Mesfin Tarsew, an Ethiopian, has been appointed as the new head of the pan-African airlines Asky, based in Lomé.  During his mandate, he will be responsible for getting the carrier, which was badly hit by the COVID-19, back on track.

In August 2020, Asky resumed flights after a halt of nearly four months caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

According to the International Air Transport Association, African airlines lost about $6 billion throughout the period planes were idle. 

Tarsew, Asky’s new director, was previously Director of the Information Technology Department, and Chief of Maintenance and Engineering for several years, at the same company.

ASKY, let’s recall, is owned at 20% by Ethiopian Airlines. It serves twenty-two cities in 19 countries on the continent.

Levies will be deducted on revenues generated by sports and other bets and fixed winnings, and parafiscal taxes, to constitute the National Fund for the Development of Sports (FONADES).

This fund was established by a new law setting the rules of organization, development, and promotion of physical and sports activities in Togo. The latter will allow public and private sports actors to benefit from technical and financial support in the practice of sports.

“The new law will serve as a basis for the professionalization of sports in Togo and will allow the emergence of high-level athletes and national teams competitive both on the continental and global level,” said Lidi Bessi-Kama, Minister of Sports and Recreation as the law was being adopted.

Overall, the objective of the Togolese authorities via the fund is to “contribute to the social and economic development of our country by promoting the practice of sports through the establishment of a mechanism for mobilizing resources necessary for the development of sports.”

Yesterday, May 27, a financing agreement worth €55 million (CFA36 billion) was signed to develop an agro-industrial project called Africa Europa Farm. The project aims to valorize the Mono Valley. 

The signing by concerned parties “concretized their commitment to the effective implementation of the Africa Europa Farm project,” said the trade ministry.

The project, according to its promoters, focuses on “the production, transformation, and commercialization of rice and maize over more than 4,000 hectares in the Mono River Valley, as well as on measures to foster local development in the prefectures of Bas-Mono (Afagnan) and Lacs (Aklakou).”

Kodjo Adedze, the minister of trade, was present during the signing ceremony. On this occasion, he commented: “The signing of this memorandum of understanding is perfectly in line with the ambitions of the highest authorities of our country reflected in the National Development Plan (2018-2022) and in the government roadmap 2020-2025, which aim at ensuring Togo’s emergence by 2030.”

Rose Mivedor, minister in charge of the promotion of investment, also welcomed the deal saying it consolidates the government’s efforts in the agricultural sector, a true lever for the Togolese economy. This is in a context where the authorities leverage agribusiness to drive growth by 2025. 

For his part, Philippe Pacquier, Africa Europa Farm Chairman, said the project will allow “the production of 100% Togolese-grown rice.  The first phase concerns 4,500 hectares and should allow the creation of 250 jobs to reduce unemployment in the locality. It is planned to set up a stable water pumping system, the creation of a training center in new cultivation techniques for the transfer of skills and a dispensary.”

Due to the economic damage caused by Covid-19, Togo’s multilateral debt surged from CFA331 billion in 2019 to CFA478 billion at end-2020, a difference of 44% approximately.

This is in a context where Togo says it has reimbursed around CFA12 billion as principal, subsequent to the cancelation of the IMF debt. Moreover, fluctuations in exchange rates saved the country about CFA3 billion on its multilateral debt.

The latter, let’s emphasize, currently represents nearly 49% (48.8%) of Togo’s external debt portfolio. Other types of debts in this portfolio are bilateral and commercial debts. 

Togo’s three biggest multilateral lenders - the IMF, the World Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) - detain nearly 82% of its multilateral debt. 

The IMF comes first with 42% of the amount that the country owes multilateral institutions; this corresponds to CFA201 billion against CFA126 billion in 2019. The huge difference was driven by a loan of CFA79 billion that the entity provided to Togo in April 2020, to support its anti-Covid-19 plan.  According to national data, the average maturity of the IMF's outstanding debt is 10 years, with an annual interest rate of 0.5%.

Behind the IMF is the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) with 26% of the debt. At end-December 2020, Togo was owing the financing body CFA128 billion (against CFA81.41 billion). 

In 2020, Lomé received about CFA37 billion from the IDA to finance the socio-economic recovery, amid the covid-19. The country is to pay back what it owes within 36 years, with a grace period of six years. Each year, the country pays interest of 0.75%.  

The last of the big three lenders of Togo is the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). It detains 12% of the country’s multilateral debt portfolio - CFA61.45 billion. This is 15% more than the CFA53.36 billion provided in 2019. 

Esaïe Edoh

The government of Togo and Vergnet Hydro, a French company, signed a €1.1 million deal to set up sanitation facilities and boost access to drinking water. 

The initiative is part of the Projet d’amélioration des conditions sanitaires en milieu scolaire et rural des régions de la Kara et des Savanes (PASSCO), a scheme that aims to improve sanitary conditions in rural areas and schools. 

In detail, under the new deal, 300 hydraulic pumps will be installed, benefiting the people of Kara and Savanes.  It aligns with the government's roadmap which aims to bring access to clean water to 85% (from 77%) in Kara and 72% (from 67%) in Savanes. This is in a context where about 43% of the Togolese population lacks access to drinking water. 

Looking at the latest data from the government, access to drinking water in Togo soared from 25%, in 2005, to 57% now.  

 Daniel Agbenonwossi (intern)

In Togo, while cotton output in the 2020-2021 season was almost halved, production of cereals, tubercles and vegetables improved.  

The country recorded a surplus this season, according to a report recently presented by the ministry of agriculture, husbandry, and rural development, Antoine Gbégbéni. The official pointed out that the coverage rates for the need in cereals, tubercles, and vegetables stood at 101%, 160%, and 240% respectively. 

This performance aligns with that recorded in the previous season and over the past decade generally. 

Indeed, in 2019-2020, Togo recorded a surplus of around 70,000 t of cereals (corn, local rice, sorghum, millet, etc.). The surplus is exported in the sub-region and abroad as well.  

In the ended season, let’s note, cultivated areas also increased. However, the country still grapples with a deficit in meat and fish products; The coverage rates for the need of these products are estimated at 60% and 34% respectively. 

Initially scheduled to be operational in January 2021, Adetikope’s Industrial Platform (PIA) will finally be inaugurated on June 6, ten months after the project was launched. The inauguration will be presided by President Faure Gnassingbé. 

The project, which cost more than CFA130 billion, is one of the flagship projects of the government’s national development plan (PND). Spanning 400 hectares, the platform is developed by Arise IIP, an expert in industrial park development. The firm’s major stakeholders are Singaporean Olam and Africa Finance Corporation, the largest infrastructure financing institution in Africa.

Besides the industrial area it will host, the PIA will have a container (12,500 TEU) storage park, a platform to store cotton and other commodities, as well as a 200,000 m² area dedicated to logistics.

To boost connectivity and support its digital economy, the World Bank will provide Togo with additional financing of $11 million (about CFA6 billion). The Bretton Woods institution, on May 21, said it approved the facility via its specialized arm, the International Development Association (IDA). 

The financing falls under the West Africa Regional Communications Infrastructure Program - WARCIP. The latter aims to improve the World Bank’s support to major projects undertaken in Togo, cut costs of communication services and expand the reach of broadband. 

In detail, the monies will be used to “complete the construction of the neutral and open hosting and co-rental center (Carrier Hotel).” The latter said the Washington-based institution“will serve as a regional hub for the purchase and resale of international bandwidth capacity on the broadband market in Togo.”

“The installation of planned infrastructures as part of this project will help reduce the cost of international connectivity and support Togo’s digital transformation program,” added Hawa Cisse Wagué, Resident Representative, World Bank Togo. Moreover, the funds announced should help finalize the 2025 Digital Togo strategy. 

WARCIP-Togo is part of the second phase of the WARCIP, a larger project financed by the World Bank ($300 million) and aimed at bridging connectivity gaps in 16 countries in West Africa and other parts of the world. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi