Togo added Mali to its list of free-roaming partners last week. The deal was signed on December 9 by the two countries’ telecom regulators. 

Under the free-roaming agreement,  cell phone users traveling in both countries can receive no-cost calls in the first 30 days of their stay. Furthermore, the per-minute cost of local calls and call back to home stand at CFA79 and CFA150, respectively. As for the internet, it will cost no more than CFA2.2 per Mb. 

In parallel to Togo, Mali sealed the same deal with Benin in Lomé. According to the regulators of the three countries, the agreements will come into effect by February 29, next year. 

Mali is the fourth country to enter a free-roaming partnership with Togo. The other three are Benin, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire. Burkina Faso could come next.

Esaïe Edoh

Ecobank is, again, the Bank of the Year in Togo. The lender won the title for the fourth consecutive year, at the Banker Magazine’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2023 which was hosted in London, UK, on November 30.

The lender welcomed the title as proof of its commitment to excellence, reflected through its ability to generate returns, gain strategic advantage, and serve the Togolese market.

"This award is an official recognition of the quality of our comprehensive range of products, services, and solutions. It testifies to our ability to meet the evolving needs and expectations of our customers in the Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Corporate and Investment Banking sectors in Togo," said Souleymane Touré, MD of Ecobank Togo.

Touré further noted that Ecobank Togo would "keep leveraging to offer its customers practical, affordable, and innovative solutions."

Besides Togo, Ecobank also won the title of Bank of the Year 2023 in Guinea, Benin, Liberia, and Mali. Meanwhile, Ecobank Zimbabwe won the Global Financial Inclusion Award for 2023.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese Minister for Investment Promotion, Manuella Santos, was in Vienna, Austria, last week. She met with Gerd Müller, Director General UNIDO. Together, they explored ways to reinforce the collaboration between the West African country and the UN’s organization for industrial development.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 20th session of the Organization's General Conference. During the conference, the two sides discussed setting up a new country program focusing on agro-industry, as well as the implementation of the Montreal Protocol on industrial substances harmful to the ozone layer.

Müller assured Santos that “the UNIDO will support (Togo) with quality infrastructure”.

Three months before the recent meeting, the organization’s representative in Togo had also made the same claim. This was in Lomé, in a meeting with Togo’s Prime Minister. Also, a few weeks ago, the UN agency facilitated the visit of several German companies to Togo.

The UNIDO’s mission is to promote, stimulate, and accelerate industrial development across its member states.

Togo recorded more than 7,000 new cancer cases last year. The Ministry of Health unveiled the figure on December 5, 2023, while presenting its cancer register, a tool that should help the country better manage cancer.

On the same day, the ministry launched in Lomé various awareness campaigns on the registration of cancer cases. 

"Given the burden that cancer currently represents, it deserves to have dedicated structures and tools to secure data, quality data,” said Prof. Darre Tchin, who lectures at the University of Lomé and holds a degree in anatomy and pathological cytology. "It is depending on this quality data that actions and strategies will be taken to enable our country to better handle cancer cases."

The data will be collected on a population basis and will cover the entire territory in terms of cancer occurrence.

Countering a rise in cases

"The situation calls out to us. Because in 2022 alone, there were just under 8,000 new cases for Togo. These are cases that have been documented, knowing full well that there has been an underestimate," Professor Darre continues. 

The new cancer registry also aims to provide comprehensive data.

These initiatives to raise awareness of the new registry come at a time when the number of cancer cases in the region is expected to rise in the medium term. Indeed, according to estimates by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), by 2040, Togo is expected to see an increase of over 100% in both the incidence rate of new cancer cases and cancer-related deaths.

According to 2020 data, the most common cancers in women are breast (16.3% of all cases recorded in Togo, all sexes combined) and cervical (8.7% of all cases) cancers; and in men, prostate (9.6% of all cancers recorded this year), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (5.1%) and stomach cancer.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Finance Committee of Togo’s National Assembly is reviewing the country’s finance bill for 2024. Kicked off on December 6, the review will last a few days. 

In detail, the Finance Committee is assessing the government’s financial projections to make sure they align with efforts to develop the social, environmental, political, educational, and economic sectors, for the people’s good. Furthermore, measures aimed at optimizing budgetary resource mobilization will be studied; and so will the ministries’ actions to absorb more investment loans.

As part of the examination process, deputies on the Committee may reformulate and amend some tax provisions and suggest ways to improve and consolidate public finances. 

During the proceedings, the government will be asked for clarification about the bill under review. And following its examination, deputies should vote on the budget by December 31, 2023. 

Togo’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year stands at CFA2,166.1 billion. This is 9.6% more than the CFA1,975.5 billion set in the rectifying finance bill for 2023.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo could sign the agreement to launch the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Program next year. This was disclosed by Kyeh Kim, MCC's Vice President for Operations,  in a recent meeting with Togolese Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah Dogbe. 

"Our partnership with Togo is excellent, and the team working here is on schedule. Togo is truly a model for other countries in the region. We hope to sign the Compact at the end of next year," the U.S. representative said.

Rachel Hampshire, the new head of the MCC Compact in Togo, also attended the meeting. "I'm convinced we'll succeed," said Hampshire who was officially introduced to PM Tomegah Dobge during the meeting.

Togo secured $12 million from the MCC last April to prepare for the Compact which will focus on key sectors like the energy and digital sectors in Togo.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Lomé is hosting the 24th ordinary session of the General Assembly of the UEMOA Regional Consular Chamber, a consultative body that ensures dialogue between UEMOA and the community’s major businesspeople. The meeting began on December 5 and will end on December 7. 

Some of the meeting’s goals include taking stock of the implementation of the recommendations of the last Assembly, reviewing various reports, and adopting the institution's 2024 budget. 

Also, UEMOA CCR’s chairman will assess progress made during his mandate. "As far as the three years of our mandate are concerned, several reflections and proposals have been put in place. The most emblematic is the question of SME financing, for which we have imagined financing through support from the deposit and consignment funds," declared Daouda Koulibaly, President of the UEMOA CCR.

Under his leadership, the funds allocated to the Consular Chamber increased from CFA400 million to CFA500 million, bolstering the Chamber’s impact in the region.

The ongoing meeting was opened by Rose Kaye Mivedor, Togo's Minister of Trade. On the occasion, the Togolese government representative praised the CCR-UEMOA claiming it is "a successful model which the UEMOA can be proud of" and it is "proof that the private sector is dynamic and remains the main driver of wealth creation and job promotion in our Union".

Mivedor then asked the institution to "keep striving to consolidate its achievements and…to continue working to make our national and regional businesses more resilient to rising shocks."

B2B meetings will be hosted during the ordinary session.

The 9th Pan-African Congress will take place in Lomé, Togo, from October 22 to October 25. The schedule was disclosed yesterday, December 5, in Pretoria, SA, by Togo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey.

The congress will bring together Africans from the continent, the diaspora, and Afro-descendants around the theme of the renewal of pan-Africanism and Africa's place in global governance. Ahead of the event, several preparatory meetings will be held in each of the continent's regions.

Preparations for the upcoming Congress were officially launched on May 22, 2023.

French Group Meridiam will build a 64 MWp photovoltaic solar plant in Sokodé, central Togo. The group sealed the deal with the Togolese government and EDF, on Dec. 4 in Dubai. 

Under the agreement, Meridiam will fund, design, build, and operate the plant for 25 years. 

During the #COP28, #Meridiam, the Rep. of #Togo and @EDF have recently signed a concession agreement for the design, construction, financing and operation of a 64 MWp photovoltaic solar #powerplant in #Sokodé#SolarEnergy #Sustainabilityhttps://t.co/sAG5AZXCi8 pic.twitter.com/UkmGcyBuLd

— Meridiam (@Meridiam) December 5, 2023

“We are proud to contribute through this project to Togo’s dual ambition of providing all its citizens with universal access to electricity and increasing its production of renewable energy,” declared Thierry Déau, founder of Meridiam. 

A statement from Meridiam indicates that construction should commence in mid-2024, and over 200 local jobs will be created during construction and operation.

The plant will be precisely located in Salimde (Tchaoudjo prefecture in Sokodé). This will be Togo’s second solar power plant with Blitta’s.

Meridiam develops and operates over 500 MW of solar, hydro, wind, biomass, and geothermal projects in Africa.

Esaïe Edoh