Togo First
Togo Halts Trade with Niger due to Recent Coup d’Etat
Togo halted trade with Niger on August 1, 2023. The decision, taken by the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR), was formalized in a press release issued by the tax authorities. It followed economic sanctions imposed on Niamey at the extraordinary summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Abuja on July 30, 2023.
"Commercial and transit service transactions to and from Niger are suspended until further notice," stresses the statement signed by Philippe Kokou Tchodié, Commissioner General of the OTR, made public late last week.
This decision is likely to deal a blow to trade flows between the two countries. According to statistics compiled by the United Nations Organization (UNO), in 2019, Togo exported over $80 million worth of goods to Niger, which at that time was Togo's 4th largest export market.
As a reminder, the ECOWAS sanctions were imposed following the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum, who had officially taken over the reins of the country in April 2021. The aim is to force the putschists to restore the deposed leader's rights.
Esaïe Edoh
Renewables: Sarakawa Hotel Gets 500 KWp Solar Plant
A 500 KWp photovoltaic solar plant was recently set up at the Sarakawa Hotel in Togo.
The new plant spans 4,000 m2 and includes 1,224 solar panels laid on the roof of the hotel’s main building.
The facility, which cost CFA496 million, was inaugurated last Friday, August 11. Several Togolese officials, including the ministers of environment and higher education, were present.
The project was developed in partnership with Cool Solar Energy, a German company. It runs in symbiosis with the national grid and two power generators.
The new plant should save the Sarakawa Hotel a lot of money spent on power. "Currently estimated at over half a billion FCFA, these costs could be reduced to 350 million FCFA per year despite the extension of our hotel", said the hotel’s manager, Nathalie Bitho.
On the sidelines of the inauguration, the minister of environment, Foli-Bazi Katari, took the chance to laud the initiative, saying it concretely translates Togo’s commitment to tackling climate change and achieving energy transition.
Togo: General Budget Expenditures Exceeded CFA451 Billion in Q1 2023
Togo’s general budget expenditures are estimated at CFA451.53 billion for the first quarter of 2023. The estimate was disclosed by the Directorate General of Budget and Finance (DGBF) in the "Report on the Execution of the State Budget at the end of March, fiscal year 2023." The figure disclosed corresponds to 23.11% of the annual forecast of CFA1,953.48 billion.
At the same time, the realization rate for general budget revenues came out to 18.53%, or CFA362.05 billion, of the total annual forecast.
Year-on-year, expenditures for Q1 2023 rose by about 17%. In Q1 2022, they stood at CFA383.49 billion.
The rise is due to a growth in expenditures in revenue mitigation (CFA43.04 billion versus CFA24.36 billion in 2022), transfer expenses (CFA63.46 billion versus CFA54.14 billion in 2022), and investment projects (CFA75.12 billion against CFA57.28 billion the previous year).
Personnel expenses have also increased by 18%, from CFA55 billion in Q1 2022 to CFA65.42 billion in Q1 2023.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Registration for African Microfinance Week Opens
Registration for the upcoming African Microfinance Week (SAM 2023) in Togo opened on August 10, 2023.
The event is organized by the Network of African Microfinance Institutions (MAIN) and Support for Autonomous Development (ADA), in partnership with the National Inclusive Finance Fund in Togo (FNFI) and the Secretariat in charge of financial inclusion. Scheduled for October 16-20, the international meeting aims to promote and explore opportunities relative to inclusive finance. It will gather several microfinance stakeholders from Africa.
The SAM 2023 is a platform for exchange and sharing of best practices, through in-depth discussions on innovations, technologies, and strategies that focus on improving access to financial services for populations often excluded from traditional systems.
As a reminder, in Togo, the financial inclusion rate increased from 82.72% to 85.72% from 2021 to 2022, a rise of 3 percentage points. Within the WAEMU, the country leads Benin (85.52%) and Côte d'Ivoire (82.2%).
Register for the event here.
Togo: Government Teams Up with Private Sector to Set Up Anti Fraudulent Import Body
Togo should soon have an organization for monitoring fraudulent imports. In this framework, the government and private sector of the country have teamed up.
The project aims to better tackle unfair competition and ensure fair market competition. It was announced just after the last meeting of the Consultation Committee between the State and the Private Sector. Held on August 7, this meeting, the second of the year, was chaired by Sani Yaya, Minister of Economy and Finance. It brought together various officials, as well as representatives from the private sector, including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (CCI-Togo).
The monitoring framework for fraudulent imports will be coordinated by the Executive Secretary of the Consultation Committee, Moyeme Baniab, a senior banking executive.
Besides covering the framework’s establishment, participants at the meeting also assessed progress made respective to the previous meeting’s recommendations and evaluated the private sector's commitment to public procurement. It appears that significant progress has been made, especially in resolving issues related to land tariffs at the Port of Lomé and fiscal appeal bodies.
The Committee also announced an upcoming satisfaction survey of the private sector. According to Minister Sani Yaya, this survey will be conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED), and will provide feedback on the reforms undertaken, with the aim of continually improving the quality of public services.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo seeks CFA35 billion on the WAEMU market this week
Togo launched last week a simultaneous bond issue on the WAEMU market. Set to close on August 11, the operation has a target of CFA35 billion.
In detail, Lomé has issued fungible treasury bills or BATs and fungible treasury bonds or OATs. The former securities have a nominal value of CFA1 million, multiple interest rates, and mature over 364 days. The latter, the OATs, have a nominal value of CFA10,000 and interest rates of 6% and 6.25%, with respective maturities of 3 and 5 years.
According to the issue notice, Togo will use the proceeds to finance its budget for 2023. The latter stands at CFA1,957 billion.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Port of Lomé Gets Fourth Tugboat from Boluda Towage
Boluda Towage, one of the global leaders in sea towing, delivered Togo’s Autonomous Port of Lomé its fourth tugboat last week. Edem Tengue, Togolese Minister of Maritime Economy, Fishing, and Coastal Protection, announced the news on Twitter.
The new boat is intended for the outfitting, docking, and rescue of commercial ships. It should boost the towing capabilities of the Lomé container terminal (LCT), particularly for mega-ships. Also, the boat should improve the operational capacities of the port and sustain Lomé’s competitiveness against the ports of Abidjan and Tema in West Africa, as well as the port of Lekki in Nigeria, whose activity has recently developed.
According to Minister Tengue, "The official inauguration ceremony for this new tugboat is scheduled for September 2023."
The arrival of the new tugboat was agreed upon last May between Antonio Bordils Montero, CEO of the multinational BOLUDA, and Edem Tengue, during a meeting.
Esaïe Edoh
Greater Lomé: Money Transfers to Poor Households Starts
Under the additional phase of the Basic Social Safety Nets program, monetary transfers to disadvantaged households started July 31 in Lomé. The project covers 26,250 vulnerable households from 35 neighborhoods in the munipalities of Agoè-Nyivé 1, 4 and 6, Golfe 1, 4, 6.
The launching ceremony, held on July 31 as well, was attended by representatives of the beneficiaries of the ANADEB (National Agency for Support to Development at the Base) which is the government’s operational arm on the project. Also in attendance was the Minister of Grassroots Development, Myriam Dossou-d'Almeida.
"This new phase places particular emphasis on the socio-economic resilience of the 15,000 poorest households. These households naturally benefit from specific support for the development of AGRs, to permanently escape from poverty beyond the project," the official said.
A 61% completion rate
"Out of 125,000 households targeted nationally by the additional financing of the FSB project, 75,988 have already received their first payment of 15,000 FCFA. We are in the proportion of 61% coverage of the national target," said Katanga Mazalo, head of ANADEB. "As for economic inclusion measures, 8,025 households have benefited from monetary transfers out of a forecast of 15,000, to promote their access to economic inclusion opportunities," he added.
The additional phase of the basic social safety nets project is jointly supported by the State, the World Bank, and the French Development Agency, AFD. The former provided 10 billion CFA and the latter 6.5 billion CFA. Meanwhile, the Togolese State itself disbursed 1.5 billion CFA for the initiative.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
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