Last Tuesday, Feb 8, the minister of health and the minister of universal access to health care, Moustafa Mijiyawa, and Agba-Assih Mamessilé, were in northern Togo to visit some health infrastructure under construction.

Notably, the two Togolese officials were in Kara to evaluate construction works for the Center for Medical Specialties (CMS) and the Center for Infectious Diseases (CID), and in Sarakawa where the Center for Epidemic Treatment (CTE) is being built. The ministers concluded that the work was progressing well but still urged contractors involved to move faster.

The health infrastructures that are being built should, “increase the capacities of the health care and services system in terms of infrastructure and equipment, improve the quality of services, in remote areas especially, as well as bolster health security and the response to epidemics and other public health emergencies.” 

The health infrastructure project is consistent with the Togolese authorities' desire to guarantee access to health care for all. Among other projects launched in line with this same objective, the most recent is the "Wezou" project, in support of pregnant women and newborns. There is also the universal health insurance project which should come online soon as a law was recently adopted in this regard.

Esaïe Edoh  

"Faced with new issues and challenges, it is important to update the national policy for the development of Togolese trade to make Togolese companies more competitive on the international market, in a context where, as we all know, Covid hinders imports and exports," said Dr. Ayira Korem, an economist and researcher at the University of Lomé, in charge of the project. "So it is essential to understand what the major issues are so that the national policy for the development of Togolese trade can guide companies, and so that they can be competitive internationally," he added.

The revision’s goal is to improve the supply of goods and services and meet the needs of Togolese consumers. 

According to Raoul Bassolawè Koka, finance administrator at the ministry of trade, Togo needs to adapt to new trends in the global trade industry, especially amidst the current globalization.  

"The current PNDC dates from 2011, and we know that there have been many changes since then: globalization, regionalization, the launch of the AfCFTA, and its implementation in January 2021," he said. Faced with these changes, the government wants to "change the paradigm" by assessing the old policy and defining areas for improvement.

Regarding the update, the ministry of trade announced the project in August 2021 and launched at the same time a tender to hire a firm that would carry it out.

Due to a lack of plants to process the crop, Togo massively exports its cotton output, to Southeast Asia mostly. 

Cotton is Togo’s primary source of foreign currency. In 2020 and 2019, the country raked in $64 million (about 36 billion CFA francs) and $98 million, respectively, from its white gold exports. These figures were obtained from the UN Comtrade database, an aggregator that compiles detailed annual and monthly statistics on international trade.

Togo's largest customers are based in Malaysia, Vietnam, India, and China.

Countries where most of Togo's cotton output went to, in 2020

Togolese exports of cotton were estimated at USD64 million (around CFA36 billion) in 2020, the lowest since 2018

*Measuring unit: US Dollar (mln)

Source: UN Comtrade

Countries where most of Togo's cotton output went to, in 2019

Togolese exports of cotton were estimated at USD99 million (a little over CFA56 billion) in 2019

*Measuring unit: US Dollar (mln)

Source: UN Comtrade

Countries where most of Togo's cotton output went to, in 2018

Togolese exports of cotton were estimated at USD89 million (CFA51 billion) in 2018

*Measuring unit: US Dollar (mln)

Source: UN Comtrade

Fiacre E. Kakpo

The physical and financial rates of completion of reforms that the Togolese Ministry of Economy and Finance initiated in recent years are 80.02% and 67.8%, respectively. 

The figures were disclosed during a recent videoconference on the National Review of Reforms underway in ministerial departments and state institutions through to the end of December 2021. 

During the meeting, participants, from the public administration, the private sector, civil society, as well as technical and financial partners, assessed the progress made in implementing reforms and talked about steps to take to bolster the process in the future.

"The main operational reforms achieved in 2021 include: effectively starting to execute the state budget in program form in January 2021, digitizing criminal record issuance, producing and publishing the first report assessing tax expenditures in 2019, and that of 2020 which was paired with the 2022 finance act submitted to the National Assembly; the adoption of the 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 budget settlement bills by the National Assembly," reads a statement sanctioning the videoconference.

There is also the publication, on www.togoreforme.com, of budgetary risks for 2021, 2022-2024. They were released alongside the 2022 draft budget law. Laws relating to trust accounts were also reviewed; a draft decree on the general principles of trust accounts was drawn, and the Parliament adopted laws covering public-private partnership (PPP) contracts and public procurement.

Besides these, added Kpobié Tchasso Akaya, the permanent secretary in charge of monitoring reform policies and financial programs, a platform to monitor reforms is in the pipeline. 

Still during the meeting, major reforms planned for 2022 were presented. One of them is the evaluation of the public financial management system, based on the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) methodology.

Last Friday, the National Agency for Support to Grassroots Development (Anadeb) identified and selected 900 villages that will receive additional funds as part of the Social Nets and Basic Services Project (FSB). They were selected after regional meetings that gathered communal authorities and civil society organizations.

The randomly-picked villages come from 100 of the poorest districts of the country. This list was drawn by the ANADEB which steers the project. In detail, 125,000 households living in these villages will get CFA15,000 each, per quarter, over six quarters ending in June 2023. Another 15,000 households will get business support, thus boosting economic inclusion. 

Overall, the additional funding allocated to the FSB project amounts to CFA18 billion with 10 billion from the World Bank, 6.5 billion from Agence de Développement Francaise (AFDB), and 1.5 billion from the Togolese State. This funding enabled Lomé to extend the project, which was set to end last December, to June 2023. Last year, 937 villages benefited from the initiative.  

Esaïe Edoh

Lomé hosted on Feb, 8, the 3rd Conference of the Pan-African Federation of Accountants (PAFA). This year, the event focused on public finance management in French-speaking African countries and gathered about thirty chartered accountants. The theme of the conference was: "Public Finance Management Reforms, the Agenda of Francophone Countries."

Participants present -public accountants and representatives of Courts of Accounts from PAFA member countries - assessed and discussed key reforms in public financial management as well as the long-term implications of government responses to the Covid-19. According to the Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Economy, Kossi Tofio, this was necessary as it helps to find ways "to adapt actions to the new global data through reforms that match the challenges imposed"  by the health crisis that have "disrupted all the habits and budgetary expectations of States."

The first and second editions of the PAFA took place in 2015 and 2016 and were held in Dakar and Antananarivo, respectively. They focused on finding ways to boost the transparency and efficiency of public bodies that handle governments’ finances.

 Esaïe Edoh

In line with its ambition to improve land tenure, the Togolese council government, via its council of ministers, has adopted on Feb 7, 2022, a draft decree to set up a Land Advisory Council.

"This decree, taken in application of the land and property code, aims to set up a framework for exchanges and consultations on actions to be taken in the field of land and property," the government wrote in the press release sanctioning the council.

In short, the framework should bring together all the stakeholders of land tenure. This should, on the one hand, review key aspects of land policies, and on the other, improve intervention on land issues.

"When there are difficulties in enforcing court decisions, the Advisory Council can be called upon to assist in resolving disputes," said the government’s spokesman, Minister Akodah Ayewouadan.

In further detail, the land advisory council should help the country better tackle speculation, expropriation, rural land sell-offs, but also better appropriate land legislation.

Invoice factoring could soon become more accessible to businesses in Togo. Indeed, the country’s council of ministers adopted last Monday a uniform draft bill covering this activity in the West African Monetary Union member states. 

Factoring is a transaction whereby businesses fund their cash flow by transferring their receivables to a third party (the factor). The Togolese government believes it can help SMEs thrive.

"This draft bill is part of the reforms undertaken by the government to support micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and it aims to promote factoring as a financing offer that tackles cash flow issues of businesses, SMEs especially," the council wrote in a statement.

"With this law, we give MSMEs the tools to rapidly auto-finance and sustain their activities. (...) it is a major economic tool for SMEs, providing these businesses with market flexibility and agility," said Prof. Akodah Ayewouadan, minister of communication, and the spokesperson of the government.

In effect, the bill should allow microfinance institutions, which are closer to SMEs, to practice invoice factoring. This is in a context where "only specialized financial services were previously covered by the factoring system,” said Ayewouadan. “Now, this system is being extended to decentralized financial systems, meaning that even microfinance institutions can offer factoring services,” he added. 

At present, one of the main players positioned in this segment in the country is the African Lease Togo, a subsidiary of the African Lease Group. It specializes in leasing and factoring.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi