The Togolese government has set up three new marine weather stations on three different sites (the Lome’s Port, Kpeme, and the customs office of Kodjoviakope). The facilities were inaugurated last week.

In addition to these three stations, there are two current meters (to measure the speed of water flow). This equipment, whose acquisition was made possible thanks to the support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), cost CFA348 million.

This new arsenal should allow Togo to improve the quality of its maritime services, and further boost its blue economy.

Commenting on the acquisition, UNDP’s resident representative Aliou Dia said “the equipment will provide data on the state of the sea and the marine and coastal environment, to facilitate maritime navigation, improve fishing activities, search and rescue at sea, and the resilience of the population and ecosystems of the coastal zone.”

Kletus Situ

Togo wants to better assess and certify its areas of mining potential. It announces, with the support of the World Bank, an airborne geophysical campaign that will also make it possible to provide the country with geoscientific data. In this regard, Mila Aziable, Minister Delegate for Energy and Mines, declared: “At the end of this campaign, Togo will be more attractive on the market.”

This survey will be carried out under the Mining Development and Governance Project (PDGM). It will enable the country to gather all the available information in real-time and also to confirm its mines mapping. Let’s recall that Togo already has a portal dedicated to mines registration.

Through the initiative, Togo, which recently adopted a bill to modify its mining code, ultimately aims to attract more investment in this sector.

Sena Akoda

In Togo, users of public administration services will soon be able to make digital payments. A draft decree in this direction was examined on February 17th during the Council of Ministers.

The projected bill, which is part of the law on the promotion of banking and the use of cashless means of payment, aims to “promote the use of e-payment within the Administration, banking, financial inclusion, and the fight against corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism”, indicated the government.

This measure comes in the context of the digital transformation of payments and administration, which has already been initiated in the country for several years now.

In this regard, we have several large entities and public utility establishments, such as the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR) and the National Social Security Fund (CNSS), which have already set up mechanisms and arrangements to enable digital payments for their services.

Kletus Situ (intern)

Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, a senior official and former Prime Minister of Togo, was reappointed on February 17th as the head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which he had headed since 2017.

IFAD’s board of governors, the Fund's main decision-making body, has renewed its trust in him, for a second four-year term.

Not long after he was reappointed, the Togolese announced, on social networks that he would focus, during his new term, on consolidating actions undertaken in the first.

"My first priority will be the consolidation of the reforms carried out over the past four years so that IFAD's path towards doubling its impact by 2030 becomes irreversible," he said on Twitter.

Also, the Rome-based institution informed that emphasis would be put on Covid-induced challenges, and global disturbances. Through his second mandate, the appointee will also give special attention to technological solutions, innovative financing models, and new partnerships with the private sector.

Indeed, "As the pandemic continues to devastate rural areas, an increase in poverty and hunger is predicted. Therefore, it is more urgent than ever that IFAD moves into high gear," added Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo.

As a reminder, in Togo, IFAD supports many structuring initiatives set to develop the agricultural sector, in particular, the risk-sharing Agricultural Financing Incentive Mechanism (MIFA), and the National Rural Entrepreneurship Project (PNPER), which was renewed in 2020, thanks to good performance.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In Togo, the Government plans to map the existing socio-economic infrastructure. The project, still in its pilot phase, was presented by the Minister delegate for territorial development, last Wednesday during the Council of Ministers.

Under the pilot phase, 10 cantons are covered. However, once it expands across the rest of the country, the mapping project, to which mayors and local elected officials must strongly contribute, would become a strategic planning tool for the development and planning for local authorities.

Practically, the document will make it possible to optimize the deployment of socio-economic infrastructures throughout Togo.

Moreover, it should be noted that for the executive power, the project falls under its systematic planning and actions in the short, medium, and long term. It is also part of its five-year roadmap objectives, which is to achieve a more devolved territory.

Kletus Situ (Intern)

From 200,000 t initially projected in 2022, Togo revised its forecast for cotton output to 225,000 t by 2025. 

This is a commitment farmers made to the State and Olam which is the new majority shareholder of the Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo (NSCT). The information was disclosed by Koffi Etoh, coordinator of the National Federation of the Cotton Farmers' Association (FNGPC).  

In 2019-2020, Togo's cotton output dropped (116,000 t) as farmers withdrew due to a continuous decrease of prices per Kg. 

Incentives to boost output, qualitatively and quantitatively

During a recent tour, a delegation of the NSCT encouraged farmers to do their best to meet their commitment. This delegation included the Boards of Pré Simfétchéou and Jacky Rivière respectively

Among incentives to encourage the producers, a minimum price per Kg (235cfa per kg) was fixed, a stabilization fund (to stabilize falling prices) was announced, an automatic system to re-evaluate the price per kg as soon as national output grows. 

The main goal of key actors in the cotton sector is to dynamize it, making it the main provider of input for the local textile industry. In Togo, cotton contributes nearly 4% of the GDP. 

Séna Akoda

Announced some months ago, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT.tg) is officially operational. This was disclosed by Cina Lawson, Togo’s Minister of the digital economy and digital transformation. 

The entity was set up by the Government and European cybersecurity expert Asseco Group. Its main mission is to “identify, assess, and tackle any cyberattack against the Togolese State, its citizens, businesses and organizations”. It will also provide sensitization campaigns and trainings on cryptocurrencies, digital investigation and cybersecurity. 

The CERT.tg will be led by a Cyber Defense Africa (CDA), a joint venture established by Asseco and the Government, under the aegis of the national agency for cybersecurity.

During his recent visit in Russia, Togo’s Minister of foreign affairs, Robert Dussey, said relations between the two countries are going well. This was while showcasing Togolese business opportunities to actors of the Russian private sector. 

For his part, Dussey’s Russian counterpart, Sergueï Lavrov, said Russia shows“great interest in actively developing bilateral relations in all sectors: trade, economy, education, military-technical cooperation”, adding that “we have a share will to intensify and deepen all our links, including commercial, economic, and investment links”. 

Studies are underway to look into “concrete possibilities to develop project in the energy, natural resources, infrastructure, transport, and agriculture sectors”, Lavrov declared.  

Recall that, Togo mainly bets on public-private partnerships to finance its 2020-2025 roadmap. 

Séna Akoda

Togo issued its first recovery bonds (ODR) with a maturity period of 5 years. The  securities, fungible treasury bonds, have a nominal value of CFA10,000 and an interest rate of 6.1% per year. 

With this operation, Lomé hopes to raise CFA20 billion. According to the UMOA-titres agency, the seccuities are subsidized by the BCEAO. They are eligible for refinancing with this central bank, at its traditional windows and a new one called Relance window, where investors can raise money at a minimum bid rate of 2% currently, for a period of six monts renewable as long as the 2021 ODRs are alive.

The new tools made available to WAEMU States aim to help them recover after the Covid crisis. Overall, the eight member States will have the opportunity to mobilize as much as CFA3,768 billion as a result.

Séna Akoda

Besides Aztraszenca’s vaccine approved by the WHO, Togo is looking to adopt Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. 

“The Covid-19 pandemic is so severe that we believe that any vaccine that has a chance of saving humanity and protect our people is good to try”, Robert Dussey, Togo's minister of foreign affairs, told Sputnik. “It is therefore obvious that during our stay in Russia, we will negotiate a deal to buy the Sputnik V vaccine for the vaccination campaign scheduled to begin next June. Also, Togo is not the only country to be interested in this vaccine”.

Lomé officially submitted a request to its Russian partner to this end. This was disclosed in a joint press conference held on February 16th, 2021, at St Petersburg, subsequent to a meeting between Togo and Russia's Minister of foreign affairs. 

Commenting on the development, Russia's foreign affairs minister, Sergei Lavrov, said: "Our Togolese colleagues have officially requested our cooperation to obtain this vaccine [ed note: Sputnik V]"

The Russian vaccine was recently validated by the International Scientific Community and has so far been adopted by 30 countries in the world. In Algeria, Tunisia, and Guinea where it was used, it recorded an efficacy of 92%. 

The deal for the Russian vaccine is being negotiated as Togo prepares to launch the first wave of vaccination soon. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi