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

The government recently encouraged UN bodies in Togo to increase their actions, those that will greatly impact the people and accelerate inclusive development. In this framework, following a meeting to review the UN’s activities in the country, representatives from both sides picked some key areas where these actions can be carried out. They include health, education, and digitalization.

Specifically, these interventions should focus on “accelerating the inclusion of the people,” while ensuring that “no one is left out”, said Fatoumata Binta Diallo, WHO Resident Representative in Togo, and spokesperson for UN agencies. 

The Togolese government, for its part, believes that providing financial and technical support to key sectors defined by its development roadmap will help produce more tangible results for the benefit of the population. 

Back in December 2019, let’s recall, both parties renewed their cooperation framework for the period 2019-2023, and defined the action strategy of the entire UN system in Togo, a strategy focused on SDGs and the country's development priorities.

Esaïe Edoh 

Between its launch in 2016 and the end of December 2021, the Support Project for Youth Employability and Integration in Growth Sectors (PAEIJ-SP), distributed CFA17.2 billion to young Togolese agripreneurs, according to data provided by this program.

The sum is twice the CFA7.5 billion the institution planned to share over the period under review.  It was raised through 15 financial partner institutions (including microfinance institutions). These donors have financially supported a total of 669 young people against 780 planned, 1,457 SCOOPS (Cooperative Societies) against 1,000 initially planned, and 23 SMEs / SMIs, against 12 planned.  

Regarding technical support, the PAEIJ-SP said it supported 31 SMEs, against 12 planned; trained 1,420 young people (against 1200 initially planned) on the development of business plans and business creation, and supported 3,178 agricultural groups, against 1,000 planned.

The various initiatives led to the creation of more than 55,000 direct jobs, of which 27% were allotted to women, and nearly 750,000 seasonal jobs (of which 38% were for women). This is as a result of its technical support to the 31 SMEs/SMIs.

The PAIEJ-SP is co-financed by the government of Togo and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Deployed across the whole country, the program covers the following sectors: corn, cassava, soybeans, small ruminants, and poultry. Earlier this month, donors and agricultural actors involved in the project met to talk about the financing of the upcoming 2022-2023 agricultural campaign, with a focus on sustainability.

It’s been over 10 years since the Economic and Social Council (ESC) was approved by the Togolese Parliament. At last, the country plans to launch it this year. 

In this framework, the government allocated a budget of CFA500 million (payment credit) to the body which will advise public institutions, especially the Presidency and the Parliament, and take part in the elaboration of economic and social policies.

The ESC’s launch was reiterated on April 26, 2019, by President Faure Gnassingbé during his message to the nation. However, it took longer than expected, due to undisclosed reasons.

With the help of Morocco, Togo started recruiting the ESC’s staff in 2020. In all, the institution is to have 57 workers, including four officials picked by the President himself, two by the National Assembly, and one by the Prime Minister’s office. Other staff members will come from different socio-economic sectors. They will all be Togolese, be at least 30, and must have been working in their respective fields for a minimum of 10 years. 

The Economic and Social Council will be located in Aného, near the southern border with the Benin Republic.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Togo’s Treasury successfully closed, last Friday, its latest fundraising on the UMOA-securities. The country secured CFA35 billion by issuing fungible treasury bonds, with a 10-year maturity period and an interest rate of 5.90%.

This was Lomé’s third issue on the regional money market this year and according to the UMOA-Titres Agency, 22 regional investors subscribed, raising CFA69 billion, in total. That is twice the amount the country was seeking. 

Including Friday’s round, Togo raised so far into the year CFA99 billion on the regional market, out of CFA550 billion it will attempt to raise throughout 2022. A target that is slightly above the CFA530 billion fixed in the 2022 Finance Act.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo’s government plans to pump around CFA150 billion into its education system this year. The figure was set in the 2022 Finance Act. 

The amount is almost the same as that set in 2021 (CFA154 billion) before it was scaled down (to CFA137 billion) by the rectifying bill adopted at the end of the year. Most of the funds will be shared among the four departments of the ministry of education.   

In detail, preschool education, which is the least financed segment of the Togolese education system, will get, along with primary education, a budget of CFA85 billion this year.

The issue of preschool education is important because it is the education segment in which we invest the least.

In #Togo, although education takes up about 25% of the national budget, the share we devote to it is low. pic.twitter.com/7fivmOvN8U

—Faure E. Gnassingbé (@FEGnassingbe) July 29, 2021

Secondary education will receive CFA44 billion, while technical and vocational education is to get CFA9 billion. As for the handicraft sector, to which a delegated ministry has been dedicated in the government, CFA711 million was set aside for it.

Thinking of Tomorrow’s Education  

In the past 15 years, the budget allocated to education in Togo has increased sevenfold. More importantly, a wave of modernization projects washed over the sector over the last 15 months. They were aimed at improving the access to education, its quality, as well as governance and management in the sector.

The projects were launched to support key players and populations, provide equipment, supply resources to staff, and also recruit and train teachers.

The most recent is the construction of 30,000 classrooms all over the country. It is set to be completed in 2025.

“What matters is thinking about the state of education in 2030, 2040, and 2050, set some order in what is being taught and the ambitions of public authorities for future generations,” said the minister of education, Dodzi Kokoroko, last month. 

While “improving the education system remains at the heart of the political agenda,” the government plans to focus on “governance, digitalization, and pedagogy” next.

According to the latest data available, the schooling rate in Togo currently exceeds 94%, while completion rates in primary and secondary schools stand at 89% and 51%, respectively.

Octave Bruce