Togo closed today, June 24, its latest issue on the UMOA securities market. It secured CFA25 billion by issuing recovery bonds with maturities of 3 and 7 years and a nominal value of  CFA10,000.

According to a report released by the UMOA securities agency, 32 investors from the sub-region participated in the operation. They raised CFA81 billion which translates into a coverage rate of 325.59%.

Counting this issue, Togo has mobilized CFA313 billion on the regional money market so far this year. It is thus closer to its annual target of CFA550 billion.

Esaïe Edoh 

About a year ago, Togocel lost a dispute with the telecom regulator, ARCEP. At the time, the operator was fined CFA1 billion for inter-network tariff differentiation practices. Now, it could be sanctioned again. 

Yesterday, June 23, the regulator summoned a delegation from Togocel. The latter was led by the company’s CEO, Paulin Alazard.

The accusation

This time, the ARCEP blames Axian’s subsidiary for the recurrent interruption, disruption, or cut-off of its services, which goes against its commitment to making them available, permanently and continuously. This is despite an 18-month moratorium that the operator was given to meet the ARCEP’s standards.

In response, Togocel blamed external causes for the issues reported by the regulator.

Robust arguments or…

Among others, the operator pointed out the cutting of optical fiber due to road works, theft and vandalism, and logistics and supply issues induced by the pandemic and the current global context. It also mentioned transmission issues due to power shortages.

Alazard and his team thus asked for another extension of six months to complete major works and launch more investments to tackle the problem that Togocel is being singled out for. They asked the ARCEP to be understanding and supportive.

A hard no

The ARCEP’s Managing Director, Yaovi Galley, said Togocel’s excuses were not solid enough and “requested” a sanction against the mobile operator, in line with the regulation in place and for the good of consumers. The final decision is to be taken by the ARCEP’s board and it should be issued soon.

The unavailability of Togocel services, in the northern region especially, has drawn many reactions in the area which has been the target of terrorists for some time. For example, on May 10, the extremists attacked Kpekpakandi, killing eight soldiers and leaving many injured.

Séna Akoda

Togolese authorities met with some hotel managers last Monday. The meeting, which took place in Lomé, focused on providing the managers with tools that help mitigate the jihadist threat in the country, as the authorities believe the terrorists may use hotels as hiding places.

Specifically, the operators were given instructions on what to do when passengers arrive and how to manage the police notebook, which allows the hotel to collect essential and important information on passengers and copies of their identity documents.

In this regard, Yark Damehane, the Togolese minister of security and civil protection, stressed the importance of detecting “ill-intended individuals who hide in hotels.” He added that “negligence or carelessness of hotels can create unfortunate situations for the country”.

With the cooperation of hotels, the Togolese government hopes to avoid scenarios such as those that happened in Mali and Burkina-Faso where terrorists used respectively the Radisson Hotel in Bamako and Splendide in Ouagadougou to perpetrate their attacks in November 2015 and January 2016.

Esaïe Edoh

In Togo, the District Autonome du Grand Lomé (DAGL) will pump CFA35 million into several projects aimed at protecting and preserving the environment in the capital, Lomé. The funds will be allocated as part of the 2nd edition of the call for projects for Togolese sports federations and associations operating in the Grand Lomé region. The tender, launched by the DAGL on June 21, will expire on July 22, 2022. 

The DAGL will preferably pick sports-promotion projects that involve women and girls. These projects should also sensitize people on waste management, in particular, and environmental protection, in general.

Each winning bidder will get between CFA2.5 million and CFA5 million, depending on the impact of the proposed initiative. 

The new tender, it should be emphasized, falls under the third phase of the Lomé Urban Environment Project (PEUL 3), under its fourth component, "Sports and Development", to be precise. The project is funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese parliament adopted last Thursday two bills that redefine the attributes of the National Agency for Cybersecurity.

Concretely, the first bill covers updated texts that clarify the attributes of the Agency and redefine its strategic directions in cybersecurity in relation to the powers of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP), regarding the accreditation of trust service providers.

Details were also provided on the role of liaison and collaboration of the ANCy with foreign partners at the regional level.

The second bill "concerns the amendment of the law on biometric identification of individuals in Togo. It aims, like the first bill, to make digital technology a vector of growth and productivity for both the public and private sectors," according to the national assembly. 

Cina Lawson, the minister of the digital economy, believes that this bill will help the State face security challenges and better fight cybercrime.

In 2018, Togo took legislative measures aligning with its efforts to fight cybercrime. These were reinforced by the “2025 Digital Togo Strategy.”

Esaïe Edoh

President Gnassingbé is in Doha for the second Annual Economic Forum of Qatar. According to the Togolese presidency, he will be there from June 20 to 22. 

The leader and his peers will discuss issues like African economies’ recovery, investments, supply chain resilience, inflation and ways to tackle it, the energy transition, and digital economy. Togo will share its experience relative to economic resilience on this occasion.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Togolese leader and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will meet and talk about the cooperation between their two countries.

The Qatar Economic Forum brings together several heads of state and government and investors to discuss strategies to address the most pressing challenges facing economies and ensure the equal resumption of post-Covid-19 growth. 

Esaïe Edoh

In Togo, the Hospital Management Company (SOGEHP), in charge of the operation of the Dogta-Lafiè hospital (formerly called Saint-Pérégrin) launched on Friday 17 June, a capital opening and fundraising operation. 

The capital opening aims to diversify 49.975% of the operator’s shareholding, raising CFA25.01 billion in the process. However, the SOGEHP will remain the main shareholder in the project which is steered by Togo’s National Social Security Fund, CNSS. 

Target: CFA15 billion in private placements    

Concretely, 10,000 shares, at a unit cost of CFA1.5 million, will be sold, thus making a total of CFA15 billion. This will add to CFA10 billion contributed by the CNS and the SOGEHP’s share capital of CFA10 million. 

"It is a private placement that has been recommended for this operation and there is a minimum subscription of 50 shares that have been defined, which would make a minimum of 75 million FCFA per investor," the SOGEHP said, adding that "any individual or legal entity can subscribe, regardless of their place of residence.”

"Strengthen the contribution of the private sector"

For Gilbert Bawara, Minister of Labor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CNSS, the operation is an opportunity "to strengthen the contribution of the private sector not only to the economic dynamism" of the country but also "to position Lomé as a destination of choice in medical tourism." 

"Participatory governance and the quest for greater efficiency call for win-win cooperation. By joining this participatory financing, [economic operators will contribute to] ensuring the equipment of the hospital with an ultra-modern technical platform and to provide it with highly qualified medical staff," said Gilbert Bawara.

Improving the supply of health services and reducing medical evacuations

The Togolese government believes that once the project is operational, it will “serve a large part of the population, and, attract more people who were not used to going to the hospital, due to its low costs and health care quality”. 

Nearly 600 employees are expected at the new complex, according to CNSS Director General Ingrid Awade. These will include specialists from the Togolese armed forces. 

As a reminder, the hospital will be specialized in the fields of Medicine, Surgery, and Obstetrics (MCO). 

Octave A. Bruce