Thousands of businesspeople–men and women–have been crossing the country's land borders with their goods, but until now they couldn’t denounce the daily issues hampering their activities, said Coami Sedolo Tamegnon, President of Togo’s Employers’ Council (CNP-Togo), and VP and also the Chairman of the Union of Industrial Importers and Exporters of Togo (SCIMPEXTO), Yiva Badohu.  

In this tribune, they both call on cross-border traders to mobilize for the removal of trade barriers, leveraging Trade Barriers Africa.

 (Tribune) The COVID-19-induced restrictions on movement and border closures have made it more difficult to export goods across the sub-region.  

Those who are most affected are small traders and cross-border SMEs, notably transport companies, agri-exporters, textile retailers, etc. Their businesses, but also, for many, their finances are threatened by the situation.  

Due to inexistent centralized arrangements and simplified procedures, they feel, fully, the impacts of so-called non-tariff barriers (NTBs) at borders. Import quotas, unjustified documentation requirements, and restrictive, and sometimes poorly enforced, customs procedures, to name a few, are examples of administrative hassles Togolese traders are facing. 

However, many traders keep moving and selling their goods in neighboring countries. These traders–women, mostly– use informal, but highly risky, routes to avoid going through the tedious compliance procedures on formal routes.  

To tackle this critical situation, the government recently introduced reforms to facilitate the movement of goods and boost cross-border trade. Still, for non-tariff barriers to be fully eradicated, all private actors, including small traders, must be involved, which they are ready and willing to do.

Is the implementation of Trade Barriers in Africa a solution?

While several initiatives to suppress non-tariff barriers in the region already exist, until now, none of them looked to mobilize micro, small and medium enterprises in the fight against trade barriers. 

Recently launched in Togo and throughout Africa, Trade Barriers Africa is an online reporting mechanism that allows traders themselves to alert the authorities of difficulties they encounter while crossing borders.

This initiative, launched by the African Union, is laudable. Now, Togolese traders need to enquire about it, to improve the conditions for moving their goods between borders, and, subsequently, to trade more easily.

The reporting mechanism is very simple to use and accessible to all traders. To report a barrier to trade, simply go to www.tradebarriersafrica.com and fill in a form with details of the problem encountered. The information provided is directly transmitted to the representatives of the states involved, who then ensure that the trade barrier in question is eliminated at the national level.

Beyond what it represents, Trade Barriers Africa shows the importance of involving the private sector in solving the region's business and trade issues. Small traders and SMEs are at the heart of cross-border trade, so they must become full-fledged actors in the fight against non-tariff barriers in Togo, and Africa as a whole.

Call to action!

Let's mobilize for the facilitation of cross-border trade

Cross-border entrepreneurship and the free movement of goods, particularly with the creation of the AfCFTA, are major issues for the economic recovery of Togo. They are at the heart of our concerns and actions at the CNP and SCIMPEXTO. We are delighted, with the opportunity given to small traders and cross-border SMEs, and that they can help facilitate cross-border trade. From now on, it is up to them! We strongly encourage them to use Trade Barriers Africa so that non-tariff barriers can finally disappear and they can boost their trade.

(Tribune) co-signed by Coami Sedolo TAMEGNON, President of Togo’s National Council of Employers (CNP-Togo), and Yiva BADOHU Vice-President of the CNP-Togo and President of the Union of Industrial Importers and Exporters of Togo (SCIMPEXTO).

Togo lost 26 places in the latest press freedom ranking of the French NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The significant drop comes amidst “a two-fold increase in polarization amplified by information chaos” in the report which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories.

The West African country was ranked 100 over 180 with a score of 57.17 this year, thus dropping from the 74th place and a score of 70.41 in 2021. From a “relatively good” situation, Togo thus fell in the “problematic situation” category in the index which was published on the World Press Freedom Day. 

Media polarization, the NGO said, is fuelling divisions within countries, as well as polarization between countries at the international level. In Togo, the press faced major challenges over the period reviewed, notably economic (induced by the pandemic) and legal challenges.  

RSF scores countries based on a quantitative survey of press freedom violations and abuses against journalists and media, and a qualitative study based on the responses of hundreds of press freedom experts selected by RSF (journalists, academics, human rights defenders…) to a questionnaire in 23 languages. 

Legal framework and Social networks 

"Regarding freedom of the press, the application of the new code of the press and communication has made us understand that we still have a long way to go in terms of respect for the laws that govern our profession," said Fabrice Petchezi, head of the Togolese Media Observatory (OTM), an organization that monitors developments in Togo. And this, "especially regarding digital media, including social networks, which has sparked a huge confusion between traditional media that are recognized by the press and communication code and social networks which are not covered by this code.”

"This has caused a lot of troubles for our colleagues,  some of whom were detained, others have lost their receipt, and there were also suspensions on the side of the HAAC [High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication, Ed. note]," notes the observatory, in a context where several journalists and media, were brought to court. This "gives the impression that press freedom in Togo has suffered”. "It has suffered concerning the application of the texts that govern our profession. So, overall, we can say that the Togolese press has done a good job and is to be commended," concluded the observatory.

In West Africa and Africa

In the sub-region, neighboring Benin is ranked 121st in the world, Nigeria 129th, while Ghana and Senegal are ranked 60th and 73rd respectively.

In Africa, Seychelles (13th worldwide with a score of 83.33), Namibia (18th, a score of 81.84), South Africa (35th and 75.56), Cape Verde (36th and 75.37), and Côte d'Ivoire (37th and 74.46) are the best ranked. The lowest-ranked countries, in descending order,  are Somalia (140th), Equatorial Guinea (141st), Sudan (151st), Djibouti (164th), and Eritrea (179th).

The top three countries in RSF’s 2022 world press freedom index are Norway (92.65), Denmark (90.27), and Sweden (88.84). And the last three are Iran, Eritrea, and North Korea, respectively 178th, 179th, and 180th.

In Togo, Togocel and Moov Africa’s “consumers are still paying a lot for entry-level services”. This was disclosed on May 4, 2022, by the country’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP), which, a few months earlier, had recommended a tariff overhaul.

According to a statement from the regulator, a copy of which was obtained by Togo First, the two phone companies started reducing their rates but kept entry-level tariffs high; only mid-range and high-end tariffs were lowered, the ARCEP notes.

While it welcomes this reduction, the authority stresses the need for the firms to also reduce the tariffs of their entry-level services, since the latter is mostly used by low-income consumers. 

"Togo still has the highest tariffs for data and voice packages but is in the regional averages for mixed packages”, the ARCEP indicated after assessing the operators’ recent tariff overhaul. In a recent study, the institution headed by Michel Yaovi Galley sounded the alarm on the fact that the rates of voice and data packages in Togo were higher than those in other countries of the WAEMU zone.

At the country level, the regulator pointed out that Togocel's mixed and voice packages are more expensive than Moov Africa’s.

Esaïe Edoh 

Opened last August, the call for tenders for the construction of a solar photovoltaic power plant to supply the Lomé airport has just been relaunched, "resized" by the Société aéroportuaire de Lomé-Tokoin (SALT), after feasibility studies. 

A notice of prequalification was issued last month, for recruiting the firm that will finance, build and operate the 1.8 MW plant.  

"The service provider will have to commit to the acceptance of the conditions of validation of the trial period of the solar photovoltaic plant of three months, renewable once, during which the plant will have to generate a minimum saving on electricity bills of 25%," says Gnama Latta, CEO of SALT, in the notice of prequalification consulted by Togo First.

The plant will be built on a 5 ha land and it will have a lifespan of 25 years. 

Fiacre E. Kakpo