Togo First
Togo: WAEMU ends its review on the implementation of community reforms today
The WAEMU commission ends its 7th annual review of reforms, policies, programs, and community projects implemented in Togo, and how they align with the Union’s prescriptions. The meeting started last Wednesday.
“Over the past three years, our country distinguished itself as one of the WAEMU States that made a major leap, with an average rate for the implementation of community reforms rising from 64% in 2018 to 78% in 2020, up 7% per year on average,” Kossi Toffio, the Representative of the minister of economy and finance, said at the review’s opening.
According to Aminata Lo Paye, representative of the WAEMU Commission in Togo, the review will be “based on the weighing grid agreed upon” by countries in the Union.
This annual review, like previous ones, looks at regulations imposed in various areas such as economic governance, the regional money market, sectoral policies, to achieve harmonization and integration, at the regional level.
Togo: Fire breaks out near the port of Lomé
A fire broke out in the port area today, November 4. According to initial information that Togo First gathered from residents, the fire started at the foam and mattress manufacturing plant, near the refinery, not far from the Lomé Port Authority.
"Emergency measures have been deployed to control the fire and minimize material damage. We extend all our solidarity to the management and staff affected by this incident," said the Togolese Ministry of Maritime Economy and Coastal Protection.
The fire department was immediately dispatched to the scene.
Banque de Développement du Mali is now operational in Togo
The Development Bank of Mali (Banque de Développement du Mali - BDM) has opened its doors today, Nov 4. The news was disclosed by the lender’s management.
The Malian lender, which is headed in Togo by Souleymane Keita, will carry out all sorts of “financial transactions, commercial, industrial and securities.”
BDM-Togo is registered at the Centre for Business Formalities (CFE). Its objective is “to participate by all means in all operations, be it financial, commercial, real estate or securities-related, directly or indirectly connected to its mission and likely to foster development.”
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: PIA gets CFA20 billion from Coris Bank to finance its soybean processing segment
Coris Bank international Togo (CBI-Togo) will invest CFA20 billion to finance Soybean processing at the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA). The related agreement was inked by Anurag Sinha, VP, Agricultural Supply Chain at ARISE IIP, the company that manages the PIA, and Alassane Kaboré, MD, Coris Bank International Togo.
The PIA will use the funds to get soybeans from farmers and aggregators within the country and send them to the soy-based oil factory which is under construction at the industrial platform.
According to the PIA’s top management, the factory should process 500 m3 of soybeans per day, and get its supplies mainly from local producers and aggregators. Several deals have already been secured with local actors, reliable sources indicate.
“This financing is the first of its kind for the Industrial Platform of Adétikopé (PIA) and it aims to significantly contribute to the exploitation of the New Industrial Zone,” CBI Togo declared. The bank, besides this facility, explores other profitable projects to invest in at the PIA, such as a textile factory.
The PIA, in the meantime, keeps sealing more partnerships with various economic actors in Togo. Last week, it announced a partnership with Maersk Line, the world’s largest shipping company.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Recent highlights of President Gnassingbé’s participation in the COP26
On the sidelines of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Togo's Head of State, Faure Gnassingbé, carried out several activities.
The Togolese leader took part in the "Action on Forests and Land Use" meeting and the launch of the Global Methane Pledge initiated by the US and the EU.
Gnassingbé also attended the inaugural ceremony of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) financing mechanism for accelerating the energy transition, as well as the African Development Bank (AfDB) summit on accelerating adaptation in Africa.
In addition, he granted audiences to several personalities, such as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Paricia Espinosa, the COP26 Regional Ambassador for Africa, Ms. Janet Rogan, and the Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, Mr. Yannick Glemareck.
At the COP26, which ends on Nov 12, Faure Gnassingbé and his delegation reiterated Togo's commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
Esaïe Edoh
Covid-19: Constitutional court approves mandatory presentation of health pass to access every administrative building in Togo
It is now mandatory for anyone accessing administrative buildings, all over the Togolese territory, to present a Covid health pass. The constitutional court of Togo recently approved the extension of the measure which formerly applied only to the Golfe and Agoè-nyivé prefectures.
Article 1 of the ordinance states that "access to any administrative building throughout the national territory is subject to the presentation of one of the following proofs: proof of vaccination against COVID-19; a negative COVID-19 PCR test dating back less than seventy-two (72) hours; a waiver of vaccination against COVID-19 issued by a legally recognized physician. The Prime Minister may, depending on the evolution of the pandemic in each locality of the country, take, by order, measures to reinforce or alleviate the above provisions.”
According to the constitutional court, Article 2 of the ordinance takes into account those exempted from providing the aforementioned documents.
The magistrates, who rejected the first draft of the government’s bill due to its discriminatory nature, said the new one conforms with the constitution since “the measures mentioned in article 1 are aimed at the preservation of public health.” They (the magistrates) added that “the said measures do not apply in an absolute manner nor are they permanent since paragraph 2 of article 1 provides for the possibility of amending them depending on the pandemic’s evolution and local circumstances.”
Esaïe Edoh
ECOWAS develops regional climate strategy on the sidelines of COP26
The ECOWAS is developing a new climate strategy, specifically designed to improve its coordination of climate action in West Africa.
“Because coordinated regional action has more impact than the addition of national policies alone, ECOWAS has been working throughout 2021 to develop a Regional Climate Strategy,” reads a press release issued by the institution on November 1. “This strategy will contribute to strengthening the region's resilience to the impacts of climate change, in particular through support for the implementation of the commitments made by its Member States under the Paris Agreement,” it adds.
The strategy will set out objectives for 2030 and 2050, and an action plan for key development sectors like agriculture, energy, forestry, water, and transport and infrastructure.
The regional initiative is steered by a committee that brings together most departments of the ECOWAS commission and regular consultation with the Member States, and other regional institutions such as CILSS and UEMOA, as well as civil society and private sector actors.
The regional climate strategy should be discussed and approved by the community’s experts in H1 2022, before its adoption by the ECOWAS’ council of ministers.
Togo: Ministry for primary and secondary education gets new rolling stock from the government
In Togo, the government gave 46 pick-ups to the ministry of primary and secondary education last Friday. The rolling stock, worth CFA800 million, aims to reinforce the operational and management capacities of this ministry.
The provision ceremony took place at the Scientific High School of Lomé. It was presided by the minister of education, Dodzi Kokoroko, in the presence of other official and important figures.
"This donation of vehicles makes a useful contribution to the quality of education because it improves the pedagogical framework within our territory,” Kokoroko said.
This donation also aligns with the government’s development roadmap which aims to improve the quality of education and professional training given in Togo.
ProDeGol: 10 Togolese municipalities get brand new administrative facilities from the EU and Germany
The EU delegation, in Togo, and the German embassy offered administrative buildings to 10 of the country’s municipalities. The symbolic ceremony for the buildings’ reception took place in Sotouboua (a town located 280 km from Lomé) last week’s ending.
The EU and Germany injected €2 million (around CFA1.3 billion) in the facilities, via the ProDeGol - a decentralization and local governance program. The buildings will help the concerned municipalities better handle their affairs and provide their services.
“Local administration is the segment of public administration that is closest to citizens and with the most immediate and direct impact on grassroots populations in terms of sanitation services. That is why it is important to boost motivation, functioning, and performance of municipalities for the good of the people of Sotouboua,” said Joaquin Tasso Vilallonga, head of the EU delegation in Togo.
The provision of these buildings is one of ProDeGol’s major achievements in Togo. Launched in 2013, this program supports the government in its decentralization efforts. It has four axes, namely: implementing the decentralization process, fiscal decentralization and local finances, the development of municipalities, and civil status management.
The program is co-funded by the German ministry for economic cooperation and development (BMZ), and the EU, via GIZ.
Covid-19: Togo has over a million doses of the vaccines in stock, safe from shortage risk
Togo is unlikely to face a shortage of Covid vaccines soon. The news was disclosed by the country’s minister of health, Moustafa Mijiyawa, while he was getting a new batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Indeed, on Monday, November 1st, Togo received 475,200 doses of the American vaccine. This batch is part of a stock of four million Togo asked for via the African Union’s AVAT mechanism. With this latest supply, “Togo now has more than one million doses of vaccines across its vaccination centers, and the risk of shortage is thus eliminated,” Mijiyawa said.
Now that the country has “enough” doses of the vaccines, “the current challenge is the effective usage of these doses,” the ministry of health indicated.
Let’s recall that Togo wants to get more than a million of its inhabitants vaccinated by the end of the year. According to the Financial Times, as of the beginning of October, about 4.9% of the population (over 8 million) were fully vaccinated and 8.7% had received at least one dose.
Esaïe Edoh