After six years of service in Togo, Brazil’s ambassador to Togo, Antônio Carlos De Salles Menezes, is ending his mission in the country. In this framework, he met with President Faure Gnassingbe to recapitulate progress made relative to the cooperation between the two countries.

According to the diplomat, trade between Brazil and Togo soared in recent years, reaching $97 million in 2017. Regarding agriculture, the South American country backed Togo’s cotton development policy, via the second phase of the Coton4+ project launched in 2015. The latter enabled 500 Togolese farmers to boost their capacities, relative to techniques to growing improved seeds.

Looking back at the progress achieved over the period reviewed, Antônio Carlos De Salles Menezes lauded the improving cooperation between Brazil and Togo.

“Throughout my stay in Lomé, we have started some projects,” the outgoing ambassador said while regretting their disruption by the pandemic.

It is worth noting that Togo and Brazil have been cooperating since 1972.

The World Bank has scaled up its growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa and expects the region to come out of the Covid-induced recession.

“Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to emerge from the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic with an expected growth rate of 3.3% for 2021,” said the Bretton Woods institution in its latest semi-annual Africa's Pulse report, released on Wednesday, October 6.

The forecast is about 1 percentage point higher than last semester’s forecast - the World Bank, in April, expected SSA to grow at around 2.3% “given policies adopted by countries in the region and the international community.”

The Bank attributes the increase to high commodity prices and the easing of Anti-Covid measures and recovery in global trade. The dynamics, the Bretton Woods institution adds, should be sustained in 2022 and 2023, with the growth rate expected to reach about 4%, “continuing to lag the recovery in advanced economies and emerging markets, and reflecting subdued investment in SSA.”

However, the World Bank points out some weaknesses in the region, such as low vaccination rates and more lasting effects of Covid on SSA economies. 

More vaccines

To speed up economic recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank recommends greater access to Covid vaccines.

“Fair and broad access to effective and safe COVID 19 vaccines is key to saving lives and strengthening Africa’s economic recovery,” said Albert Zeufack, Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank. He added: “Faster vaccine deployment would accelerate the region’s growth to 5.1 percent in 2022 and 5.4 percent in 2023- as more containment measures are lifted, boosting consumption and investment.” 

Togolese authorities optimistic but prudent

In Togo, the government, like the World Bank, also scaled up its growth forecast for the economy.

From 1.8% in 2020 (due to Covid-19), Lomé expects a growth rate of 4.8%  this year. The country is one of the most vaccinated in the SSA, per habitant (right after Cape Verde).

While optimistic, Togolese authorities remain prudent, expecting real GDP to grow at 6.1% in 2022. They also concur with the World Bank that the global context is uncertain, relative to pressures sparked by Covid-19.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Ministry of Maritime Economy, Fisheries, and Coastal Protection of Togo now has its premises since Monday, October 4, 2021. The information was disclosed in a statement issued Tuesday by the head of the ministry, Edem Kokou Tengué

“Progress and a new address, one year later…,” the ministry wrote on its website to announce its new address located on Avenue Nicolas Grunitzky, within the walls of the Post Company of Togo (SPT), and not far from Orabank Togo’s headquarters.

Let’s emphasize that the ministry, established in October 2020, plans to speed up its activities’ implementation, in line with the government’s ambitions falling under the National Development Plan (PND).  “Now, more than ever, we must move forward with the concretization of our roadmap, to ensure that the blue economy has a real impact on the national economy,” the ministry said on its website.

It should be noted that “a large part of the country's economic activities is related to the port sector. Also, fishing contributes to 4.5% of GDP and employs over 20,000 people,” according to recent data.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese Tax Authority (OTR) issued tax abatements on vehicles parked at the customs which are over five years of age. The abatements which range from 25 to 40%, depending on time spent at the customs, are effective since October 1 and will expire on December 15, 2021.

The following table details the various abatement rates and the corresponding periods:

For old and damaged vehicles, the depreciation of the customs value will be assessed by the specialized services, depending on how much they are degraded. Those interested must pay the due duties “no later than December 31, 2021,” the OTR informs.

According to the tax authority, the incentive aims to support taxpayers “in these times marked by the Covid-19 pandemic,” and “decongest” storage sites.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Mono Basin Authority (ABM), an entity created by Benin and Togo to ensure the rational management of the Mono River, plans to adopt a new strategic plan for the 2022-2026 period.

The document will replace the 2016-2020 strategic plan which recently expired and whose impacts will soon be evaluated.

The ABM seeks a consultant to assess the previous strategy and elaborate the new one. The authority launched a tender last week to this end. 

Those interested can contact ABM’s secretariat, via mail (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to get more information about the tender and the mission’s details. They have until October 14, 2021, to do so.

The Mono River spans around 25,000 km² and is shared between Togo and Benin. In Togo, the basin is exploited mostly for agricultural projects, such as the agribusiness transformation zone development project (ZTA). This project is steered by the Agency for the Promotion and Development of Agropoles in Togo (APRODAT).

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In Saudi Arabia since Monday, Togo’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Robert Dussey, recently met with the Saudi Minister of Investment, Khalid Al Falih. “I thank my dear elder Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi Minister of Investment for his willingness to invest in Togo. In comparative terms, our country is very attractive,” the Togolese official wrote in a tweet posted on Tuesday. Dussey presented partnership opportunities that exist for the two nations’ private sectors. 

“I discussed possibilities of partnerships between our two governments and also between the private sectors in the areas of trade, agriculture, tourism industries. I explained to the Minister of Trade that in line with the 2018-2022 PND and the government's 2020-2025 roadmap, Togo launched an industrial platform in Adétikopé (PIA), and put in place mechanisms and infrastructure to boost agriculture," the foreign affairs minister said.

Besides investment opportunities, Dussey emphasized “the opportunities and comparative advantages of Autonomous Port of Lomé,” and positioned the platform as an entry point for Saudi goods in the sub-region. 

The port is the best, both in the sub-region and Africa, when it comes to container traffic and transhipping.

Robert Dussey, it should be recalled, was in Saudi Arabia last July, as part of efforts to boost economic cooperation between Lome and Riyadh.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The WAEMU commission has recently launched, in partnership with its regional consular chamber (CCR-WAEMU) and national consular chambers of its member states, the second edition of the Tremplin Startup WAEMU contest. The five best startups will get respectively CFA14 million, CFA13 million, CFA12 million, CFA11 million, and CFA10 million to grow their activity. 

A CFA5 million prize will also be given to each of the three best startups from every participating country.

It should be emphasized that only startups officially registered after January 1, 2017, and operating in the WAEMU can participate. Primarily, these are businesses that leverage digital technology to boost productivity in the agro-industrial sector.

The main goal of the commission, via this contest, is to foster modern and innovative entrepreneurship, as well as support the efforts of entities that support entrepreneurs in the region.

Startups interested have until October 25 to apply. Application forms are available at national consular chambers.

The previous edition of the contest was won by a Burkinabe Startup, TECO2.

Esaïe Edoh 

The Togolese government signed with BBOXX, a British startup, a memorandum of understanding to boost access to smartphones in the country. The MoU, inked on Sept. 27, concerns a project called Togo Smartphone, which enables a flexible payment of smartphones.

Under the agreement, BBOXX will first proceed to a market study to find out people’s needs and preferences. The pilot phase will follow and here, the British firm will supply the phones to civil servants and public workers. In the last phase of the program, anyone will be able to get a smartphone on a Pay-As-You-Go basis. 

Cina Lawson, Togolese minister for the digital economy, said the program is "crucial to achieve the government’s targets regarding financial inclusion and to provide populations more digital services like the Novissi." 

The program should also make it easier to get criminal records, as this can be done online since last August.

BBOXX has been operating in Togo since 2017. It supplies solar systems to households on a Pay-As-You-Go basis. In 2020, it signed an agreement with EDF, the French power developer, to supply solar-powered irrigation systems to 5,000 farmers.

Esaïe Edoh

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime released last week its Global Organized Crime Index. This study, developed over two years, evaluates levels of crime and resilience in all 193 UN member states.

The index evaluates countries according to their criminality on a score of 1 to 10, lowest to highest organized crime levels, based on their criminal markets score and criminal actors score, and their resilience to organized crime.

Togo                          

Twenty-fourth (24th) in Africa and 4th in the WAEMU, Togo has a score of 5.33. It comes just before  Benin (26th in Africa with 5.25), Guinea (27th in Africa with 5.2), and Senegal (34th in Africa, with a score of 4.81, the lowest in WAEMU). 

Across the Union, Côte d’Ivoire had the highest score (6.15), and was ranked 11th in Africa and 36th worldwide. Next comes Niger (6.01), Mali (16th in Africa with a score of 5.89), and Burkina Faso (21st in Africa with a score of 5.49).

Togo’score is below West Africa’s average of 5.47.

Nigeria, number one in West Africa

In West Africa and the ECOWAS, Nigeria has the highest score, 7.15. It is right behind DRC which has the highest score in Africa (7.75). The least impacted African country is Sao Tomé & Principe, with a score of 1.78 over 10.

East Africa is the part of the continent where organized crime is most prevalent (5.66). It is followed by West Africa (5.47), Central Africa (5.11), North Africa (4.8), and Southern Africa (4.67).

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

2021 Ranking of West African Countries with Highest Levels of Organized Crime