Togo First
Tax authority ready to launch fiscal marking initiative across the country
Togo’s tax authority, the OTR, will launch a fiscal marking campaign tomorrow, July 1st. The institution in this framework received some equipment and a software developed by Société industrielle et commerciale de produits alimentaires (SICPA).
The software will help inspect and assess the authenticity of tax stickers affixed to some products. As for the equipment, it includes SICPAMOBILE (SM45) kits and optical filter kits for validation. The equipment was made available to the OTR’s control agents by the commission set up to monitor and implement the fiscal marking project.
The optical filters are used to identify the marks or stickers affixed to goods. Products concerned by the operation include water, beer, fruit juice, wine vermouths, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
According to the OTR, the marking initiative aims to ensure the traceability of consumption goods circulating in the country. Another goal is to protect consumers’ health.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo kickstarts project to build city halls in 25 municipalities
As part of its decentralization strategy, the Togolese government started a project to build city halls in 25 municipalities across the country’s five economic regions. The project will be financed under phase III of the Decentralization Support Program (PAD III), by the German development bank, KfW. The latter will inject CFA5 billion into the initiative.
Currently seeking a firm to carry out the construction works, Lomé recently launched an international tender through Agetur Togo, the agency picked to monitor the project.
The first and second phases of the Decentralization Support Program cost a total of €17 million or CFA11 billion CFA.
Besides this program, Germany also supports local governance in Togo, via the Decentralization and Local Governance Program (ProDeGoL); it is steered by GIZ.
Esaïe Edoh
Electricity prices were not increased, utility says
Togo’s power utility, the CEET, denied that electricity costs for prepaid users were increased, contrary to what some media recently reported.
“There has been no increase in electricity rates. Actual rates remain the same as that in effect since 2010,” the company wrote in a statement.
The CEET was backed by the minister of energy, Mila Aziablé, who also issued a statement to inform populations that the rates were not increased.
The country, it should be noted, just commissioned one thermal power plant and one solar PV plant. The two projects align with Lomé’s ambition to achieve universal power coverage.
Egypt looks to increase its investments in Togo
Egypt’s new ambassador to Togo, Ahmed El Samawi, recently met with the President of the Special Consular Delegation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo, Nathalie Bitho. During the audience, El Samawi talked about Cairo’s interest in encouraging Egyptian businesses to invest in Togo.
Covid-19 has impaired efforts and economic assets but it is time activities between our two countries resume, the Egyptian said. He committed to double down on his efforts to make Egypt one of Togo’s main economic partners.
In response, Bitho, the CCIT’s top brass, presented investment opportunities Togo offers Egyptian businesses.
According to the Egyptian embassy, trade between the two nations grew to nearly $60 million (about CFA33 billion), from 2018 to 2020.
Besides trade, Egypt supports Togo in sectors like security, fighting terrorism, infrastructure, aviation, agriculture, tourism, notably by offering internship opportunities to Togolese officials.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo seeks CFA1,800 billion to develop four agricultural sectors by 2030
To develop the poultry, corn, rice, and tomato sectors by 2030, Togo greenlit last week a strategy that requires CFA1,800 billion.
This plan should raise corn yield per hectare from 1.23 metric tons now to 6 metric tons while expanding cultivated areas dedicated to the crop to 35,000 ha for a yield of 211,000 t. According to the FAO which led the plan’s elaboration, this ambition requires CFA147 billion.
Regarding rice, the country aims to increase its output to 817,004 t by 2030. To do so, it needs CFA987 billion. Outputs of tomatoes and poultry should respectively reach 234,430 t (half of which will be processed) and 30,000 t. To reach these targets, Lomé plans to mobilize CFA235 billion and 430 billion for each of these sectors.
Raising these funds will require an exemplary public-private partnership, said Djiwa Oyetounde, FAO’s head of mission in Togo. He added that developing these four sectors “is a good approach to stimulate growth in rural areas and improve the livelihoods of populations.”
Besides aligning with the IFAD-backed initiative to support the Agricultural Financing Incentive Mechanism (ProMIFA), the project falls under the second axis of the National Development Plan (PND 2018-2022). That axis focuses on developing agricultural transformation, manufacturing, and mining activities.
Esaïe Edoh
Covid-19: Togo launches vaccine passport for vaccinated citizens
The government of Togo has launched a vaccine passport, in line with its Covid-19 vaccination strategy.
This passport is reliable, secure, and can be verified. “It is unforgeable, accessible to all, and proves that a person was fully vaccinated against Covid-19,” the government said.
Delivered freely, the official document contains information related to the required number of doses one must take, as well as a unique QR code that gives access to all vaccination-related data of the holder. The passport has an electronic signature.
One can apply for the document online, via https://vaccin.covid19.gouv.tg, or offline, via mobile, by dialing *844#.
More than 300,000 people have received at least one vaccine dose since the government launched its vaccination campaign on March 10, 2021, according to the Togolese ministry of health, public hygiene, and universal healthcare.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo gets additional CFA5 billion from BOAD for newly-inaugurated power plant in Blitta
The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has disbursed additional financing of CFA5 billion for the Sheik Mohamed Bin Zayed plant in Togo. The plant, which was inaugurated on June 22 by Faure Gnassingbé, had already benefited from a CFA7 billion facility from the regional lender.
The news was disclosed at the end of last week by the BOAD itself.
The new funds, the bank says, will serve to expand the plant’s output from 30 MWp to 50 MWp. Adding the new financing, the total cost of the infrastructure is now CFA26 billion. It is co-financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
It should be noted that about two months ago, a 47 MW turbine was launched at the Kekeli Efficient Power thermal plant. This was the plant’s first turbine. A second one, with a capacity of 18 MW, should be launched by the end of the year.
All these projects align with Togo’s efforts to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, with renewables contributing 50% of its energy mix. The country should benefit from Nigeria’s power surplus, via the North Core regional project.
Klétus Situ
India now has an embassy in Togo
India opened on Saturday, June 26, its embassy in Togo. That day, Sanjiv Tandon, the Indian ambassador to Togo, presented his credentials to Togo’s foreign affairs minister Robert Dussey.
The embassy was opened a day after Exim Bank of India signed an agreement to lend Togo CFA22 billion for a major electrification project covering 350 communities.
Also, Amea Power, an Indian power developer, actively contributed to the construction of Blitta’s new power plant which was inaugurated on June 22, 2021. The company is in charge of the infrastructure’s maintenance.
The engagement of these Indian companies, according to Robert Dussey, attests to the excellent relationship between Togo and India. “Cooperation between our countries is very dynamic in the sectors of energy, industry, and agriculture,” the Togolese diplomat tweeted.
Let’s recall that between 2015 and 2019, New Delhi loaned $11 billion to more than 20 African countries. Togo injected the funds it secured from the Asian giant into electricity and agriculture projects.
Esaïe Edoh
BOAD approves CFA11 billion financing for an agricultural project in the Oti region
A few days ago, the executive board of the Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD) approved the disbursement of CFA10.7 billion for some agricultural development works in Togo.
The works, which fall under the PATA-OTI, a project covering the Oti region, will specifically be carried out in the fourth zone (Sadori, Fare, and Koukombou) and fifth zone (Nali and Koulifiekou) of this project.
The goal of the project is to make it easier for producers in the region concerned to access modern production inputs, boost agricultural productivity, and create conditions that will foster the emergence of agro-entrepreneurs. Under the same project, the region is set to produce rice, on an industrial scale, and host a sugar plant.
The PATI-OTI is a four-year project launched in 2018. With an estimated cost of CFA72 billion, it is backed not only by the BOAD but also by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
Klétus Situ
Bamako Forum picks Jonas Aklesso Daou as African Entrepreneur of the Year
Jonas Aklesso Daou, CEO of Zener (formerly Sodigaz), won the African Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Bamako Forum held last month. The forum, a top-level brainstorming gathering focused on Africa’s future, is held once a year and it has been over the past two decades.
The award recognizes the commitment of the young Togolese entrepreneur, who, with his company, makes an impact in his sector. The SME, which operates in energy, industry, and service, “has become one of the major actors in these key sectors and it has also expanded in Benin and Burkina Faso, with more than 500 employees,” Daou declared.
Zener, Togo’s leading gas trading company, has a terminal in Togo. It exports most of its output. Besides this company, Jonas Daou is also active in the metallurgy industry, car sales, digital counseling, and services.
Last month, the Togolese businessman raised the capital of one of his other companies, Diwa International, a car dealer, to over CFA1 billion. With that company, he joined the Elite Lounge BRVM program. The latter is the 3rd compartment of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), dedicated to the SME/SMI of the Uemoa.
Since September 2020, he has been at the top of the Association of Large Enterprises of Togo.
Esaïe Edoh