Launched four years ago, Togo’s Employment Opportunities for Vulnerable Youth (EJV) project has come to an end. It received a "Highly Satisfactory Rating" from the World Bank, which supports the initiative, on April 29, during a closing workshop in Lomé.

Besides the World Bank and the Ministry of Grassroots Development, the meeting brought together various actors and beneficiaries, including representatives of beneficiary communities.

Throughout its deployment, the initiative, implemented by the National Agency for Support to Grassroots Development (Anadeb), has impacted 14,500 young poor or vulnerable people, helped create 225 literacy centers, and launch 200 micro-projects, according to the meeting’s report.

Based on the project’s results, its resource distribution model, and the way it boosted social cohesion in target communities, the World Bank believes that it deserves to be institutionalized by the government, like the school canteen program.

For her part, the Minister in charge of grassroots development, Myriam Dossou d'Almeida, was pleased with the "important achievements" of the initiative.

"The success of the project is no longer to be demonstrated. The living testimonies are there. And these testimonies come from the beneficiaries themselves, their relatives, and the beneficiary and non-beneficiary communities. The EJV project, through the THIMO (High-Intensity Labor Work), training, grants, and coaching, has transformed lives," she added.

Overall, CFA9 billion was spent to finance the EJV project.

In Togo, the 50-kg fertilizer bag (151515 NPK; 46% N Urea) will be sold at CFA18,000 during the upcoming agricultural season. Set by the government, the price was disclosed by the minister of agriculture, Antoine Lekpa Gbegbeni.

Though it is 44% more than the price set last year (CFA12,500), the new price is lower than the region’s average – between CFA19,000 and CFA25,000, depending on the formula).

This is owed to the government’s subsidy which is aimed at “supporting our brave farmers in these difficult times,” said Miniter Gbegbeni, refering to the current global and local inflation.

Togo retained CFA33 billion from investors in its latest issue on the WAMU securities market, on April 29, 2022.

Overall, Lomé mobilized 40 billion from 14 regional investors, while it was seeking CFA30 billion–thus representing a 133% subscription rate.

For this operation, the treasury issued recovery bonds with a nominal value of CFA10,000, a maturity period of 120 months, and a fixed interest rate of 5.9%.

Including this latest issue, Togo has raised CFA225 billion from the WAMU securities market this year, through seven issues.

Esaïe Edoh

Between 2020 and 2021, the waiting time of ships in port on the Togolese coast, ie, vessels that anchor in territorial waters around the port infrastructure waiting to call or not, has fallen from about 27 hours to 22 hours. This is according to data provided by the Ministry in charge of the maritime economy.

Over the period, container transit time fell from 13.4 to 11.45 days for containers bound for Togo, and from 16.95 to 15.5 days for containers in transit. The improvement was due to "the optimization of traffic management processes and cargo handling procedures," according to the Port of Lome.

While processing time of ships has reduced, there was a slight increase in the number of ships that did not enter the port; it rose from 1,239 in 2020 to 1,329 in 2021, up 7.26% YoY, according to the port authorities.

The same source added that the number of ships called at the autonomous port of Lomé during the same period rose by nearly 11%, from 967 in 2020 to 1,073 in 2021 (with an increase of 0.41% recorded for container ships).

It should be recalled that, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, overall traffic at the port grew by 14.17% annually between 2020 and 2021. Over the period, TEU container traffic grew by 14.72%, while the maritime service increased from 1,510 vessels to 1,629 vessels in 2021, a growth of 7.88%.

In total, 29.6 million tons of cargo were unloaded in 2021, almost 3.5 million tons or 14.18% more than the previous year.

Overall, the improved figures translate the sustaining of trend started five years ago. Indeed, from 2017 to 2021, the turnover of the Autonomous Port of Lomé (PAL) has increased by 34%, from 26 billion FCFA to 35 billion FCFA.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Consequent to receiving the parliament’s approval last Friday, April 22, the Togolese government said it will officially apply to join the Commonwealth next June.

The application will be submitted during the Commonwealth Summit in Rwanda. Christian Trimua, the Togolese minister of human rights, said the move would mark the beginning of a new phase in the adhesion process, which Lomé intends to “carry through to its end, for the good of every Togolese”. 

If Togo effectively becomes a member of the Commonwealth, it would have access to a market of 2.5 billion people. Also, this would allow the West African nation to open up more to the rest of the world, attract foreign investments, and bolster foreign trade.

However, Togolese authorities stressed that joining the Commonwealth does not mean breaking away from the Francophonie, but instead reinforcing the position of English in its education system.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese government has spent in April alone more than 12 billion CFA on fuel subsidies. “Regarding petroleum products subsidies, we have exceeded CFA12 billion for April alone,” Kodjo Adedze, Minister of Trade, told journalists during a press conference on April 28, 2022. He co-hosted the conference alongside his peers, the minister of human rights, the minister of communication (spokesperson of the government), and the secretary-general of the government.

In detail, "based on current global market rates, unleaded super would be sold at CFA851 per liter,” said Kodjo Adedze, noting that "the State pays nearly 256 additional francs to ensure that this product is available at the pump at the current price (595 CFA francs, editor's note)”.

Adedze emphasized supply issues, caused by oil scarcity. “Price is not the only the issue, availability is as well,” the official noted.

A month ago, the government raised fuel pump prices, amidst global inflation. There was a 16% increase in the price of super unleaded and a 13.8% increase in the price of the two-stroke mixture.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

By the end of the year, Togo will have its very own agricultural processing agency, towards accelerating the sector’s development. This was disclosed Wednesday, April 26, by President Faure Gnassingbé, during his address to the nation on the 62nd independence anniversary of the country.

The agency is already being set up, according to the minister of communication Prof. Akodah Ayewouadan. “It will be an institution that will pool resources and impact the sector in a more decisive manner,” Ayewouadan said.

Besides this announcement, the President also revealed that the risk-sharing-based mechanism for agricultural financing (MIFA) would be restructured and have its intervention capacities increased. Authorities will, additionally, focus more on mechanization and irrigation, to boost agricultural yield and productivity.

The initiatives, the West African leader noted, will consolidate Lomé’s agricultural development strategy. 

Agriculture is one of the government’s top priorities. This year, nearly CFA45 billion are expected to be poured into the sector, according to the 2022 provisional budget. The sector employs about 65% of Togo’s active population and contributes more than 40% of the GDP, according to the latest data available.

Esaïe Edoh

Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, former governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) was made Grand Officer of the Order of Mono by Togo’s President, Faure Gnassingbé, on Tuesday, April 6. 

Through the distinction, the Togolese people are showing recognition to Koné who is –since April 19– Côte d’Ivoire’s Vice-President. According to the Togolese presidency, the  Ivorian official has “significantly contributed to the sub-region’s development and progress, especially in the Member State of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)”. 

The Togolese presidency added that the economist, who headed the Bank for almost 11 years, also participated in the creation of a financial stability fund, and promoted factoring, financial inclusion, and was involved in the creation of the UMOA-securities Agency.

According to his office, President Gnassingbé’s act also recognizes the leadership of the Ivorian VP who helped the Central Bank “further improve its image and credibility with WAMU state members as well as international partners”.

Tiémoko Meyliet was appointed governor of the BCEAO on May 30, 2011, for a first mandate. He was re-elected for a six-year term on August 17, 2014.

Esaïe Edoh