls for a level of responsibility as high as the United Nations'.”

In this sick world, Africa, Dussey noted, is in a state of vulnerability “caused by low levels of development, large-scale health crises, the impacts of climate change, and disrupted global food supply chains.”

The diplomat stressed that Africa's peace and stability are threatened by cybercriminals and disinformation, recurring armed conflicts and war news, and the spread of international terrorism.

Investing in peace

Amidst all the turmoil, West Africa is particularly volatile, with several countries under transitional regimes. Regarding the security situation in this region, Robert Dussey urged world leaders to "invest more in peace" rather than war.

On this subject, the diplomat recalls that "Togo is a country of peace and Togo opposes war, whatever its reasons." "Since our independence on April 27, 1960: Togo has never waged war on its neighbors. Never has Togo aggressed its neighbors or any country. Never has Togo served as a rear base for any aggression against a brother country," he clarified.

Togo, Dussey indicated, is a good example of this investment in peace. Notably, he recalled President Gnassingbé’s involvement in resolving the crisis between the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Mali over the case of the 49 Ivorian soldiers, and in the war in Sudan through a consultative dialogue and consultation between the political and military leaders of Darfur last July in Lomé.

Gnassingbé’s country, indeed, has taken several steps to preserve peace on the continent. One of these steps, Dussey mentioned, includes the "Lomé Peace and Security Forum" scheduled for October 21 and 22 in the Togolese capital. He also talked about the 9th Pan-African Congress scheduled for Lomé in 2024.

Another initiative is the African Political Alliance (APA) created last May, by Togo and other countries.

Reforming the Security Council

Regarding the world's socio-political situation, Togo believes that the United Nations Security Council needs reforming. For Lomé, Africa can no longer remain on the sidelines of the body responsible for ensuring international peace and security.

"The Security Council can no longer remain a mere affair of the victors and their allies of the Second World War. Nothing can any longer justify maintaining the status quo. The ideological and institutional structuring of the post-war world is now obsolete. This is a new era in Africa and the Global South's relations with the world, and Africa no longer intends to remain in the shadow of any great power in the new dynamic," said Robert Dussey.

He argued that Western and other powers need to change their attitude and approach in their relations with Africa. "Africa needs a partnership that respects the strict dignity of each individual. We want to be your partners, not your subjects. We want to serve our people, not foreign interests," the Togolese Minister hammered.

 Esaïe Edoh

The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) recently announced that it will support Togo’s employability policy for college graduates. This is an “eminently important project”, according to AUF’s chancellor, Slim Khalbous who met in Lomé with Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbé, on September 19.

"This is an eminently important project because it concerns the development of our countries through research. The President of the Republic, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, has supported this project, which enables us to improve all our vital sectors such as agriculture, medicine, and education," said Khalbous just after his audience with Gnassingbé.

Concretely, supporting Togo’s employability policy for college graduates means helping them secure decent jobs, through additional training, leading to professional certification in the French-speaking employability centers of public universities.

The AUF regroups more than 1,000 universities, ivy-league schools, university networks, and scientific research centers, through French.

A ton of Cimtogo cement currently costs CFA81,000. The price cap was announced on September 20 by HeidelbergCement which makes the product. 

The firm made the public announcement to end price hike rumors that went viral online. In its statement, HeidelbergCement said it did, indeed, "re-adjust its pricing structure" on September 18, 2023, but the new prices do not exceed the limit set by the government.

Since October 2021, the government, via the Ministry of Trade and local consumption, capped the ton price of cement at CFA81,000, or CFA4,050 per 50kg-bag. The move tackles the recent speculations on cement prices across the country.

Esaïe Edoh

The US announced new funding of over $247 million (CFA152 billion) for humanitarian aid across many African countries, including Togo. The USAID made the announcement on September 19, 2023.

Recipient countries include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Zimbabwe, as well as the central Sahel.

The package is “for urgent humanitarian assistance to help people across Africa cope with the impacts of protracted humanitarian crises and natural disasters.” 

The funds will support “humanitarian partners providing lifesaving food assistance, emergency health care, safe drinking water and sanitation, and protection for vulnerable people, including children, survivors of gender-based violence, and people with disabilities." 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

President Faure Gnassingbé gave two days ago an audience to Germany’s new ambassador to his country, Dr. Claudius Fischbach. During the meeting, the diplomat presented the leader with his credentials. He also made known his commitment to enhancing cooperation between Togo and Germany.

"Germany and Togo are bound by a shared history. I am committed to strengthening this old cooperation to realize the ambitions of the people and the government of Togo," said Fischbach.

Germany has been helping Togo implement various projects falling under its 2025 Government Roadmap. This cooperation is also subject to optimal monitoring, through biannual periodic consultations, alternately in Germany and Togo.

Through the GIZ and KfW, respectively its operational and financial cooperation arms, Germany supports Togo in four key areas: sustainable economic development and vocational training, agro-industrial transformation, decentralization and good financial governance, as well as strengthening the healthcare system.

Togo’s Tax Authority, L’Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR), has announced a 30% reduction in customs clearance fees for vehicles over five years old.  The measure is valid for the period going from September 20 to December 20 of this year. 

According to the tax authorities, this relief applies to vehicles over five years old that are still in bond. The measure is designed to relieve fleet congestion and spur new orders at the end of the year.

The 30% depreciation, the OTR stressed, is in line with the provisions of the National Customs Code.

For some years now, this rebate has been applied in the last quarter of the year. In 2021, this relaxation went up to 40% to support taxpayers "in these times of Covid-19 pandemic", according to the OTR.

Esaïe Edoh