Togo First
BCEAO: Benchmark Interest Rate Up to 3.25%, Effective September 16
The Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) raised, again, its benchmark interest rate. Effective on September 16, the rate will increase from 3% to 3.25%. The change was announced on September 6, after the regular meeting of the Apex Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The Committee explained that the rate was increased amid "rising regional uncertainties, persistent inflationary pressures, more expensive financial conditions on international markets and less mobilization of external resources", to “prevent and contain the impact of these risk factors on the Union's macroeconomic outlook.”
The benchmark interest rate defines the rate at which commercial banks refinance with the Central Bank, and it consequently influences how much interest rates lenders charge on loans provided in the sub-region. This is the fifth time it has gone up since the beginning of 2022, from 2% to 3%, and now 3.25%. Many observers expected the latest increase last June.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Organic Soybean Future Discussed in Atakpame
Stakeholders of the Togolese organic soybean sector and the country’s financial partners and institutions held a meeting on September 6 to discuss the sector’s challenges and how to tackle them.
The meeting was hosted in Atakpame, 150 km from Lomé, the capital. It was organized by Jonction de Croissance Agricole of Togo (JCAT) and the FAO.
The roundtable, according to Oyetounde Djiwa, FAO’s director in Togo, enabled the various stakeholders and partners to appraise and laud how the organic soybean sector is organized. The participants, Djiwa added, also took the opportunity to look at the new incentives that Europe set up to import more organic products.
Togo produced 120,000 tons of organic soybeans in 2022. Last June, the country drew a new five-year strategy to bolster local processing, boost exports, and reinforce human resources in the sector.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Innovative Tele-Ultrasound Project Launched to Enhance Maternal and Child Health
In partnership with the Pierre Fabre Foundation, the Ministry of Health of Togo, has launched a project that will enhance prenatal consultations in the country. The project was launched on Tuesday, September 5, in Lomé.
According to the ministry, the project will enable expecting mothers to have consultations remotely.
The new initiative, which leverages digital technology, will contribute to Togo’s ambition of achieving universal healthcare by 2030. It is also a milestone in the country’s e-health strategy.
"This project will, undoubtedly play a pivotal role in achieving the universal healthcare coverage that our government advocates," commented Aristide Afèignindou Gnassingbé, the national coordinator for Digital Health.
The pilot phase of the project will last 12 months and in its framework, 10 health training centers, spread across Togo's five regions, will use "Bogou", the online platform through which the consultations will be made. The Ministry of Health eyes a target of 4,000 ultrasound examinations during this pilot phase.
Togo: National Assembly Kicks Off Budgetary Session
Togo’s National Assembly has kickstarted its budgetary session, which will last four months. A solemn ceremony marking the deliberations’ start was held on September 5, at the Assembly’s headquarters.
During the session, deputies will mainly assess the 2024 Finance Act and discuss its adoption.
13 Legislative Proposals in the Pipeline
Apart from the main budgetary focus, the session will also deliberate on several significant legislative proposals for the country, with 13 of them currently awaiting discussion by the parliamentarians.
In her opening address, Yawa Djigbodi Tsègan, the President of the National Assembly, pointed out that Togo's macroeconomic outlook is characterized by more robust economic growth and a stable and secure environment that fosters modernization and development.
"Our role will be to provide constructive amendments to these legislative proposals through thorough review both in committee meetings and in the plenary session," the official declared.
While specifics of next year's budgetary proposal remain undisclosed, this year’s budget stands at CFA1,957 billion, excluding the supplementary budget.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo Launches New Issuance on WAEMU Market, Seeks CFA30 Billion
Togo just launched another simultaneous issuance of fungible treasury bills (BATs) and bonds (OATs) on the stock market of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The country hopes to raise CFA30 billion through the operation.
The BATs have a nominal value of CFA1 million, multiple interest rates, and a maturity period of 364 days. As for the OATs, their nominal value is CFA10,000, and they have two maturity periods–2 years 10 months and 4 years 11 months–with interest rates of 6% and 6.25%, respectively. The operation is set to close on September 15, 2023.
Togo will use the money raised via the issuance to finance its 2023 budget, which stands at CFA1,957 billion.
So far this year, the country has raised CFA530 billion on the WAEMU market, out of an annual target of CFA574 billion. On September 1, the West African government repurchased some of its previously issued securities worth CFA17.511 billion with maturities of 1 year, and 2 years 11 months.
Esaïe Edoh
WAEMU Securities: Lomé Buys Back CFA17.5 Billion of Securities Close to Maturity
The Togolese Public Treasury recently bought back CFA17.511 billion of securities it issued on the WAEMU stock market. The operation was carried out on September, 1. The securities were set to reach maturity on October 9 and October 23, 2023.
The buyback recorded a 103% coverage rate, reflecting investors' willingness to liquidate their assets under the current conditions. The absorption rate reached 100%, which means that the Togolese State acquired all the securities offered.
The securities’ main holders were from Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, and, of course, Togo, where local investors have offered to return CFA2 billion to the State, via three-year fungible treasury bonds.
The operation, according to Lomé, is part of an active debt management strategy that capitalizes on a currently more favorable market to minimize financing costs and optimize short-term liquidity. The move, the Togolese authorities added, should also send a positive signal to the markets about Togo's economic resilience and stability. It is part of a wider strategy to reduce future borrowing costs and positively influence the perception of risk associated with the Togolese economy, which is expected to grow by 6.6% this year.
While some market players believe that it is too early to draw an objective analysis, the fact that the absorption and coverage rates exceeded 100% for the operation suggests a certain level of investor confidence in Togo's economic solidity.
"An absorption rate of 100% and a coverage rate of over 100% indicate that investors are ready to sell their securities, which could suggest a level of confidence in the country's economic solidity," the analyst who officiates at a brokerage company or SGI (Sociétés de Gestion et d'Intermédiation) told Togo First.
Between January and August of this year, Togo raised CFA530 billion on the WAEMU market, and it targets about CFA30 billion this month. Lomé has already repaid over CFA320 billion to its investors this year.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Coastal Erosion: Togo Closes In on €25M Financing Deal with Invest International
Togo might soon secure €25 million from Invest International to protect its coast against sea encroachment. The Togolese minister of environment, Katari Foly-Bazi, discussed the matter with a delegation from the Dutch institution on Monday, September 4, in Lomé.
According to Invest International, out of the announced financing, €23 million should be devoted to protective facilities and €2 million to maintenance works.
The Ministry of Environment, for its part, added that the funds will be used to complete protection works started on the coast portion going from Gbodjomé to the Port Area. The works will be carried out by Boskalis, a Dutch company. Part of the project, it is worth noting, has already been funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).
According to the Ministry of Environment of Togo, negotiations with Invest International are going well and the financing agreement could be inked by December 2023.
Esaïe Edoh
ONUDI and Togolese Investment Agency Explore Partnership to Boost Investments in Togo
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (ONUDI) and the Investment Promotion and Free Zone Agency of Togo are considering a partnership to revitalize investments in the country. An ONUDI delegation revealed the ambition to Rose Kayi Mivedor, Togo’s Minister of Investment Promotion, in a meeting last Thursday, August 31.
The delegation was led by Tidiane Boye, the organization’s representative in Togo. During the meeting, he outlined ONUDI’s ongoing projects in the country. Among these is a significant initiative that aims to support value chains’ development and certify 50 products with high investment potential in Togo.
The talks laid the groundwork for greater cooperation between the Ministry of Investment Promotion and ONUDI.
Commenting on the matter, Minister Mivedor said collaboration with ONUDI aligns with the government's 2025 roadmap, which prioritizes job creation and boosting Togo’s economic assets.
In this regard, the ONUDI delegation presented its capacity-building program, which involves developing specific technical tools for Investment Promotion Agencies, such as Togo’s Investment Promotion and Free Zone Agency (API-ZF). Both sides said they were eager to continue talks to consolidate their partnership.
Product Quality: ECOWAS Experts Convene in Lomé for Technical Regulation Across Four Key Sectors
Several ECOWAS experts-members of the ECOWAS Community Committee for Technical Regulation (ECOREG)- are hosting a meeting in Lomé. Started on September 4, the 3-day gathering aims to validate 14 proposed application regulations concerning four value chains: mango, cassava, textile and clothing, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
The meeting is steered by the ECOWAS Commission and financed by the European Union (EU). It falls under the West Africa Quality and Infrastructure Competitiveness Project (WACQIP).
Primarily, participants will discuss the synchronization and harmonization of technical regulatory efforts amongst member states. Their overarching goal, however, is to bolster the quality of products circulating across the ECOWAS.
According to Agence Togolesse de Presse, during the meeting, four Technical Harmonization Working Groups will deliberate over their respective value chains. For "Mango," they will address technical specifications for both fresh mangoes and their derivatives. For "Cassava and its derivatives," discussions will cover pesticide dosages and heavy metals in tubers, alongside quality inspection procedures and environmental standards. "Textiles and Clothing" and "ICT" sectors will also be reviewed, with the latter focusing especially on personal data protection and cybersecurity.
It should be noted that last week, the Togolese capital hosted a preliminary meeting related to the ongoing roundtable.
University of Lomé Gets New Chancellor
The University of Lomé (UL) has a new Chancellor: Prof. Adama Mawulé Kpodar. He has just been appointed and will be taking the place of Prof. Komla Dodzi Kokoroko, who headed the university for seven years.
Before his appointment, Prof. Kpodar was the director general of the National School of Administration or Ecole National d’Administration (ENA).
Dodzi Kokoroko was Chancellor of the UL for two terms. During the period, several projects aimed at modernizing the university were carried out. These include construction and rehabilitation works, and curricular improvements. The Polytechnic School of Lomé was established within the period. Prof. Kokoroko is also the Minister of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education, and Craftsmanship as well.
Under Kokoroko, and in three years only, the UL gained 38 places in Africa’s top universities ranking. It is now among the top 200 universities on the continent.
In parallel to the appointment of Prof. Adama Kpodar, who replaces Prof. Kokoroko, Prof. Tachriè Kokou was called to head the University of Kara in the north. Kokou, who is also the president of the Société des Sciences Mathématiques du Togo (SSMaT) and Professor Emeritus in Mathematics, replaces Prof. Komlan Sanda as Chancellor.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi