Togo First
Togo Holds Meeting to Assess National Rice Development Strategy
Togo’s Updated 2020 National Rice Development Strategy (SNDR 2) was reviewed last week in Lomé. The reviewing meeting took stock of projects falling under the strategy and their implementation level.
On the occasion, key stakeholders of the rice sector highlighted how the ministry of agriculture supported farmers, by providing inputs and technical advice. This support, the stakeholders stressed, helped boost production by 3.8% in 2021-2022.
According to the Ministry of agriculture, paddy rice production stood at 171.8 thousand tonnes in 2022, compared with 165.5 thousand tonnes in 2021. The same source added that Togo’s output is mostly driven by lowland rice (55%) and rainfed rice (34%).
With the SNDR, Togo eyes an output of 1,115,087 tonnes by 2030, up from 145,489 tonnes in 2019. The targeted volume is more than enough to meet the country’s demand and achieve food security, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
To achieve its goal, Lomé will improve rice productivity and quality throughout the value chain, reorganize the sector's structure, and bolster governance.
Updated in 2020, the rice development strategy requires financing of CFA87 billion. It was backed by the Coalition for Rice Development in Africa (CARD) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), requires financing of 87 billion FCFA.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Palais des Congrès Closed for Renovation
Lomé’s Palais des Congrès is closed for renovation. The works began this week, according to a press release from the Ministry of Public Works.
"Due to renovation work, access to the said palace is temporarily closed from Monday, June 17, 2024, until the completion of the work planned for this purpose," the release indicates. "The Minister of Public Works is counting on the good understanding of users and apologizes for any inconvenience," it added.
Built in 1972, the Palais des Congrès de Lomé has long served as the headquarters of the National Assembly and is an emblematic space in the Togolese capital.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo Hosts New Bristish Investors Mission
A group of British investors is currently in Togo. They came as part a UK-Togo Trade and Investment Mission. The latter aligns with Togo’s ambition to secure more foreign financing for top priority projects. The mission, scheduled from June 18 to 19, is initiated by the DMA Invest investment fund and is a follow-up to the Franco-British Trade and Investment Forum (WCAF) in West and Central Africa.
The British investors came to learn more about Togo's economic prospects and the most promising sectors for investment. The rendezvous will feature economic information sessions, sector roundtables, and site visits are planned to facilitate this.
In February 2023, a first mission of British investors was in Togo. They had met with local economic players and Togolese government authorities. The ongoing mission aims to consolidate connections established then and bolster the UK-Togo relationship.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Over $150 Million Invested in PIA since Launch
Over €150 million (nearly CFA100 billion) were invested Togo's Plateforme Industrielle d'Adétikopé (PIA) has attracted over 150 million in investments since opening in 2021. The Ministry of Economy and Finance disclosed the figure in its quarterly review of the Togolese economy.
Beyond the investments, the PIA has generated €8.8 million (5.7 billion CFA francs) in various taxes between 2021 and 2023.
This year, the platform has welcomed 15 new clients. This should increase its revenue potential to €560 million for the 2024-2025 period.
Some firms that recently joined the platform include Dongaco, which produces Coca-Cola beverages, and the Société de Dragage des Transports et de Prestation des Services (SDTPS).
Since its inception, the PIA has helped create nearly 6,000 jobs through around 30 industrial companies already active on the site. As for the farmers associated with the PIA, their incomes have reportedly increased by 20%, stimulating the local economy.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo and Sao Tome and Principe Abolish Visa Requirements
Citizens of Sao Tome and Principe and Togo no longer need visas to visit each other. The two countries sealed a deal to this end on June 18, in Lomé.
The deal, according to Togo’s ministry of foreign affairs, covers all passport holders. "Through the agreement signed today, holders of all types of passports will be able to travel reciprocally in both countries, visa-free for stays not exceeding ninety (90) days," the ministry said.
According to both countries’ ministers of foreign affairs, the agreement should boost cooperation, trade and tourism between Togo and Sao Tomé.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Telecom Watchdog Calls Users to Participate in Service Satisfaction Survey
In Togo, telecom users have until Sunday, June 23, to participate in the ongoing Customer Satisfaction Survey of the ARCEP, the country’s telecom watchdog.
Launched on June 3, the survey aims tp assess the quality of services provided by fixed, mobile, and postal operators, as well as by ARCEP itself. The main objective is to “measure the overall satisfaction of consumers, users, and customers of the electronic communications and postal sector”.
To take part in the survey, click here.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
WAEMU Securities: Togolese Treasury Seeks Another CFA30 Billion in Coming Operation
Lomé will launch its next operation on the WAEMU stock market on June 24. The Treasury will seek CFA30 billion, through a simultaneous issue of fungible bonds (OATs) and fungible bills (BATs).
In detail, Lomé expects to secure CFA10 billion via the BATs and CFA20 billion via the OATs. The former mature over 364 days, have a par value of CFA1 million, and multiple interest rates. The latter have a par value of CFA10,000, and maturities of 3 and 5 years, with respective interest rates of 6.15% and 6.40%.
Proceeds will plug Togo's 2024 budget, which stands at CFA2,179 billion–income and expenses.
So far this year, Togo has raised CFA430 billion on the WAEMU market, i.e. around 71% of its annual target of CFA607 billion.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo Shifts Focus to Concessional Credits to Reduce Debt Costs
In a bid to cut debt costs, Togo's public administration is rethinking its external debt and capital mobilization strategy, looking to concessional loans. This is outlined in the country's new Medium-Term Debt Strategy (SDMT) 2024-2026.
The strategy aims to reduce the exposure of public debt to refinancing risks by extending the average maturity of outstanding public debt and making greater use of concessional debt to control debt servicing.
"The idea is really to no longer be subject to complex or very expensive financing, particularly market financing," explained Stéphane Akaya, Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The goal here is for Togo “to position itself to take advantage of concessional resources”, particularly from multilateral partners and development players such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
World Bank, IMF, AfDB…
To date, Togo has concluded or is in the process of concluding several operations with multilateral partners for concessional financing exceeding $1.5 billion.
According to Stéphane Akaya, the country has signed a $612 million facility agreement with the World Bank under the New Partnership Framework and is set to receive nearly $400 million in financing from the IMF over the next 42 months. Additionally, Togo is on track to seal a $200 million deal with the AfDB and eyes at least $400 million from the MCC for energy and ICT development projects. Meanwhile, the German cooperation has a portfolio of nearly $100 million in the West African country.
Achieving parity by 2026
One of the country's other objectives is to rebalance its debt portfolio towards more external debt, to achieve parity between domestic and foreign debt by 2026.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Customs Revenues Up by Almost 21% in Q1 2024, YoY
Togo's customs revenue has seen a significant increase in the first three months of 2024, with the Commissariat des Douanes et Droits Indirects collecting 99.3 billion FCFA, a 21.10% increase from the 82 billion FCFA collected during the same period in 2023.
Customs duties reached FCFA 35.4 billion, a 20.41% increase from the previous year, while VAT on imported goods rose significantly to FCFA 43.7 billion, a 105.16% increase from the first quarter of 2023.
These increases come against a backdrop where the port of Lomé and the Togolese corridor have established themselves as a bypass route for goods destined for Niger, following the closure of the borders between Benin and Niger. The lifting of sanctions in February and the decision of the Niger authorities to keep the border closed with Benin have benefited Togo, which has stepped up its initiatives to facilitate trade.
Although Q1 2024’s results are too premature to demonstrate the new dynamics, the effects should be more visible by the end of the semester or mid-Q3.
Togo seeks CFA434 billion in customs revenues in 2024. Last year, it targeted CFA334 billion but raised CFA389 billion.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Millenium Challenge Account: OMCA-Togo Prepares for Closure of ICT and Land Reform Projects
Togo's Millennium Challenge Account Implementing Agency (OMCA-Togo) is preparing for the closure of the ICT and Land Reform Projects (LRAP), currently being deployed as part of the Threshold program. OMCA-Togo's Administrative and Financial Department organized a workshop to launch the program's closing process on Monday, June 11.
The workshop gathered heads of entities responsible for implementing the Threshold program from the Ministry of the Digital Economy and Digital Transformation and partner agencies and authorities in the ICT project. For the LRAP project, representatives from the Ministries of Urban Planning and Land Reform, Territorial Administration, Economy and Finance, Agriculture, and Rural Development were also present at OMCA-Togo.
The workshop aimed to present to the players involved in the program the broad outlines of their roles and responsibilities in drawing up the Program Closure Plan (PCP) and its implementation during and after the end of the Threshold program. This document aims to guarantee a smooth transition, maximize the program's impact, and ensure the sustainability of the results obtained.
Over the following six months, concerned parties will collaborate to validate the document which the MCC and the OMCA-Togo Board of Directors will approve.
The Threshold program has a budget of 20 billion FCFA ($35 million). At the end of September 2023, the ICT project was 71% complete, and the Land Reforms for Increased Agricultural Productivity (LRAP) project was 100% complete, with an overall financial execution rate of 21%, which has since improved.