Last Thursday, Togo received 118,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The batch was acquired through the African Union’s platform. 

According to the press release that revealed the information, Togo ordered a total of four million doses of the Africa-made vaccine. It has several advantages: it is administered in one dose, comes in a bottle of 5 doses, and can be stored at a temperature of +2 to +8 degrees.

After the doses were received, President Gnassingbé urged authorities to rapidly vaccinate populations. “I am delighted with the rapid arrival of these doses, and I invite my fellow citizens to be vaccinated en masse to contain the disease,” the leader said.

Counting the recent batch, Togo has received since March 2021 a total of 716,620 covid vaccines. As of August 3, 2021, says the government, 337,820 people (4.2% of the population) had received at least one dose while 158,310 (2% of the population) have been fully vaccinated.

Esaïe Edoh

Payadowa Boukpessi and Sani Yaya, respectively the ministers of territorial administration and finance, urged local authorities to manage municipalities’ funds better

The two officials issued the related circular after the release of an analysis report that found several irregularities in the financial management of many municipalities. 

The report, issued by the Court of Audit, indicates that some prefects, mayors, financial controllers, treasurers, and accounting officers, among others, have been irregularly receiving bonus payments for traditional celebrations, discounts on market tickets, cash allowances, and benefits, both in cash and in-kind. 

These practices, which tend to spread, can hurt the financial interests of communities, and therefore need to be corrected, wrote Boukpessi and Yaya. 

Authorities concerned, the ministers added, “must immediately put an end to these practices, or risk legal sanctions”. They must “conform with regulations in place without delay”. 

Let’s recall that since 2019 Togo started its decentralization process, holding local elections. The country has 117 municipalities.

Esaïe Edoh

In recent years, the rate of enrollment in Togolese primary schools reached 94%, placing the nation among the WAEMU States with the highest schooling rate. 

In that economic community, Togo has the highest completion rate in primary education: 89%. 

In detail, schooling rates in kindergarten, primary and junior high school currently stand at 37.2% (from 15.8%), 94.3% (from 86.5%), and 51.7% (from 37%), respectively.

The improvements, say Togolese authorities, are due to several projects and programs such as the exemption of school fees, School Assur, and school canteens. Moreover, the government recently suppressed registration fees for national exams. 

By 2030, Lomé plans to consolidate its achievements with the help of national and multilateral partners like UNICEF and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese State spent CFA1.9 billion to cover registration fees for national examinations in 2021-2022. 

The amount corresponds to the registration fees of over 484,755 candidates. The exams covered are the CEPD, BEPC, BAC1, BAC2, and BTS. Others such as the CFA, BT, CQP, BEP, CAP, and DTSA also benefited from the registration fee exemption. 

The measure was part of promises made by President Gnassingbé during the recent presidential campaign.

It aligns with other steps taken to improve the rate of schooling and success in exams. Such steps include School Assur, the exemption of school fees for kindergarten and primary school pupils, and the school canteens project.

In detail, under the school canteen project, 97,000 pupils received warm meals for a total cost of about CFA22 billion. Meanwhile, the rate of schooling in Togo rose by 9.4%, due to School Assur.

As for the fee exemption initiative, for preschool and primary school pupils, it helped Togo record an average increase of 12% in enrollment rates. 

Esaïe Edoh

The President of TOGO, Faure Gnassingbé, and the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, met last Friday in London. This was on the sidelines of the global summit on education.

The two leaders, according to the Togolese presidency, mainly talked about Lome's reforms to improve the business climate and attract private investors in economic sectors with high potential. 

They also discussed Togo's efforts in terms of clean energies. In this regard, Johnson praised the West African country for its commitment to these energies. He specifically lauded the CIZO solar kits project, the recently commissioned Kekeli Efficient power plant, and Blitta's PV power plant.

During the talks, the UK's Prime Minister also emphasized Togo's contribution to the preservation of peace and security in the West Africa and Sahel region.

Other bilateral topics, aiming to strengthen the ties between the two countries, were discussed. 

Togo, it should be recalled, has been taking steps, since 2014, to join the Commonwealth. 

Esaïe Edoh

Lomé is currently hosting a two-day international conference on grassroots development. The meeting, which focuses on public policies benefiting grassroots populations, and began on July 29, is an initiative of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

The conference was opened by Togo’s PM Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, Mario Pezzini, director of the OECD development center, and Myriam Dossou-d’Almeida, minister of grassroots development. 

Development experts, officials, and administrators participating in the event, physically and virtually, will discuss various experiences acquired relative to grassroots development.  

Togo, let’s highlight, made social inclusion one of the pillars of its government roadmap. In this framework, it has, over the past few years, introduced a battery of reforms and development policies to support grassroots communities. These efforts are coordinated by the ministry of grassroots development, youth and youth employment. 

Klétus Situ

Transshipping operations in Togolese waters will be regulated henceforth. This was decided during a council of ministers held July 24, in Kara. A draft bill was examined in this framework. 

Explaining the move, the government said that “though they developed in our country, taking into account security issues prevailing in our territorial waters,” transshipment operations are threatened.

Looking at the risks inherent to this activity, and at its economic reach, it became necessary to better regulate it, the authorities added. The adoption of the examined bill will thus “fix rules to regulate these operations and their environmental impact.”

Transshipping represents a significant share of activities at the Port of Lomé. They are responsible for the port’s position as a regional hub. 

In 2019, the Port of Lomé ranked among the top five transshipping platforms in Africa, and the second in the sub-Saharan region. That year, the infrastructure handled 1.5 million TEU, according to La Lloyd’s List, a UK magazine with a focus on the maritime sector. 

Esaïe Edoh