Togolese authorities recently inaugurated a new slaughterhouse in Hemazo, in the Lacs prefecture. The inauguration ceremony took place on June 2, in the presence of Sandra Ablamba Johnson, the Minister and Secretary-General of the Presidency, Myriam Dossou d'Alméda, Minister of Base Development, and Aquéréburu Coffi Alexis, the Mayor of the Lacs 1 municipality. 

According to Johnson, the slaughterhouse was promised by the Head of State. It will serve the Lacs, Yoto, Vo, Bas Mono prefectures, and border localities, including Grand Popo in Benin. Built under the Support Program for Vulnerable Populations (PAPV), the unit includes offices, a cold room, a slaughter room, a meat sales room, an animal treatment room, and sanitary facilities.

The project’s beneficiaries expressed their gratitude during the inauguration ceremony. They believe the "jewels" will spur the growth of the region’s meat industry.

Besides Hemazo, new slaughterhouses are being built in Kpalimé, Sokodé, and Kara. These projects and others upcoming in Atakpamé, Niamtougou, and Dapaong, align with the government’s efforts to develop the meat industry.

Togo needs about $10 million per year to finance a project that supports people living with HIV (PLHIV) and tuberculosis (TB) patients.

The amount was disclosed in a study ordered by the Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Fight Against AIDS (CNLS). The study report was validated on Friday, June 2, in Lomé, during a workshop organized in collaboration with UNAIDS and the World Food Program (WFP).

The report evaluates the feasibility and cost of the project. "It will first be a resource mobilization document, an advocacy document that could be presented to traditional partners," said Damien Amoussou, president of the study’s steering committee.

Approximately 75% of TB patients and PLHIV are considered vulnerable. To integrate them into a national social protection system, just over $10 million each year would be needed to support them, stated Agossou K. Kokou, a National Consultant, presenting the study results.

For now, the project is expected to initially last three years and cost $30 million.

While the study primarily focused on the Maritime and Plateaux regions, considered to have the highest HIV prevalence, the initiative covers the entire territory. In these two regions alone, over 29,000 PLHIV have been identified out of an estimated total of 80,000 across the country.

In addition to traditional partners, actors in the fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis plan to mobilize international support, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The Fund has already announced financing of CFA74 billion for the period 2023-2025.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Last Friday, Togo successfully raised CFA31 billion ($56 million) on the West African public securities market. Lomé raised the funds through a simultaneous issue of Treasury Bonds and Bills (BAT and OAT).

According to the Umoa-Titres agency, Togo secured CFA26 billion with the bills and the remaining CFA5 billion came through the bonds. The former will mature over 182 days and the latter over 3 and 5 years. 

Overall, submissions to the issue, according to the agency’s report, amounted to CFA41 billion, a coverage rate of 138.44%.

The report also indicates that of the 31 billion raised, 11 billion came from Togolese investors.

Since the year began, Togo has raised, including this recent operation, CFA264 billion on the regional market. That is about half of its annual target–CFA574 billion. 

Esaïe Edoh

Togo has reached a new step in its biometric ID system project. The country just trusted the project to Atos and IDEMIA, according to a statement issued by ANID-TOGO, the Togolese ID Agency, on June 1, 2023.

The two French firms will develop the biometric system inspired by the Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP). Concretely, they will design, build, test, and launch the national system. The system will feature iris, face, and fingerprint recognition technology.

"We are honored to be working with the Togolese government and its partners on this important project. The biometric e-ID solution will play a crucial role in Togo's digital transformation and national development. Atos is committed to providing a reliable and secure solution that meets the needs of both the government and citizens. We are proud to leverage our expertise in biometrics, cybersecurity, and digital transformation to support Togo's ambitions and contribute to a more inclusive and connected world," said Alpha Barry, CEO of Atos Africa.

The biometric ID project will provide all Togolese residents with a single ID number (SIN) which will ease their day-to-day transactions with public administration services, and facilitate the latter’s digitalization. The project is backed by the World Bank, through the WURI program. 

President Faure Gnassingbé recently announced a biometric census in line with the project. "There will be a third census to offer a biometric card to every Togolese so that we can be effective in our social protection policy." The Togolese leader was speaking in an interview with New World TV, on the sidelines of his country’s 63rd independence anniversary. 

"Having a unique, robust, and reliable identification system is a must in line with the government's 2020-2025 roadmap, on which the e-ID project is listed, in first place among the 42 priority projects and reforms," ANID- TOGO revealed.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo teamed up with Morocco’s Phosphate Office (OCP) to carry out its agricultural development project, via mechanization and local fertilizer production. 

The two parties signed two agreements in this framework on May 31, on the sidelines of a top-class meeting on fertilizer security that Lomé recently hosted. The agreements respectively aim to bolster agricultural mechanization in Togo and improve fertilizer supply by setting up a phosphate fertilizer plant in the country. 

The documents were signed by the Togolese ministers of agriculture and mining, Antoine Lekpa and Mila Aziablé, respectively, and the head of the OCP for Africa, Mohamed Anouad Jamali. 

The Presidents of Togo, Niger, and Guinea Bissau launched on May 31, 2023, a regional call to improve access to fertilizers in West Africa. 

The leaders did so in the Togolese capital at the close of a top-level meeting to enhance fertilizer security in West Africa. The roundtable was organized by Togo, ECOWAS, and the World Bank. Several West African key players and development partners attended.

During the meeting, delegations from the participating countries approved a soil health roadmap. A move that should pave the way for greater collaboration between West African countries to make fertilizers more accessible in the region.

"Without vision, without a strategy, fertilizers quickly become the source of degradation of soils, rather than restoring them,”  said Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo. “To strike the right balance, planning, and state involvement are key. That's why I'm in favor of regional planning. As illustrated by the Roadmap presented today, our vision must above all be sub-regional, " the leader added.

"By adopting a shared roadmap, ECOWAS countries are committed to improving access to mineral and organic fertilizers for small-scale farmers, with a focus on crop production which ensures food security and sovereignty for populations, as well as implementing priority actions," stressed Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission.

Sub-regional coordination

"One of the key elements in the fight against desertification and soil impoverishment is, of course, the management of agricultural inputs", said Gnassingbé, ahead of the launch of 'La déclaration de Lomé'. "Producing more, now and in the future, is, therefore, the great imperative for our agriculture," he added.

After the meeting, industry leaders and development partners from the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food in West Africa (ECOWAP) reiterated their support for an innovative, integrated approach to sustainable soil fertility management.

According to the roadmap issued at the end of the event, the initiative should be based on three pillars: production, scientific research, and supply and marketing.

World Bank increases its support

On the sidelines of the meeting, the World Bank announced additional financing of $1.5 billion for developing agriculture in West Africa by 2024, bringing the Bank’s total support for this sector to $5.5 billion, adding to the $4 billion already committed and being deployed. Similarly, the Netherlands announced a €100 million financing to support the sector in West Africa, over the next decade.

"In favor of ECOWAS member countries, and in collaboration with development partners, the World Bank is committed to increasing its financial and technical support for resilient agriculture that brings sustainable development and creates jobs. We are working with African institutions to promote soil health and combat food insecurity", said Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for West and Central Africa.

The top-level meeting in Lomé took place amidst several challenges in the region, such as difficulties in getting fertilizer due to the war in Ukraine. According to the latest projections, if appropriate measures are not taken quickly in the sub-region, it is estimated that 41.9 million people could face food insecurity between June and August 2023.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In Togo, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARCOP) just started a team-training course for officials in charge of awarding public contracts at the municipality level.  The course began yesterday, May 30, and will end on June 3. Over 500 participants from the Plateaux-Est, Ouest, and Maritime regions are participating.

They will learn about public procurement management procedures and the preparation of simplified tender documents. The training modules explored during the course are designed to help the municipality representatives better tackle fraudulent practices in the procurement process.

The training should also bolster local players’ expertise, equipping them with the tools they need to meet the challenges they face in preparing tender documents.

"This training is ARCOP's response to various requests and recommendations to overcome the deficit in the mastery of procedures," said Elom Aziadekey, administrative and financial director of the public procurement regulator.

The capacity-building session will continue in the northern part of the country from June 13.

Esaïe Edoh

A delegation from the Union des Conseils économiques et sociaux et Institutions similaires des Etats et gouvernements membres de la Francophonie (UCESIF) is in Togo since May 28. They recently met with the country’s Prime Minister, Victoire Dogbé. With her, they talked ways to help Togo get its Economic and Social Council (ESC) running as soon as possible. 

Thierry Beaudet, president of the UCESIF, said during the meeting with PM Dogbé that France was ready to provide Togo support for the operationalization of “the Economic and Social Council of Togo". Beaudet is also the president of France’s Economic, Social, and Environmental Council, CESE-France.

Togo started establishing its ESC in 2019, almost 10 years after the parliament greenlit the project. 

The ESC is an institution that will advise Togo’s public bodies, including the Presidency and the Parliament, and contribute to the elaboration of social and economic policies. Last year,  the Togolese Council secured CFA500 million for its operationalization. 

Esaïe Edoh

Next Friday, June 2, Togo will proceed to a new issue on the WAEMU market. Lomé will try to raise CFA30 billion on the regional stock market. 

The operation is a simultaneous issue of fungible treasury bonds  (OATs) and fungible treasury bills (BATs). 

According to the tender notice, the country will seek CFA20 billion via the bonds and CFA10 billion via the bills. The OATs have a nominal value of CFA10,000, and interest rates of 6% and 6.25% on the respective maturities of 3 and 5 years. The BATs’ nominal value is CFA1 million. They will mature over 182 days and have a multiple interest rate.

The operation’s proceeds will finance Togo’s 2023 budget. 

Isaiah Edoh