Togo First
UNICEF, Togo prepare their 2024-2026 cooperation program
A week ago, on Jan 19, Togo and UNICEF discussed their upcoming 2024-2026 cycle program. In detail, they talked about speeding up the elaboration of a new country program focused on the major issues that children face in Togo. This program will be developed based on lessons drawn from the 2019-2023 country program.
The development of this new cooperation framework will also take into account the priorities of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2026 and the Government Roadmap 2020-2025.
"Our common vision is to ensure that every child enjoys their rights and that no child is left behind. As long as children suffer deprivation and lack access to education, health, water, hygiene and sanitation facilities, protection from exploitation and abuse, and social protection, our common task will remain unfinished," said UNICEF Representative in Togo, Aissata Ba Sidibé.
The 2019-2023 cooperation program is in its final year of implementation.
Esaïe Edoh
Togolese capital to host this year’s Entente Council Summit
Lomé will host the next Entente Council summit. The organization’s executive secretary, Marcel Amon-Tanoh, confirmed the news last Friday, Jan 20, after an audience with Togo’s President, Faure Gnassingbé who happens to be the current chair of the Entente Council summit.
When they met, Amon-Tanoh presented President Gnassingbé the annual report of his activities since he was elected as executive secretary of the Entente Council.
"I gave the President of the Republic, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, current chair of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Entente Council, an update after one year of activities. We talked about the reforms, as well as the decisions that the Heads of State of the Council will have to take during the next Conference of Heads of State which will take place in Lomé," said the executive secretary, after the audience.
Established in 1959, the Entente Council has five member States, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and Niger. The first West African institution ever set up, it strives to consolidate peace and stability in member states, but also promote economic, political, and cultural integration and the well-being of their populations.
Togo to host, for a second time, the pan-African Poultry Conference, in May this year
Lomé, Togo’s capital, will host the second edition of the pan-African Poultry Conference (PPC) on May 16-18, 2023. The theme picked by the organizers–the Regional Center of Excellence on Poultry Science (CERSA) and the World Poultry Science Association (WPSA)-is “Competitiveness and inclusiveness of the poultry value chain in Africa”.
The forum will bring together over 300 stakeholders in the poultry sector from several African countries, including specialists, industrialists, trainers, and researchers. They will mainly discuss the challenges of poultry production in Africa and define strategies to make the sector more competitive.
According to the organizing committee, “this conference will allow poultry industry professionals, researchers, and governmental actors to share their knowledge and experiences to strengthen the competitiveness and inclusiveness of the poultry sector.”
Specifically, participants will address key issues such as environment and poultry production systems; feeding, nutrition, and metabolism; reproduction and incubation; product quality, processing, and health safety; and the economics of poultry production.
CERSA is a center of excellence based at the University of Lomé. The World Bank funds its poultry-related activities aimed at improving food security.
It is worth noting the first edition of the PPC was also held in Togo, in 2019.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: PM launches a project to rehabilitate the N°14 National Road
Construction and rehabilitation work on Togo’s N°14 National Road began on January 23, 2020. They were launched by the country’s PM, Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, at Birini-Doubouidè, in the Tchaoudjo prefecture (340 km north of Lomé).
The cost of the project is CFA68 billion and it is backed by UK Export Finance which provided a CFA50 billion guarantee for its execution. British firm Hitech Construction Africa Limited is in charge of the works, and African Ways/Mys Idee is in charge of monitoring them.
The road concerned spans 86 km and goes from Sokode to the border with Benin, passing through Tchamba and Kambole. Its rehabilitation will reduce travel time and transportation costs on the axis. It will also improve access to medical, administrative, and teaching facilities and markets. "This road allows our country to play its role in trade between ECOWAS countries and particularly between Benin and Togo," said Zouréhatou Kassah-Traoré, Minister of Public Works.
The launch of the works takes place three months after the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Togo and UKEF for the guarantee supporting the project.
Esaïe Edoh
Financial Inclusion: Togo leads the race in the WAEMU
Togo currently leads the financial inclusion race in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). In 2021, the country recorded a financial inclusion rate of 85.72%, 3 percentage points more than in 2020. This put Togo ahead of Benin (85.52%, 2nd) and even Ivory Coast (82.2%, 3rd) which is the WAEMU’s biggest economy.
The figures were disclosed last Wednesday, during the Togolese council of ministers, by Mazamesso Assih, minister for financial inclusion.
According to the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO), Togo also had the best extended banking rate (which integrates banking and microfinance activities) in the subregion–84.18%. This is against 80% in 2020.
The strict bancarization rate was also up, from 26.95% in 2020 to 30.09% in 2021. However, Togo came second in this area, behind Benin (34.73%), and before Ivory Coast (26.11%).
Togo’s improvements regarding financial inclusion are attributable to its “national financial inclusion strategy”, adopted in 2021. This plan aligns with efforts initiated in 2014 and led to the creation of the National Fund for Inclusive Finance (FNFI).
Since its creation, the Fund has loaned CFA106 billion in microcredits, with an overall repayment rate of nearly 94.45%, according to the minister for financial inclusion.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
WAEMU securities: Togo eyes CFA35 billion for coming issue
On 27 January 2023, Togo will carry out its second issue on the WAEMU securities market. The country will attempt to raise CFA35 billion via a simultaneous issue of fungible treasury bonds and securities.
The bonds have a nominal value of CFA10,000, maturing over 3 and 7 years. Securities for their part have a nominal value of CFA1 million, maturing over 182 days.
According to the issue’s terms and conditions, proceeds should help Togo meet its budgetary needs, in a context where the budget for 2023 stands at CFA1957 billion.
For its first issue this year, Lomé raised CFA16 billion on the WAEMU market, but its target was CFA30 billion.
In 2023, Togo plans to secure CFA574 billion from the regional money market.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Artisanal fishing output up 50% in 2022, YoY
Togo’s artisanal fishermen caught 6,687,015 kg of fish last year. Thus, 50% more than in 2021: 4,129,423 kg.
The figures were reported last Thursday, Jan 19, by the ministry of fisheries. The output consolidates the sector’s growth; in 2020, artisanal fishing produced 3,450 t of fish.
The ministry attributes the growth to the “opening of a new fishing port and fish market in Lomé, and better working conditions for fishermen and fishmongers.” The source also mentioned the arrival of new fishermen-local and foreign.
In Togo, the fishing sector employs over 20,000 people and contributes to nearly 4.5% of the GDP, according to the most recent data provided by the ministry of fisheries.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Government expects economic growth of 6.6% in 2023
Togo should record economic growth of 6.6% (real GDP) this year. The forecast was disclosed last Wednesday, by the minister of finance, Sani Yaya, during the council of ministers.
Yaya, on the occasion, presented the country’s economic situation in Q3 2022, but also the region’s and the world’s.
According to the official, the quarter was good for Togo. The national situation in the third quarter of 2022 was mainly characterized by activity growth in several economic sectors, compared to the same period in 2021, he said.
The performance, Yaya added, “aligns with estimates laid in the macroeconomic framework of October 2022, which predicted real GDP to grow at 5.8% in 2022 and 6.6% in 2022.”
At the sub-regional level (WAEMU), economic activity "remained dynamic", with a year-on-year growth rate of 5.7%.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Here are the top 10 countries where Togo’s imports came from in Q3 2022 (value-based)
Togo’s imports in Q3 2022 were valued at CFA511.17 billion, against CFA140.8 billion for exports. It thus recorded a commercial deficit of about CFA370 billion that quarter.
According to the source, the National Institute for Statistics (INSEED), Belgium was Togo’s leading goods supplier during the period concerned. The value of imports from the European country stood at CFA128.16 billion (for 176,620 tons of goods), which is 25% of the total value of goods that Togo imported in Q3 2022.
After Belgium, China was next. The value of goods imported from the Asian country was CFA68.6 billion (13.4% of the total). France followed (CFA52.5 billion, 10.3%) closing the top 3.
Then there are the Netherlands (5.5%), the United States (4.2%), India (3.7%), Kuwait (3.1%), Russia (2.4%), Malaysia (2.3%), and the United Arab Emirates (2%).
These 10 countries, together, contributed 72% of Togo’s imports in the quarter reviewed, in terms of value.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Government poured nearly CFA1.8 billion into its school canteen program last year
During the 2021-2022 academic year, the Togolese government (and its partners) spent CFA1.78 billion on its school canteen program. The Minister of Grassroots Development, Myriam Dossou-d’Almeida, said this Wednesday, during the Council of Ministers.
The monies covered 906 schools and 132,153 pupils spread across the country’s most vulnerable areas. In 2020-2021, the program covered 94,712 pupils, 39% less than last year. This year, the government expects it to cover 213,784 pupils, taking into account families in the Savanes region who were displaced because of terrorist attacks. “Over 30 schools located in the Kpendjal prefecture will join the program,” a statement from the Council of Ministers reads.
The school canteen program, the government claims, fosters social inclusion by guaranteeing access to basic necessities, which are essential for cohesion and sustainable peace. Launched in 2008, it is backed–financially and technically–by the World Bank. The program should cover 300,000 pupils by 2025.
Esaïe Edoh