Togo First
The infection rate of AIDS fell by more than 50% in Togo in the past five years
Between 2017 and 2021, the rate of HIV/AIDS infection fell by over 50% in Togo. This was disclosed on June 29, 2022, by the National Council for the Fight against AIDS, (CNLS) at a review meeting held in Lome.
Specifically, the prevalence rate in 2018 which was 2.2% has dropped to 1.9% in 2021. The decrease in new infections and HIV-related deaths, according to the National Coordinator of the CNLS, Vincent Pitché, is attributable to various initiatives taken by the country's authorities. "The figures show that preventive actions have prevented new infections among young people," he said while stressing that there is room for improvement.
Togo's goal is to eradicate AIDS as a public health problem by 2030.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo launches e-visa
Togo is launching its electronic visa (e-Visa), a new version of its national travel platform (https://voyage.gouv.tg).
"From now on, anyone wishing to enter or leave Togo must first visit https://voyage.gouv.tg," wrote in a joint note, Ministers Yark Damehame, and Cina Lawson, respectively in charge of security and digital transformation.
The website enables people to fill out their immigration form (mandatory for all entry and exit of the territory), apply for a visa for nationals of a country for which entry into Togo requires a visa, and declare their vaccination status and/or register to take a PCR COVID-19 test, for those who have not been vaccinated.
The platform was initially launched almost 2 years ago, on August 03, 2020. Its new version, which has just been deployed, integrates all immigration formalities that a traveler entering or leaving the territory must complete, including visa application and health information.
The portal (https://voyage.gouv.tg) provides several features such as a "Visa Wizard", which allows incoming travelers to know if they need a visa to travel to Togo. It also offers the traveler the possibility to create an individual account with a password; on this account, personal information such as names, contact details, passport numbers, etc., can be saved to avoid having to fill this information again for each trip.
It should be noted that the platform and the accompanying devices currently in place at air borders will be gradually extended to land and sea borders during this year 2022, according to public authorities.
These updates come a few months after the government announced (in February 2022) its intention to digitalize the process of applying for and issuing visas and residence permits for foreigners.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo-China: Sandra Johnson and Wu Peng assess the state of the cooperation between their respective countries
Sandra Ablamba Johnson, Minister and Secretary-General of the Togolese Presidency, met with Wu Peng, Secretary-General of the Chinese Committee in charge of Monitoring the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), last Wednesday. On the occasion, the two officials talked about the implementation of several China-backed projects in Togo, among others.
These projects, which are in their preparation phase, are in the following areas: water, agriculture, and supporting investment.
Johnson and Peng also discussed the issue of security in West Africa. In this regard, the Chinese official relayed Beijing's commitment to helping Togo fight terrorism.
To bolster bilateral cooperation, the two countries committed to boosting their interaction, coordination, and mutual support to preserve their common interests. Similarly, they mentioned a joint celebration of the 50th anniversary of their cooperation.
Cooperation between China and Togo began in 1972. Since then, many projects have been carried out in the West African country, with the technical and financial support of the Asian giant. Some of these projects include the construction of a new Presidential Palace, Kegué’s stadium in Loé, the Palais des Congrès of Kara, the new headquarters of the National Assembly, and the road bypass of Lomé.
Trade between the two partners recently grew to nearly $3 million, according to Wu Peng, who is also the director-general of African Affairs at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Esaïe Edoh
Threshold Program: Land reform for agricultural productivity gets $8 mln in funding
The Land Reform for Agricultural Productivity (LRAP) project that falls under the Threshold program will receive $8 million in financing from the MCC. This was disclosed on June 29 by OMCA-Togo, the agency in charge of implementing the program.
Besides this, the source announced that it has recruited a dutch firm to provide technical support to Togo for the project: VNG International.
According to available details, the LRAP should be launched on August 1, 2022. This project is one of the two components of the Threshold program. The latter is financed to the tune of 20 billion CFA francs by the U.S. Department of State in Togo via the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The second component is the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) project, which aims to improve digital access.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
UK Export Finance wants to support Togo in the agriculture and energy sectors
The United Kingdom’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), wants to help Togo develop projects in the agriculture and energy sectors. The agency’s executive director, Louis Taylor, and the Togolese Prime Minister, Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe met on June 27 to discuss the possibility of expanding their partnership and achieving UKEF’s ambition.
Specifically, the two parties plan to build a new hydropower dam and ease agricultural irrigation.
"We also discussed the creation of agricultural mechanization centers. This is to create more jobs, and offer goods and services to a large part of the Togolese population with an impact on the social and development aspects in several rural areas," said Louis Taylor.
UKEF operates in several countries, including some in Africa. It helps British firms that want to export goods and services worldwide by providing them with insurance, guarantees, and loans. The agency also finances export contracts and projects across many sectors, including health, engineering, aerospace, oil and gas, construction, and energy.
Esaïe Edoh
AfDB to grant ECOWAS $2 mln in support of electricity reforms
The African Development Bank (AfDB) will back electricity reforms in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with $2 million. The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund–AfDB’s concessional window–approved the facility, a technical assistance grant, on June 24 in Abidjan, according to a statement relayed by Ecofin Agency.
The money, which will go to the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority, will help boost cross-border electricity trade and improve energy access in the 15 ECOWAS States, including Togo.
The initiative is divided into five components, including work on the regulatory framework and performance indicators used by the AfDB to assess the sector, as well as a study that will assess electricity tariffs in the region.
"Ultimately, this project will facilitate regional electricity trade and help improve access to electricity," said Solomon Sarpong, AfDB project team leader. "It will address major causes of fragility, such as infrastructure bottlenecks, youth unemployment, environmental challenges, gender inequalities, and regional development imbalances," he added.
The grant covers approximately 6.1 million square kilometers with an estimated population of 360 million.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo-China: Trade stood around $3 billion in 2021
Trade between Togo and China rebounded last year. It reached nearly $3 billion, said on June 28 the Director-General of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China, Wu Peng. The Chinese official, who is also Secretary-General of the FOCAC monitoring committee for his country, was in Lomé for a working session with his Togolese counterpart.
According to Peng, the $3 billion corresponds to a 33% increase, compared to 2020 when the figure stood at $2 billion, barely, as trade had been hurt by Covid-19. The official said that the recent growth shows “the huge potential for cooperation” between Lomé and Beijing, and China’s efforts to revamp trade with Africa as a whole.
This year, from January to May, China imported nearly $50 billion worth of goods from Africa, Wu Pend revealed.
Octave Bruce
Togo will soon have an entity that will ensure the effective implementation of trade agreements
During its latest council of ministers on June 27, the Togolese government assessed and adopted a decree on the establishment, powers, composition, and operation of a national council for trade agreements (CNAC). The CNAC will be responsible for coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating the implementation of trade agreements involving Togo.
This entity "will ensure a significant participation of the structures involved, to achieve the effective implementation of trade agreements signed by Togo," reads the council’s statement. It aims to ensure that the country can "take full advantage of all the opportunities offered by the agreements and their protocols" in which it is involved.
The CNAC is announced as Togo seeks investors and external trade opportunities, and gets more engaged in new areas of trade cooperation, via bilateral (with Israel, Brazil, or Turkey), regional, multilateral or continental (like the African Continental Free Trade Area (Zlecaf) relations and agreements.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo welcomes a new British ambassador, Harriet Claire Thompson
The UK’s new ambassador to Togo, Harriet Claire Thompson, presented her credentials to the Head of the State, Faure Gnassingbe, on Monday, June 27th. On the occasion, she renewed her country’s commitment to boost cooperation with Togo, in sectors like security, trade, infrastructure, health, and business.
"It is truly an honor to serve as the UK's ambassador to Togo. It is a beautiful country. I am here to strengthen relations in the areas of security, trade, infrastructure, health, and business and to explore new opportunities for cooperation," Thompson declared.
She also congratulated Togo for its recent adhesion to the Commonwealth, an association of nearly 60 countries and more than 2.5 billion people. Togo officially joined the association at the closing session of the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on June 24-25, 2022.
Commenting on this subject, Thompson, who is also the British High Commissioner for Ghana, and non-resident ambassador to Burkina Faso and Benin, noted that “Togo should be congratulated for joining the Commonwealth. Given the importance of Commonwealth values in the world, it is good to have Togo as a member. It is something worth lauding.”
According to the Togolese Presidency, now that Togo has joined the Commonwealth, existing partnerships between Togo and the UK should experience “a qualitative leap.”
"Our country will also benefit from the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC) for the implementation of priority projects of the Government Roadmap 2020-2025," said the Togolese Presidency.
In this regard, Thompson, who is based in Accra, said: "I am also here with my colleagues from UKEF, our export credit agency, to explore opportunities in infrastructure, transport, health, etc. ... "
Indeed, Louis Taylor, Executive Director of UK Export Finance (UKEF), was also in Lomé with the new ambassador. UKEF, let’s recall, has mobilized 600 million pounds sterling in 2018 to support several projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Telecom: Togocel was fined CFA2.3 billion by ARCEP for serious breaches in its obligations
Togo’s telecom regulator, ARCEP, has imposed a 2.3 billion CFA fine on Togocel–2% of the mobile operator’s certified revenues. The regulator sanctioned Togocel for "serious breaches of its obligation to provide consumers with permanent availability" of mobile electronic communications services, observed since 2020.
The sanction comes 18 months after the ARCEP warned the operator, and a few days after the two parties met for a public audience. During the latter, held last Thursday, Togocel failed to convince the watchdog with its defense, blaming the disruptions on external factors or incidents.
Regarding these incidents, the ARCEP, which ruled based on data, claims that the disruptions “could have been avoided since they were not cases of force majeure.” It believes that “Togocel’s inability to improve the availability of its services is due to inefficient operational actions and weak investments in network infrastructure over the past two years.”
The ARCEP added that "Togo Cellular voluntarily interrupts its services in some remote parts of the country at specific times of the day with the sole purpose of cutting its operating costs without any concern for consumers.”
The regulator said these voluntary disruptions can add up to 25 days, in a month. However, it gave six months to Togocel to deal with the issue or risk facing new sanctions.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi