The Togolese government wants to strengthen the framework for the use of the unique identification number (UIN) and promote the implementation of the social register of persons and households. A draft bill was adopted at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, to amend Law No. 2020-009 of September 10, 2020, on the biometric identification of individuals in Togo. The text, which should be submitted for a vote of deputies, also reorganizes the National Identification Agency (ANID), which steers the biometric identification project.

This will enable the ANID “to record the data needed to manage the database of the social register of persons and households and to participate in the implementation of programs to strengthen the resilience and inclusion of the population,” reads the Council of Ministers' communiqué.

As a reminder, the project of setting up a unique identification number for individuals (e-ID Togo) is supported by the World Bank, through the WURI program.

The initiative should eventually provide all individuals living in Togo with a unique identification number (UIN). It is one of the flagship projects of the Togo 2025 government roadmap, and it aims to facilitate interactions between citizens and the administration, as well as accelerate the digitalization of public administration.

The second edition of the Togo Digital Awards (TDA), a competition that rewards digital actors in Togo, is on. The committee behind the event issued a statement announcing it on March 14, 2022.

The TDA aims to “highlight and valorize the work and originality of people and businesses that exploit their know-how and skills in the digital field on a daily basis” in Togo. 

For this second edition supported by the German cooperation agency GiZ, candidates will be put in eight categories, for individual or collective prizes: 

Achievement of the year (individual award)

Projects and strategies (collective award)

Media and tools (group award)

Academic work (individual award)

Blogger of the Year (individual or group award)

Influencer of the Year (individual or group award)

Favorite (individual award)

Award for the woman, digital actress (individual award, open only to any Togolese citizen, living in Togo).

The category "Digital Woman Award", in particular, is an innovation, aimed at highlighting the talent and creativity of Togolese women, actors of the digital world in everyday life.

The call for applications, for the first phase of the competition, runs until April 14, 2022. 

Visit here the Portal of the competition, or download the full rules of the contest.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

On February 10, 2022, the Council of French Investors in Africa (CIAN) released its latest barometer on the business climate. According to the rankings, Togo scored 3.4 points out of 5 in 2021, against 2.8 the year before. 

With this score, the country still leads in West Africa, ahead of Benin (3.1) and Senegal (3.0). In Africa, it is only outpaced by Morocco and Mauritius, which respectively scored 3.7 points.

Togo was assessed based on various indicators covering areas such as infrastructure, administration, economy, finance, social, production factors, and sustainable development. 

According to the report, the country has made progress concerning labor law, personal security, banking, ports, and air transport.

“These results are the fruit of reforms carried out in recent years to improve the business environment and attract investors,” said the Togolese government, which maintains that despite the health crisis, the country has been able to attract foreign direct investment and launch some major projects.

Esaïe Edoh

In Togo, some former agents of the DOSI, the Delegation in charge of organizing the informal sector, have been collecting money from its beneficiaries “despite the institution having ended such operations since 2018.” In a statement dated March 11, 2022, the ministry of financial inclusion warned those concerned against these agents.

“It was brought to our attention that some agents of the former Delegation to the organization of the informal sector (DOSI), have been, of their own initiative, unduly collecting funds from people benefiting from support to the informal sector despite the suspension of such activities since 2018, and despite formal instructions against this,” the ministry said.

The supervisory authority said it is “not liable for any of these reprehensible acts,” and added that “relevant departments are taking steps to see clearly into the matter and determine those responsible for the situation.”

In the meantime, the victims of these acts are urged to reach out to the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Financial Inclusion no later than April 1, 2022, with documents proving that they made the payments after the support program was suspended.

Launched 12 years ago, in February 2008, the DOSI aimed to better organize the informal sector in Togo. It ceased operations on March 1, 2022.

Analysts and investigators from WAEMU's National Financial Intelligence Processing Units (CENTIF) are currently gathered in Lomé for a capacity-building workshop. The meeting started on March 14 and will end next Friday. 

Participants will be trained on ways to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing. This meeting comes three years after the States-General on anti-laundering and terrorism financing held in Mali. It is backed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

“It aims to equip participants on new techniques and also trends in terrorist financing. The concern is the fight against terrorism, but also its financing,” said Kodjo Attisso, UNODC Regional Advisor. “The CENTIFs play an important role in the fight against terrorism financing since they are cells that collect, analyze and disseminate information to investigating and prosecuting authorities,” he added.

Throughout the five days the workshop will take place, analysts and investigators attending will know more about where the money used to fund terrorism comes from, how the financing is done, and particularly about the new vehicles, like cryptocurrencies, used to achieve that goal.

From 209,000 in 2012, the number of beneficiaries of the health care services of the National Health Insurance Institute (INAM) has increased to 426,000 in 2021.

Over the period, services provided by the INAM almost tripled. Data from the institution shows that the number of consultations jumped to 405,000 from 137,000, while analyses stood at 482,000 on average per year.

Over the past nine years, the Institute has also strengthened its presence in the country, setting up six regional delegations, and 16 liaison offices in hospitals that receive many patients. Through these actions, the INAM aimed to raise awareness and advise people on the different contexts adapted to benefit from its services. 

In its report, the institution, headed by Myriam Dossou-d'Alméida, indicates that it has signed agreements with public and private healthcare centers, analysis laboratories, medical imaging centers and pharmacies, to meet the expectations of the insured. By the end of 2021, the number of these contracted providers was approximately 1,500, compared to 953 when it began operations. 

It should also be noted that, with the number of its beneficiaries swelling over the past decade, the INAM has overhauled its management tools. The number of benefit books, their volume and format have been reduced. An IT system was also put in place, followed a few years later by the dematerialization process, which allowed the health insurance management body to be distinguished by the International Social Security Association (ISSA).

Initially open only to public administration and parapublic employees, the health insurance scheme now covers several professions: senior citizens, volunteers, craftsmen, journalists, students and architects. At the same time, steps are being taken by the private sector to register its members. In the meantime, nearly 2,000 people have been registered. 

It should be noted that while INAM is working to improve the quality of its services, it has been trusted with managing the Universal Health Insurance (UHI), a project falling under the government’s 2025 new roadmap.

Esaïe Edoh

In Togo, the government and education stakeholders signed a memorandum of understanding this past weekend. The document will, hopefully, put an end to "the long years" of arm wrestling between the government and teachers who have been demanding better living and working conditions. 

Essentially, the signing of this document shows the unanimity of the two parties on the 5 billion CFA francs provided by the government as an exceptional bonus for teachers over five years, or by 2025. They also agreed on a social truce for the same period, in which dialogue and consultation will be favored. 

This agreement, the result of a long process of discussions, according to the signatories, is the culmination of the progress made in satisfying the demands and grievances of teachers as well as the reforms carried out in the education system. 

According to the Minister of Public Service and Social Dialogue, Gilbert Bawara, it also demonstrates the ability of education sector actors to prioritize the interests of learners over their own.  “All of us have demonstrated once again that when the general interest and a common cause require it, we can show surpassing and abnegation, and have an attitude and a spirit of responsibility,” he said.

Esaïe Edoh