Togo First
Togo: Minister of Energy Launches Major Electrification Project in the Savanes Region
A major electrification project was launched yesterday, July 31, in Togo’s Savanes region. The project, which covers 18 localities of the region, was launched in Gbargou-Gbangbagou by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mawunyo Aziablé.
The new project, according to reliable sources, aims to expand the grid in this region of the country and to stabilize the socio-economic and security situation in northern Togo. It complements another project to install 50,000 autonomous and intelligent solar streetlights which was launched last April by President Faure Gnassingbé.
Both projects fall under the Emergency Program for the Savanes region (PURS) The latter aims to make the region more resilient amidst jihadist attacks.
The PURS, according to Lomé, requires an investment of CFA200 billion. The government, back in February, estimated that technical and financial partners (PTF) had already mobilized CFA150 billion for the program.
Earlier in 2022, CFA50 billion had been committed and had improved the rural road network by 15 to 20%, provided access to drinking water for 80,000 people, and supplied electricity to an additional 15,000 households.
Esaïe Edoh
Telecom: WAEMU Experts Meet to Discuss AI, Tariffs and the Sector’s Future in Lomé
Lomé hosted last week the 14th meeting of the Committee of National Telecommunications Regulators from WAEMU Member States (CRTEL). The event gathered experts from the eight countries to discuss the major challenges facing the sector.
Three topics dominated the talks: how to further reduce regional communication rates, ensure better quality of service, and incorporate the advancements of artificial intelligence in regulation.
According to Togo’s telecom watchdog, the ARCEP, over the past two years, communication tariffs have been reduced in Togo. Reportedly, mobile and fixed internet rates fell respectively by 67% and 64%, on average.
Nevertheless, the quality of service remains a critical issue. In this regard, regulations at various levels seem to be banking on technology. This is the case for ARCEP-Togo, which started using digital tools like "MyPerf by ARCEP" and supervision platforms that integrate AI.
While AI use in telecommunications is still in its infancy in West Africa, the recent meeting in Lomé testifies to a shared desire to dive deeper into this area. However, using AI raises various concerns. Some of these include the implications of the technology, relative to regulation, data protection, and job creation, among others.
WAEMU experts, aware of the stakes, agreed on the need for close collaboration to meet these challenges. Their work is just beginning, and the decisions taken in Lomé could well shape the future of telecommunications throughout the region, according to the report of the CRTEL meeting.
One clear thing is that WAEMU aspires to a deep digital transformation, as evidenced by the Togo Digital 2025 plan and other similar plans in other Union countries. This vision needs appropriate regulation, innovation and regional cooperation to come through. So far, however, concrete steps to contribute to this goal are few.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: Tax Office Extends Payment of Capital Gains Tax or TPV to Partial Transfer of Land Deeds
In Togo, capital gains tax (TPV) has been extended to partial transfers of land deeds. The measure takes effect today, August 1, according to the Togolese Tax Office (OTR)
In a statement addressed to the users of the Directorate of Cadastre, Land Conservation, and Registration (DCCFE), the OTR notes that the measure applies to "all new requests for partial transfers (subdivisions) of land titles". The measure is in line with the provisions of the General Tax Code of Togo, it is reported.
Before the update, the TPV was only levied on full transfers. It is a tax due by individuals or partnerships for the sale or transfer of real estate or real estate rights, except for exemptions prescribed by law.
The tax is also due on capital gains made by resident or non-resident individuals or corporations in Togo who directly or indirectly transfer shares or shares in companies registered in Togo. This is also the case for capital gains from sales made by individuals or corporations who directly or indirectly transfer mining titles or operating licenses issued by the Togolese authorities.
Esaïe Edoh
WAEMU Securities: Togo raises CFA36 billion in latest issue
Togo's treasury raised 36 billion CFA on the WAEMU market last Thursday, July 27. However, that is the sum retained from the issue. Lomé actually secured 39 billion from 36 investors. The operation thus recorded a subscription rate of 111.41%, since its initial target was 35 billion.
According to the operation's report, Togo raised FCFA19 billion via the 182-day BATs and FCFA17 billion via the 3- and 5-year OATs with interest rates of 6% and 6.25%.
Parts of the funds raised will help to finance Togo's 2023 budget. Adding the recent proceeds, Lomé has raised 466 billion FCFA so far this year on the regional market. That is over ¾ of the country's annual target of CFA574 billion, for 2023.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo's Exports Hit 211.8 Billion FCFA in Q1 2023, (INSEED)
Togo's exports reached about $382 million or CFA211.8 billion in Q1 2023. By volume, the exports stood at 886,575 Mt, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED).
Comparing Q1 2023 to Q1 2022, exports, by value, grew by 11.4%. Compared to Q4 2022, the exports were down by 5.5% and 1.8%, respectively, by value and size.
Phosphates, Soybeans, and Plastic Products Lead the Pack
Over the first quarter of 2023, the country's top 10 export products represented 63.5% of the total value of exported goods.
Phosphates were the most exported products in Q1 2023. They accounted for 19.6% of the quarter's exports, with a value of 41.57 billion FCFA (around $75 million USD).
Soybeans followed. In the quarter concerned, Togo exported 43,654.8 Mt of the cash crop. This earned the country 14.8 billion FCFA (approximately $27 million USD), or 7% of the total exports.
Rounding up the top three were "bags, sachets, pouches, and cones of plastic". They generated 14.18 billion FCFA (about $25.6 million USD), making up 6.7% of national exports.
Other Top Ten Products
In fourth place was another cash crop product, refined palm oil and its fractions, worth 11.52 billion FCFA (roughly $20.8 million USD), or 5.4% of exports. Beauty or prepared makeup products came fifth, and accounted for 11 billion FCFA (almost $20 million USD), or 5.2% of exports.
From sixth to tenth place, the country exported: soybean oilcake and other solid residues, worth 10.7 billion FCFA (about $19.3 million USD), or 5.1% of sales; petroleum bitumen and other residues of petroleum oils, valued at 9 billion FCFA (approximately $16.3 million USD), or 4.3%; bituminous petroleum oils (8.4 billion FCFA, around $15.2 million USD, or 4.0%); clinker, valued at 6.69 billion FCFA (about $12 million USD), or 3.2%; and finally, motorcycles with a displacement exceeding 50 cm3 but not exceeding 250 cm3, re-exported at a value of 6.42 billion FCFA (roughly $11.6 million USD), or 3.0%.
Togo's top three buyers, in Q1 2023, were India (accounting for 19.3% of the quarter's exports), Burkina Faso (10.1%), and Benin (8.7%).
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: 12,000 t of Mangoes Exported in 2022
Togo exported 12,800 t of mangoes last year, up from 10,400 t the year before. The data comes from the Interprofessional Council of the Mango Sector (CIF Mangue). Exports made up 25.3% of the country's total output in 2022.
Year on year, Togo produced 31% more mangoes last year than it did in 2021. That year, reports show that the country produced 38,500 t.
In the past three years, Togo's mango production rose gradually, despite Covid-19 and the pressures it induced. The resilience is attributable to processing which increased over the three-year period. There are about ten processing units in Togo, and in 2020, 2021, and 2022, they processed 8,000 tons, 12,800 tons, and 10,200 tons respectively.
The main varieties produced in the country are Kent, Palmer, Eldon, and Somnole. All five regions of Togo produce them, but the maritime and central regions have the highest concentrations.
The maritime region produced 17,700 tons in 2022, with the cities of Vogan, Tsevie, and Badja as production hubs. In total, 136 producers contributed to the production effort in this coastal region of the country.
The central region, the country's top production region in 2022, claimed 20,980 tons or 41% of the national output. Sotouboua, Sokodé, Adjengré, Tchamba, and Sada are the main production centers there.
The Plateaux region produced 8,050 t. In the region, Kpalimé, Agou, Lavie, Kpélé, Agbonou, and Sada are the biggest producers.
The Kara and Savanes regions respectively contributed 1,650 tons and 2,120 tons of mangoes in 2022.
It is worth noting that the Togolese Ministry of Agriculture and stakeholders in the mango sector recently adopted a five-year investment plan for the mango sector. Under the plan, the country will pour 1.715 billion to develop the sector over the period concerned.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Twenty countries meet in Lomé to discuss National Health Workforce Accounts
Lomé is hosting, from July 24 to 26, 2023, a regional workshop on National Health Workforce Accounts (NHWAs).
Twenty countries are taking part in this international meeting that aims to build the NHWA capacities of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s national focal points.
According to the WHO, an NHWA is a system that enables countries to gradually improve the availability and quality of their health workforce data and its efficient use. This contributes to the achievement of universal health coverage and health-related sustainable development goals.
"In Africa, development cannot be effective without an efficient and resilient health system. Similarly, without a qualified workforce available to serve the population there can be no health system," said Dr. Fatoumata Binta Tidiane Diallo, WHO Representative in Togo, in the workshop opening address.
The workshop will build the capacities of parties involved in the implementation of the NHWAs, to help improve the performance of national health systems. "The implementation of National Health Workforce Accounts provides an excellent tool to get quality information for effective and efficient management of health workers,” added Dr. Wotobe Marin, Secretary General of Togo's Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
Togo: WAEMU Telecom Regulators Gather in Lomé to Discuss Lowering Communication Costs in the Region
Lomé currently hosts the 14th meeting of the Committee of National Telecommunications Regulators (CRTEL) of the Member States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). The meeting started on July 24 and ends on July 28.
Participants will define appropriate mechanisms to lower communication tariffs and the quality of telecom services across the region.
According to Michel Yaovi Galley, who heads Togo’s telecom watchdog, the meeting reflects CRTEL’s commitment to the sustainable transformation of living standards within the WAEMU. "Through this choice, it is clear that the UEMOA regulators' committee is placing particular emphasis on the well-being, interest, and protection of the consumer," Galley said.
He went on to specify that the data-driven regulation undertaken by his institution has resulted in a 63% reduction in mobile tariffs by Togo Cellulaire and a 71% reduction by Moov Africa. "We must fully play our role so that the electronic communications sector plays its part for the inclusive integral development of our states."
During the meeting, the participants will also discuss artificial intelligence; a technology, which, according to the CRTEL, is being used all over the world and which could “enable us to live better provided it is used responsibly.”
Proposals elaborated during the meeting will be submitted to the ministers of telecommunications of WAEMU States.
Esaïe Edoh
AfDB Launches Digital Platform to Evaluate its Development Projects Remotely in Togo
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched in Togo a digital portal through which it will remotely supervise and appraise its development projects in the country. The tool is officially known as the Remote Appraisal, Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation platform or RASME.
On July 24, AfDB agents and members of the Togolese government started a three-day workshop to learn about the tool. The meeting is held at the 2 Février Hotel in Lomé, Togo.
It was launched in the presence of Affo Dedji, Permanent Secretary for Reform Monitoring at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Paterne Wilfrid Abiola, Country Manager of the AfDB in Togo, and Abdoulaye Tandina, Program Officer at the pan-African banking institution.
Besides improving project monitoring, the new platform should help reduce costs related to data collection and updating, and provide more visibility and fluidity in file tracking. In particular, the tool allows field actors to upload data, pictures and other media on the progress of different projects.
Togo is the 26th country of the AfDB’s network to deploy the RASME platform.
"We are the 26th, but that doesn't mean we will be the last," said the AfDB Country Manager, Wilfrid Abiola. He then praised the level of public sector representation at this training. The digital tool, he said, "will allow the government and the Bank to have better visibility to measure the impact of our projects, as part of our annual and periodic supervisions".
The RASME is a system for collecting and analyzing data using information and communication technologies, particularly phones. It is the result of a partnership between the AfDB's IT department, the World Bank's Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision, and the KoBoToolbox Foundation, a non-governmental organization affiliated with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
"In collaboration with development partners and government agencies, this data can be verified, analyzed, and published to assist decision-making for future interventions," said Abdoulaye Tandina, Program Officer at AfDB.
Earlier this year, on January 31, the AfDB's active portfolio in Togo included 16 operations, for a total financing of €310.34 million (approximately 203 billion FCFA).
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo to Invest CFA3.1 Billion in its Shea Sector in 2024-2028
From 2024 to 2028, Togo plans to invest CFA3.1 billion in its shea sector. According to the related investment plan, the money will be spent on boosting output (through sustainable management as well as tree planting), professionalizing the sector, creating value through quality improvement, making products and sub-products, and research and development.
The plan, which was adopted in May this year, should mainly be backed by the financial technical partners or FTPs and the State, and the CIFKAT, which is the local organization regrouping professionals in the sector. The FTPs and the State will provide CFA2.58 billion and CFA800 million, respectively. The last CFA133 million will come from the CIKFAT.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, which adopted the plan alongside the CIKFAT, Togo produced slightly more than 40,000 t of shea nuts in 2018. This breaks down into about 2,500 t for the Savanes region, 17,500 t and 13,000 t for the Kara and Central regions, and nearly 8,000 t for the Plateaux region.
Togo is the seventh biggest shea producer in the world. The country contribute 5% of West Africa’s shea exports, according to the latest data. In Togo, 84.9% of the actors working in the sector are women and the rest, 15.1%, are men. Age-wise, 48.5% of the actors are less than 40, 43.5% are between 40 and 60, and the last 8% are over 60 years old.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi