In Togo, the Directors General of Statistics of ECOWAS countries and national focal points are meeting in Lomé this week. This is under the aegis of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission to discuss the West Africa Harmonization and Improvement of Statistics (PHASAO) initiative. The goal of the meeting is to validate the documents developed for the harmonization of statistics in the region.

The roundtable, which lasts 5 days, was opened by the Director of Cabinet at the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Cooperation, Essohanam Edjéou.

Currently, seven countries are covered by the PHASAO (Togo, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone), but the meeting in Lome is aimed at bringing other countries on board, under the project’s second phase. "We want to enable the countries that are going to join the second phase of PHASAO to have all the necessary information on World Bank funding," said Kouassi Kouame, DG of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED).

Funded by the World Bank, the PHASAO supports the production of quality statistical data for the formulation of development policies, plans, and programs, as well as the monitoring of national and international development strategies in all ECOWAS countries. The initiative also aims at harmonizing national statistics at the sub-regional level.

The project helped Togo make significant progress in data production. For example, the country’s statistics office carried out many important statistical operations. These include harmonized surveys on household living conditions, the rebasing of national accounts, and more recently, the 5th general census of population and housing (RGPH-5).

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

As part of the Land Reform for Agricultural Productivity (LRAP) Project, the Millennium Challenge Account Implementing Agency (OMCA) held in Lomé (Togo) a national workshop on land conflict management on 25 April 2023. During the meeting, key stakeholders of the LRAP–representatives of the civil society, traditional chieftainship, and the State–assessed the project, in preparation for its upcoming stages.

"The LRAP project has reached cruising speed," said N'gname Bougonou, Director General of the Millennium Challenge Account Implementing Agency (OMCA TOGO) and Director General of OMCA. "Indeed, in March and April, which is ending, under the coordination of VNG (the firm providing technical support for the project), tests were carried out to optimize land procedures,” she added. 

The workshop is consequent with preliminary studies and a micro-regional diagnosis of conflict management in the country. These helped draw a typology of land conflicts and the local structures involved in their management.

"We started our technical assistance mission and conducted a number of exercises, including a micro-regional diagnosis on conflict management," Egy Sossou, head of mission for technical assistance under the program, commented in this regard. Before adding: "We had other complementary exercises to deepen this theme and today, we felt that it was time to be able to meet in a spirit of sharing and consultation, to better identify together the most appropriate ways, processes, approaches, taking into account local realities, the capital that exists at the level of customs, to together define more effective approaches that consolidate peace and social cohesion on the management of land conflicts."

The prefectures of Zio, Wawa, Dankpen, Tchamba, and South Oti are the five localities picked for the pilot phase of the LRAP. Each is located in one of Togo’s five economic regions. 

In Togo, over 80% of cases brought to court are land conflicts. "Most of the conflicts in our communities are related to land", said Vincent Kavege, head of mission for the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in Togo, during the workshop; Kavege’s organization is quite active in South Oti. "We, the civil society organizations, also have our way of helping these communities and finding solutions that could, possibly, prevent them from going to court," he added.

The LRAP has a budget of CFA20 billion. According to current forecasts, the project should end in February 2026.

At last, after 7 years of reconstruction, Kara’s new market is completed. The facility was inaugurated last Monday, by President Faure Gnassingbé.

Located in the Lama district, the renovated market spans nearly six (06) hectares. It includes a three-story building, a green space, an esplanade, and a parking lot. The market is equipped with 736 individual stalls, 72 stores, 5 premises dedicated to banks and insurance companies, 8 wholesale stores, 6 equipped cold rooms, a police unit, and an infirmary.

It also came with an automatic fire protection system, a central roadway for firefighters, and equipment routing in case of an explosion.

According to President Gnassingbé, "This infrastructure is intended to support the economic activities of our fellow citizens and facilitate access to products and commodities of primary necessity."

The construction project was carried out as part of the PARMCO, the project supporting the reconstruction of markets in Lomé and Kara. The PARMCO is financed by the government and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Together, they poured CFA8 billion into the project.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo received yesterday, 25 April, 6,000 tons of fertilizer from Japan. The fertilizer, which is worth CFA2.5 billion is to help the African nation boost its rice output. 

The donation was sealed with agreements signed in the presence of the Togolese minister of agriculture, Antoine Lekpa Gbegbeni, and Japan’s ambassador who is based in Abidjan, Katsuya Ikkatai.

"This very salutary support will help improve, for the 2023-2024 agricultural season, agricultural productivity and yield in rice farms. It comes at the right time in a context where the global supply of fertilizer has been disrupted by the impacts of the COVID-19 health crisis and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," Antoine Lekpa Gbegbeni said.

For his part, the Japanese ambassador said the donation materializes his country’s commitments at the recent TICAD in Tunis. "Our assistance today, is the concretization of the commitments expressed by Japan and it is, moreover, fully consistent with Togo’s 2025 roadmap, the development guideline of the Togolese government," said Katsuya Ikkatai.

Currently, the two partners are in talks with bilateral partners to ensure that Japan supplies Togo with fertilizer every year.

In December 2022, Japan supported Togo with a CFA1.75 billion financing package and 2,748 tons of rice to bridge its rice deficit and boost food security in the country.  Ambassador Ikkatai was also present when the stock was delivered.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Last week, President Faure Gnassingbé kicked off a project to install 50,000 autonomous and smart solar street lamps in Kadjanga, a village located in the Binah prefecture (northern Togo). The project aligns with Togo’s ambition to achieve 100% electrification by 2030. It will cover 4599 communities across the country, with emphasis on the Savanes region.

The solar street lamps initiative falls under the Rural Public Solar Electrification Program (PEP'S Rural). It will improve the lighting system in border areas, localities electrified by solar kits, as well as social infrastructures, such as man-powered pumps, schools, health centers, and markets. Already, the Togolese Agency for Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy (AT2ER) has carried out and validated a census of all the country's infrastructure in this framework.

Installing the solar street lamps will cost €40 million (about CFA26 billion). France is the financial backer and in April 2021 it signed with Togo four agreements–including two aimed at boosting access to clean energy in the African country. The agreements were signed while President Gnassingbé was in Paris for an official visit. 

Sunna Design, a French firm, is in charge of implementing the project, and it will collaborate with local SMEs.

These 50,000 streetlights add to over 15,000 others of the ISSL+ model installed in villages situated in the prefectures of Binah, Oti, Oti Sud, Tone, Kpendjal Ouest, and Tandjouaré.

Some similar initiatives launched in Togo to increase access to electricity include the Cizo project (where individual solar kits are provided to households), the Blitta solar photovoltaic power plant, the Tinga Fund, and mini solar power plants in the country's villages.

Esaïe Edoh 

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (CCI-Togo) officially launched Lon’Kèlèw, a project fostering the digitalization of local SMEs. The initiative is carried out in partnership with Expertise France, with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD), through the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), and the European Union.

Initially called DigiTin'Ga, the Lon'Kèlèw project will train entrepreneurs and ensure the digital transition of 50 SMEs, mostly run by women and young people. Businesses will be selected based on their digital transformation capacity and their digitalization needs.

"Given our actual context, amid the recovery of economies that have been hard hit by crises and security issues, the most resilient firms are those that open up internationally and have opted to make the digital part of their business model," said the president of the special consular delegation of the CCI-Togo, Nathalie Bitho.

Through digitalization, businesses will better operate and improve their offers, and this should allow them to better cope with shocks as well. The Secretary General of the Ministry in Charge of Trade, Yakpey Comlan Nomadoli, said: "This process will eliminate geographical barriers while improving communication with foreign customers and business partners."

In the long run, the Lon’Kèlèw project should boost the digital capacities of 500 companies in Togo.

Togo obtained on April 25, a €70 million contribution from the EU, for two Team Europe Initiatives (TEIs) aimed at supporting agro-businesses, energy, and connectivity in the West African country. Two agreements–one for €30 million and the other for €40 million–were signed in Brussels in this framework, by Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, and Victoire Tomegah Dogbé, Togo’s Prime Minister. The TEIs are part of the EU’s Global Gateway. 

According to the EU statement announcing the financing, it was set up in partnership with France, Germany, and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Also, the source indicates that the €30 million contribution will help develop agro-industries and enhance the management of natural resources, while the €40 million is a budget support program that will support access to basic social services, agriculture, and decentralization.

I welcome the signing of these two agreements which materialize the convergence between Togo's government roadmap and the EU's "Global Gateway" strategy. Our ambition is to accelerate the integration of Togolese agriculture into global value chains by relying on sustainable energy and strengthening connectivity per the vision of HE Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of the Togolese Republic, said the Togolese PM.

Regarding the TEIs, the first one, entitled Sustainable Agribusiness for Togo, aims to improve agricultural productivity and natural resource conservation. It builds on pineapple and cashew value chains to enhance food security, create jobs and preserve biodiversity. The second initiative, Energy and Connectivity for Togo, aims to achieve 100% electrification by 2030, 50% of which will come from renewable energy sources.

One of Togo's institutional partners, the EU supports the country’s agriculture, energy, and education sectors, but also its decentralization process. A few days ago, on the sideline of the FOPAT, an agricultural forum held in Kara (northern Togo), the EU announced a financing of over CFA6 billion to support agriculture in Togo. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Lomé raised CFA33 billion on the regional money market on April 24, 2023. The amount is three billion or 10% more than the country was seeking. 

According to the report of the securities market, the Togolese treasury obtained CFA26 billion through fungible treasury bills which mature over 182 days. The remaining CFA7 billion came from 3-year fungible treasury bonds.

The report further indicates that 12 investors subscribed to Togo's issue, bidding up to CFA40 billion. This represents a subscription rate of 133.34% for the operation. 

It is the second consecutive time, since the year began, that Togo exceeds its target on the regional stock market. It raised CFA32 billion, or CFA2 billion more than it was seeking, in its previous issue, which closed on April 7.

Esaïe Edoh

Since it launched in April 2022, the Tinga Fund has reached over 100,000 people in the Togolese regions of Kara and Savanes. The figure was disclosed by the country’s Presidency last week, after a meeting between President Gnassingbe and some of the Fund’s beneficiaries in Pagouda (in the Kara region). 

The Minister Delegate to the President, in charge of Energy and Mines, Mila Aziable, was also present. On the occasion, she provided more details about the project, its objectives, results, and prospects.

Tinga is a presidential initiative that makes it easier for people in Togo to have electricity. In detail, low-income households can connect to the grid by paying the connection fee (CFA100,000 or about $170) in installments. The initial payment is CFA1,000 and the rest can be paid over four (4) to 10 years. 

During the meeting, Gnassingbe noted, "with satisfaction", the impacts of the project on the living conditions of the people and the social sectors of the Kara region.

The leader, however, mentioned the various issues–security threats mainly–that the region faces and warned its people to be more prudent, and to work to preserve peace, without which no development project can thrive. 

"Everything we do today can be called into question. We are facing security threats in the sub-region. I invite you to be extremely vigilant because no one is safe from terrorism. We are all concerned by this situation. We must preserve peace and security in our country," he declared. 

For its pilot phase, the Tinga Fund was allocated a budget of CFA3 billion. Its end goal is to increase the electrification rate in the Savanes region from 22% to 31% and in the Kara region from 35% to 50% in 10 years.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi