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

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

Faure Gnassingbé, the President of Togo, met with Cindy H. McCain, the new executive director of the World Food Program (WFP) last Thursday, July 20th. Together, they reviewed the partnership between the UN agency and the West African country, especially regarding agricultural entrepreneurship.

"Togo is a major partner, and we want to prioritize this relationship, especially relative to the strengthening of the Togolese people’s resilience and integrating young people into agriculture. I thank the Head of State for this partnership between the World Food Program and Togo. It's very important to see a country that really cares about its population," McCain said.

The WFP currently supports Togo’s Country Strategic Plan 2022-2026, by helping reinforce emergency response capacities, providing food aid, and supporting the resilience efforts of vulnerable communities.

Some of the projects the UN Agency carried out this year include an emergency food assistance operation, launched on February 20, for vulnerable communities that live in the Savanes and Kara regions, a project to bolster food systems for sustainable access of small producers to agricultural inputs (Pro-SADI), and a EU-funded school feeding project for public primary schools in the country.

The financing agreement for these two priority projects were  signed on April 21, 2023, in Kara at the closing of the first edition of the National Forum of Agricultural Producers (FoPAT).

Togolese Minister of Maritime Economy, Edem Kokou Tengue, talked with Commonwealth officials at Marlborough House, in London, on July 19, 2023. They covered the opportunities and benefits that the Commonwealth's Blue Charter presents for Togo. This was on the sidelines of the 129th session of the General Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

Tengue, on the occasion, highlighted Togo’s maritime assets and advocated for its integration into the unique platform of the Commonwealth Blue Charter. This platform provides facilities for the exploration and exploitation of marine resources while promoting environmental sustainability and international cooperation.

In this framework, the Togolese minister and his hosts discussed potential areas of cooperation, such as ways to sustainably manage fisheries, protect marine biodiversity, develop the blue economy, and take innovative steps to fight sea pollution.

In Togo, 70% of economic activities are linked to the seafront, and the country gets over 75% of its tax revenues from it, according to the Ministry of Maritime Economy. Indeed, for several years now, the Togolese government has doubled down its efforts to better regulate maritime activity and make Lomé’s port a hub in the sub-region.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo’s insurance sector recorded a turnover of CFA87 billion in 2022. This is 34% more than the figure recorded in 2017, according to the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. Out of the CFA87 billion generated last year, motor insurance generated CFA13 billion or 14.9%.

The information was disclosed on July 19 by Akou Mawussé Afidenyigba, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Economy and Finance while giving the opening speech at the General Assembly of Motor Insurance. The Assembly was held in Lomé, over three days, and it gathered insurance sector experts who discussed issues the sector must overcome to better help people and grow.

Afidenyigba, on the occasion, noted that "various actions are being taken to provide material for insurance companies to allow the sector to fully play its role for the benefit of our populations."

The President of the Insurance Committee of Togo, Simon Pierre Gouem, spoke about the challenges related to the holding of the assembly. "There have been difficulties, notably in terms of pricing and compensation, due to a lack of information and delays in decisive settlements. That's why we wanted to bring all the stakeholders together so that we can exchange ideas and make motor insurance even more beneficial," he said.

Some of the major topics explored during the meeting included issues and prospects for compensation, particularly for claims, digitalization, and its potential to facilitate the marketing of this insurance, among others.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo needs CFA1.715 billion to develop its mango industry over the next five years, ending in 2028. The 2024-2028 Action investment plan for the mango sector was recently validated by the Ministry of agriculture. This was done in collaboration with the Interprofessional Council of the sector.  

The Togolese State should provide 25% of the investment, or CFA438.6 million and CFA840.9 million or 49% should come from the private sector. Technical and financial partners should provide the last CFA435.75 million. 

The investment strategy has four main goals: boosting the quality and production of mangoes, doing the same with and valorizing derived products, creating an environment that is conducive to the sector’s development, and improving governance by organizing actors better. 

In the long term, the five-year plan aims to dedicate 500 hectares of land to mango farming, in the Zones d'Aménagement Agricole Planifiées (ZAAP).  Two additional ZAAPs, specifically dedicated to mango and covering 100 hectares each, are also planned to boost the production and marketing of this delicious fruit.

Togo produced about 50,500 tons of mangoes in 2022, according to official data. And 718 producers were officially registered.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Last Wednesday, July 19, Togo validated its 2024-2030 food security plan. The document was greenlit in Lomé, the capital. 

The strategy focuses on key aspects of the structural transformation of Togo’s food systemens. It will help the country fight food insecurity, in a context where this issue could be agravated by current global crises in coming years, according to experts. The latter, however, reported that food security was stable globally between 2021 and 2022. 

"The number of undernourished people according to projections indicates that the world is far from being on track to achieve zero hunger by 2030," recently declared Fatoumata Binta Tidiane Diallo, Acting Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Togo. At the same time, she also reiterated the commitment of all UN system agencies to fully support the Togolese government's efforts to transform food systems.

Through the 2024-2030 food security plan, Togo wants to eradicate hunger, consolidate food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will present the seven-year plan to technical and financial partners at the UN Food Systems Summit scheduled for July 24-26 in Rome, Italy.

Esaïe Edoh