A development and urbanization masterplan will be adopted by six local municipalities. The project, led by the government, will be partly financed by the PIDU, an urban development and infrastructure project with an estimated value of $30 million. 

The six municipalities concerned are Zio 1 (in the maritime region), Ogou 1 and Kloto 1 (Plateaux), Tône 1 (Savanes), Kozah 1 (Kara), and Tchaoudjo 1 (Central region). 

The masterplan is a document to regulate and manage urban space, and organize transportation and movement of vehicles. It will enable covered municipalities to make projections, over 20 years, regarding major strategic projects aligning with the ongoing urbanization dynamics. 

In line with the project, the ministry of urbanism, housing, and land reform, launched a call for expression of interest to recruit a consultant to assess the readiness of each of the six municipalities aforementioned. 

It should be recalled that the PIDU’s main objective is to improve access to urban infrastructure and basic services in cities, as well boost the latter’s institutional capacity relative to urban planning and management.

Togo’s trade deficit (including services) widened further last year. From CFA349 billion in 2019, it deepened by 31% to CFA460 billion, according to recent data released by the BCEAO.  

This is mostly due to the Covid-19 which almost froze the global economy, and Togo’s especially, as governments shut their borders and implemented various restrictions to contain the spread of the virus. 

Despite the crisis, goods imports into Togo over the past year improved slightly compared to 2019. Indeed, the country’s imports were estimated at CFA1,080 billion in 2020, down by 1.7% compared to 2019 where they stood at CFA1,061 billion. 

Meanwhile, exports generated CFA580 billion in 2020, against CFA618 billion (-12%) the year before. 

Service balance also contracted, by 58%, from CFA94.5 billion to CFA39.5 billion, over the period reviewed.

Togolese beekeepers and honey sellers are now allowed to export their produce to the European Union (EU), a market of 450 million consumers. This was recently disclosed by Joaquin Tasso Vilallonga, head of the EU delegation in Togo. 

“We hope that this approval will facilitate the development of the honey sector and exports from Togo to the EU,” Vilallonga said.

According to the diplomat, the good news is the result of a long process started in 2019, on the sidelines of the first EU-Togo economic forum held in Lomé. Indeed, just after that forum, the EU delegation had financed the elaboration of a National Plan to Monitor Residues in the Honey sector (PNSR). The latter aimed at certifying the quality of Togolese honey for export to the EU. 

According to recent figures, in 2019, Togo produced 59,833 L of honey, up by 58.6% from 37,727 L in 2018.

Yesterday, June 14, Togo’s PM, Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, and Gerd Müller, Germany’s minister for economic cooperation and development, laid the first stone for an industrial profession academy. The latter, built over a hectare, is located at the Adetikope Industrial Platform (PIA). 

According to the PM’s office, the academy will offer 8 training courses across three sectors, namely agribusiness, industry, and construction. The professional school could train as many as 300 students per year. Financed under a public-private partnership, the project costs €10 million (CFA6.55 billion). 

“Our goal is to enable Togolese youth to fully play its role in the new development strategy we are initiating through the PIA,” Dogbe said. 

For his part, Müller, quite optimistic about the country’s industrial strategy, declared: “A sustainable industry must also provide jobs for the youth. This project should lead to the creation of 30,000 jobs. What we are doing here is creating added value in the country, and leveraging this added value locally, thereby building a real model for Africa.” 

The PIA, let’s recall, is the fruit of a public-private partnership between the Togolese State and Arise IIP. It was inaugurated on June 6, 2021, by President Faure Gnassingbé. 

Klétus Situ

Between 2018 and 2020, Togo imported CFA472 billion worth of petroleum products, data from the West African Development Bank (BCEAO) shows. 

The amount breaks down into CFA167 billion, CFA165 billion, and CFA140 billion in 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. The significant slump in the last year, 15%, is attributable to the pandemic which caused oil prices to plunge drastically.

Imports of oil and its derivatives represented about 15% of all goods Togo imported over the three years reviewed. In terms of volume, while that imported in 2020 is yet to be known, the country bought 758,219 tons of petroleum products in 2019, almost the same as it did in 2018 (758,218 tons).  

The government, let’s recall, recently increased pump prices, following a recommendation of the Comité de Suivi des Fluctuations des Prix des Produits Pétroliers (CSFPPP), a committee that monitors fluctuations in prices of petroleum products. 

Klétus Situ

A few days ago, the World Bank approved a $29.5 million (about CFA16 billion) financing to help Togo ‘proceed to the vaccination of its population against the coronavirus and better tackle public health emergencies.’ 

The funds break down into $25 million from the International Development Agency (IDA) and $4.5 million from the Health Emergency Preparedness & Response multi-donor trust fund. This should, in effect, enable the West African country to boost the distribution of vaccines and have an appropriate health system that will ensure the success of the ongoing vaccination campaign.

The new financing will also cover the purchase of vaccines, the update of the conservation chain, and the efficient provision of vaccines to the people. 

“These additional resources will allow Togo to achieve its objective, which is to vaccinate at least 60% of its population,” said Hawa Wague, Resident Representative for the World Bank in Togo. She added that the country “recorded multiple successes in managing the Covid-19 crisis, as a result of measures taken by the authorities paired with an adequate healthcare and testing system.” 

In March 2021, Togo started its vaccination campaign against Covid-19. In the coming months, it should receive a batch of vaccines that the US has committed to provide to around a hundred countries.

Togo should soon get more power supply from Nigeria, in the framework of the North Core project, a regional project. The latter is financed by the World Bank, the French Development Agency (AFD), and African Development Bank (AfDB). 

The announcement was made by Sule Abdulaziz, chairman of the executive board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP). Abdulaziz, who is also interim MD of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), did so after a meeting between the ministers of energy of Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. 

In detail, the North Core will involve the construction, in the next two years, of a 330 kV power line that spans 875 km, going from Nigeria to benefiting countries. 

This project should allow Togo to accelerate its universal access to power strategy, a goal which it eyes by 2030. 

Daniel Agbenonwossi

More than CFA13 billion. That is how much the Togolese State spent on subsidies to petroleum products between January 2019 and May 31, 2021. This was disclosed on Friday by the minister of trade, Kodjo Adedze. 

The official, who was explaining the reasons behind the recent increase in pump prices of petroleum products in Togo, emphasized that the State lost about CFA6 billion because of the subsidies. He subsequently revealed how much the products concerned would have cost without the subsidies. 

Without the subsidy, he said, unleaded super would be sold at CFAF 595, diesel at CFAF 568, and kerosene at CFAF 517. At the moment, they are respectively sold at CFA505, CFA520, and CFA606. 

Regarding the spike in prices of petroleum products, Adedze said it was mainly spurred by a "considerable change" in the price of the dollar and the barrel of oil on the international market.

"From $18 at the beginning of 2019, the oil barrel was sold at $73.93 by June 9, 2021, an increase of 277%," he indicated.

Let’s note that new prices came into effect on Friday, June 11.