Togo First
The Commonwealth has a lot to offer Togo (Robert Dussey)
Joining the Commonwealth is interesting for Togo on three levels: commercial, diplomatic, and political. That is what the country’s minister of foreign affairs claimed in a recent interview.
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"On the commercial level first, given the Commonwealth’s two billion inhabitants, Togo gains in terms of business, and export of its products," Dussey said.
The country will, however, need to expand beyond its traditional Francophone sphere.
"We have a greater openness, we are no longer restricted only to the Francophone world, but while being in the Francophone area, we benefit by having more economic partners in the Commonwealth."
Diplomacy
Regarding diplomacy, one of the expected benefits of this membership is the expansion of Togo's sphere of influence, especially in the English-speaking world where it is less known: "In a diplomatic framework, Togo's influence in West Africa, at the level of ECOWAS, and especially in the resolution of Sahel issues, allows Togo to have more influence in this region where it wasn’t known.”
Togo will also strengthen its relationship with the UK, in a context where the latter has left the European Union and needs stronger diplomatic channels.
"Today, Britain is no longer a member of the European Union, with which Togo has a very strong partnership. It should develop a special relationship with Britain," he said. "So, Togo, as a member of the Commonwealth, will bolster this political, economic, and commercial partnership with Great Britain, an important actor in Europe.”
At the language level, joining the Commonwealth will help Togo better master English, a language considered the language of business and science.
For Robert Dussey, "Togo can gain so much considering the capacity of the Commonwealth; this membership is a great satisfaction for the government. And the government is now working to ensure that the Togolese people are impacted by this membership.”
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Gozem gets electric bikes
Gozem is adding electric motorcycles to its fleet in Togo. Raphaël Dana, the co-founder of the startup, disclosed this on his LinkedIn profile.
The project, currently in its pilot phase, should extend to the other markets where the firm operates.
Let’s note that not long ago, Gozem teamed up with IFC to provide financial support to 6,000 of its bike drivers. It also recently partnered with TotalEnergies to allow its Champions to pay digitally at the former’s gas station.
The recent developments also occur in a context where the government has introduced some tax incentives to facilitate the import and sale of electric vehicles in Togo.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Two trucks were seized in Sokode for illegal food export
On the night of July 7 to 8, two trucks were seized in Sokodé as they were exporting food from the country, without the necessary authorization.
The trucks carried 25 tons of food: 251 100kg-bags of gari and tapioca. The goods will be sent to the ministry of local consumption for further procedures,” said Fioklou-Toulan Erick, Regional Manager of the Central Customs
This seizure, the third this year, takes place a few months after a ministerial decree forbade the export of consumer products without authorization from the ministry of trade.
Esaïe Edoh
Decentralization: This is how Togo’s communities financed themselves since 2019
In 2019, Togo fully started its decentralization, holding municipal polls for the first time. In this article, Togo First looks at how the country’s territorial communities financed themselves and how they spent their budget since that year.
At the dawn of the decentralization era in Togo, in 2019, a record was set by the nation’s territorial communities. They mobilized CFA21.4 billion in their resources, mainly from taxes, duties, and other fees instituted by or for local authorities. In detail, these included part of all of the patent, registration and stamp duties, housing tax, land tax, single professional tax (TPU), tax on gambling, quarrying and mining royalties, tax of fuel sold at the pump (in gas stations), tax on public road congestion, tax on advertising, etc.
In 2020 and 2021, territorial communities mobilized less own resources: about CFA14.3 billion and CFA16.4 billion respectively. They were pulled down by the pandemic but later grew as Covid restrictions started being lifted in the second half of 2021.
The FACT, a key contributor
It should be noted that Togo’s new territorial communities financed most of their first budget on their own (via the tax regulatory authority or OTR). It wasn’t until 2020 that they received “substantial” support from the government, through the Territorial Communities Support Fund (FACT).
That year, the FACT provided territorial communities with more than CFA2.6 billion; this breaks down into CFA2 billion for investment credit and CFA634.6 million for operational expenses. In 2021, the Fund tripled its financial support to the communities, with a package of CFA6.25 billion. Over the period, funds provided to cover operational expenses surged by 97%, from CFA634.6 million to CFA1.2 billion.
According to the government, the money helped communities clear compulsory expenses such as arrears, compensation of municipal councilors, and rents.
Regarding investment spending, the FACT raised the bar from CFA2 billion in 2020 to CFA5 billion in 2021. It went even farther this year, providing CFA6.2 billion to communities for the past semester. The figure was disclosed last Friday, by the minister of decentralization, Payadowa Boukpessi.
While the FACT is far ahead of financial and technical partners (FTPs) when it comes to financing local communities’ budgets (ed. Note: the latter spent CFA460 million over the three years reviewed), the FTPs’ off-budget contribution is significant. Germany, for example, deployed a massive program to support decentralization and local governance (ProDeGoL).
How were the mobilized resources used?
Over the past three years, the new communities used most of the funds they secured to acquire goods and services, reinforce their staff, and partly on investments.
In 2021, for example, 75% or CFA18.8 billion of their total spending (CFA23.9 billion) went to operational expenses. Out of this amount, 10.8 billion was used to purchase goods and services, and 6.5 billion covered staff expenses. Meanwhile, salary and related expenses soared by more than 70% since 2019.
In terms of investments, the communities spent 4.8 billion in 2019, 2.9 billion in 2020, and 5 billion last year.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: 7,195 new businesses registered in H1 2022
From January to June 2022, 7,195 new businesses were registered at Togo’s Center for Business Formalities (CFE). That is 1.5% lower than the number recorded over the same period in 2021.
Out of the 7,195 businesses created last semester, 6,092 were registered by Togolese and the rest by foreigners. The man-to-woman ratio is 59% (4,288) to 41% (2,907), with men leading. Also, natural persons declared 4,379 of the new businesses and legal entities declared 2,816.
Togo, it should be emphasized, is currently recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact. With this in mind, the government encourages entrepreneurs to launch businesses, especially businesses involved in local product processing.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Measurement tools at gas stations inspected by the ministry of trade
Last week, the ministry of trade, in collaboration with the directorate of metrology, conducted an unannounced visit to check if gas pumps in service stations meet commercial measurement standards. The operation was carried out in the greater Lomé area.
Agents of the directorate of metrology were the ones who carried out the operation. They used reference materials to ensure that measuring instruments used in the gas stations are “compliant and reliable.”
"These controls are done from a purchase of 5, 10 to 20 liters of fuel and aim to regulate the level of quality and the true value of the measures of the petroleum product concerned and especially to reassure consumers," said Piya-Abalo Bataba Bebei, head of the metrology division at the ministry of trade.
"If pump operators do not comply with these guidelines, penalties include fines of up to 10 million CFA francs or even imprisonment," he added.
The controls are set to continue across the country.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: PIA presents a new app to trace organic products
The Industrial Platform of Adétikopé (PIA) announced an app that traces organic products.
“The application will provide Togolese farmers with details regarding all cultivation steps, as well as on the location of plantations using integrated geolocation functionalities,” the PIA said in a note published at the beginning of the week.
With this tool, farmers will quickly be informed about, and deal with infected crops. They will be able to take pictures of these crops and share them on the app. Subsequently, a support team will analyze the data and provide recommendations.
“The farmers, therefore, benefit from real-time support that allows them to mitigate potential losses,” the PIA said. The app will “help farmers in their sales decision, reduce production costs, and get weather forecasts, etc, by giving them key information in real-time,” the organization added while presenting the new digital tool.
IDA20: Togo among African countries to get $65 billion from the World Bank
Over the next three years, Africa will get $65 billion from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s arm that helps the world’s poorest countries. This amount represents 70% of the $93 billion support package that IDA committed under its IDA20 replenishment program.
In Africa, 39 countries, including Togo, will be covered by the program which extends to June 30, 2025. The $65 billion, a record, will help beneficiaries recover from the pandemic which has brought about major challenges.
The Dakar Heads of State Summit
The financing was disclosed on July 7, 2022, during the Dakar Heads of State Summit where African leaders convened. Togo was represented by its minister of finance, Sani Yaya.
On that day, Macky Sall, on behalf of the African Union (AU) which he chairs, said the IDA’s package should be used to tackle key issues like job creation, wealth-generation activities, the overhaul of education, reinforcing crisis-response capacities, and accelerating access to energy and supply of quality seeds and fertilizers.
The World Bank, for its part, noted that the IDA20 will aim at “a robust and resilient recovery of Africa,” with a focus on five important areas: economic transformation, agriculture, husbandry, and food security, human capital, digital and technological innovation, and energy transition.
Good times for Togo
The record package is announced in a context where Togo has improved its rating on the IDA resource allocation index, through several reforms introduced in the past four years.
Read also: Public Policies: Togo sustains its performances in the World Bank’s latest CPIA rankings
To date, the World Bank’s portfolio in Togo weighs more than $917 million. That is four times more than it did in 2018: around $236 million.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
LCT to spend €50 million on the expansion of its terminal at the port of Lomé
Lomé Container Terminal (LCT) will expand its terminal with €50 million (CFA32.79 billion). Besides the expansion, part of the money will serve to buy equipment, including cranes and trucks.
Expansion works at the terminal started last Friday, July 8, in the presence of Edem Tengue, minister of maritime economy. They will yield a storage space spanning five or six hectares.
Thus, the terminal will house more containers, in a context where authorities expect container traffic at the port to increase.
The investment will also“allow to purchase handling equipment, create direct and indirect jobs for Togolese citizens,” the minister said.
LCT, let’s recall, is a consortium regrouping MSC and China Merchant Holding.
Last year, MSC announced a €30 million investment program aimed at boosting LCT’s annual capacity to 2.7 million TEU, from 2.2 million TEU at the time of the announcement. The Italian-Swiss shipowner should increase its position at the port of Lomé, through the acquisition of Bolloré’s logistics assets.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Seven killed in a deadly explosion in the Savanes region
Seven people were killed by a deadly blast in northern Togo last Saturday night. The incident, according to the country’s armed forces, happened in the Tone prefecture (Savanes region).
An investigation was started to identify the cause of the explosion, shortly after members of the Koundjouaré unit were deployed to rescue the injured.
"An investigation has been opened to clarify the circumstances of this explosion and identify those responsible," said Brigadier General Maganawe Dadja, Chief of Staff of the Togolese Armed Forces (FAT), on Sunday 10 July. "In these circumstances of great pain and emotion, the Chief of Staff presents his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured," he added.
It should be recalled that the part of the country where the tragedy happened has been facing terrorist attacks in recent months. The latest attack took place in Kpekpakandi, near the border with Burkina Faso, on the night of May 10 to 11. Eight soldiers were killed in that attack.
In this context, the government warned the people of the area against “unnecessary movements at night,” in line with the state of emergency it declared.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi