There is a new twist in the dispute between the telecom and posts regulator (ARCEP) and the Togocel-Moov duopoly.

After being cautioned by the regulator for unfair pricing, both operators reduced their on-network call rates by 20 FCFA/minute while increasing their off-network rates by 10 FCFA/minute.

Displeased with the move, the ARCEP demands the two operators to explain within 24 hours. "ARCEP will exercise all the powers conferred by its prerogatives under the legal and regulatory framework so that the alignment of "on-net/off-net" rates does not serve as a pretext for an increase in off-network rates," it warned.

Séna Akoda

The 4th round of the German-Togolese Consultations opened in Lomé yesterday, November 23rd.

The two-day meeting brings together Togolese officials and German diplomats to discuss at length the current state and prospects of cooperation between the two countries.

For the Togolese government, the meeting should help "strengthen the impact of cooperation between the two countries" and "refocus it around key themes related to the government's roadmap."

In recent years, the long-standing and diversified bilateral relationship between Togo and Germany focused on several key areas such as local governance and decentralization.

Currently, in Togo, two major projects which are being implemented in the framework of the cooperation between the two countries are the Decentralization Support Program (PAD) led by KfW, and the Decentralization and Local Governance Program (ProDeGoL) steered by GIZ.

According to official data, since the cooperation between Lomé and Berlin resumed in 2012, Germany has injected nearly €265 million in the African country.

Agriculture, which contributes nearly 40% to Togo’s GDP, is the country’s largest employer. In 2019, 222,698 jobs were generated in the sector - 199,018 permanent and 23,680 temporary jobs. 

Alone, the sector concentrates 60% of all jobs created last year, according to data released by the National Agency for Employment (ANPE) last Thursday, in the 2019 report on Labour Market Information System (SIMT). The performance is attributable to multiple initiatives. 

A battery of reforms

Togo has established various mechanisms to foster youth employment in the agricultural sector. It did so notably through the Projet d’Appui à l’Insertion et à l’Employabilité des Jeunes dans les Secteurs Porteurs  (PAEIJ-SP), the Projet National de Promotion de l’Entreprenariat Rural (PNPER), the Fonds d’Appui aux Initiatives Économiques des Jeunes (FAIEJ), the Mécanisme Incitatif de Financement Agricole fondé sur le partage de risque (MIFA), and AGRISEF.

The country is also setting up agricultural hubs to accelerate its agribusiness transformation, and developing projects for agricultural mechanization. 

A sustained dynamic

Under the five-year development strategy it recently adopted, the government of Togo has given particular attention to youth employment.

According to PM Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé, creating jobs for the youth is a priority in the 2020-2025 roadmap of the government. Our country, Togo, enjoys peace and stability which allow it to adopt reforms, and accelerate their implementation to profit the youth. The goal is to create jobs for the youth and we think agricultural entrepreneurship is a promising niche.

Séna Akoda

In Togo, mobile operator Moov readjusted its tariffs, after the regulator -ARCEP - warned it and Togocom against unfair tariffication for on-network and off-network calls. 

The new tariffs came into effect last Friday. They take into account “the termination cost for off-network calls and the expectations of consumers regarding the offers.” 

Besides a single tariff (for local calls, regardless of the network), the new offer gives minutes for calls to local networks, when bundling. 

Togocom, Togo’s other mobile operator, is yet to announce an update on its tariffs. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In Togo, around 5,000 poor farming households will receive 65,000 kg of rice and maize seedlings from the National Project for the Promotion of Rural Entrepreneurship (PNPER). 

According to the PNPER, the seedlings, worth CFA37 million, will be sown over 2,000 ha (1,500 ha with maize and 500 ha with rice). 

Through the supply of the seedlings, the government, which launched the PNPER, wants to boost farmers’ resilience. 

It should be recalled that the PNPER is backed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The project, which was to expire on December 30, 2020, has been extended by a year, due to satisfactory results.

In Togo, the State’s shares in public and semi-public companies were valued at CFA103 billion in 2019. 

Despite exiting the shareholding of many companies, the State is the sole owner of 16 companies and is a co-shareholder in 26 mixed companies. 

For example, the PAL, which runs the autonomous port of Lomé, is fully owned by the State. The same goes for the CEET (power utility), the SNPT (the national company for phosphates), as well as companies supplying and managing drinking water in the country. 

Togo Invest, SNPT, and the Sarakawa hotel complex are the three companies fully owned by the State, with the highest paid-up capital (respectively CFA10.5 billion, CFA15 billion and CFA10.9 billion). 

Another company that is 100%-owned by the State is Union Togolaise de Banque (UTB). It is however being privatized. 

At the end of 2019, out of the 28 mixed economy companies in which the State held shares, it was a majority shareholder in six. 

The firms are namely SOTRAL, a public transport company (the Togolese State holds 96% of its shares), T-oil (79%), Société Togolaise de Stockage de Lomé or STSL, the SALT which manages Lomé’s airport, the BTCI (70% of its shares belong to the State) which is being privatized, and the Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo (NSCT) which is going to be transferred to Olam. 

It is worth noting that TogoTelecom and Togo cellulaire, two State companies, merged into a mixed economy company. The product of the merger, Togocom, is shared between the State (49%) and Agou Holding (51%). 

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Taking a leaf out of the book of the universities of Lomé and Kara, the national administration school (ENA) started its digital transition. It will benefit from the UNDP’s support in this framework. 

Headed by Prof. Adamah Kpodar, the ENA will indeed receive CFA300 million over three years. The funds will, according to the UNDP’s resident representative in Togo, Aliou Dia, be injected into the academy’s institutional reform. 

Let it be recalled that this funding comes a few days after the university of Lomé received CFA250 million for its digital transition. 

Séna Akoda

To strengthen cooperation with the private sector, the Togolese State plans a survey to “take stock of the needs and wishes of business actors who want to carry out development projects that align with the government’s development roadmap.” This was disclosed on November 18, 2020, during the council of ministers. 

The survey will be conducted by a commission set up by the council. The main purpose of this commission is to carry out preliminary surveys to “better assess the impacts of public projects, especially those involving expropriation by the State, land allotment, classification, and declassification of State estate.”

It should be stressed that the private sector is expected to contribute to more than 50% of investment projects valued between CFA2,800 and CFA3,400 billion by 2025. 

Séna Akoda