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

The Nigerian startup, Daystar Power plans to raise $100 million in the next three years, to finance its expansion in Togo and West Africa. The funds which is a debt will be raised through five rounds of $20 million each. 

In Togo, the hybrid solar power startup competes against others like Bboxx already active on the Cizo rural power project, Kya energy group.

Daystar, to win new shares of the West African market, will focus on helping its customers cut energy costs by investing in the analysis segment. 

Launched in 2017 by Sunrah Ventures, Daystar provides hybrid solutions to commercial and industrial firms. It currently works on new power storage technologies.   

Besides Togo, the Company also operates in Ghana and Senegal and also in Nigeria where it is based.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

This year, the UMOA-securities Agency plans to issue recovery bonds which would help WAEMU States raise up to 3,768 billion CFA.

The securities will be issued in partnership with the Central Bank of West African States, to enable eligible beneficiaries to recover from the pandemic.

These countries should be able to subscribe to the bonds at a special Recovery window, UMOA-Titres said.

The bonds will have different maturity periods (3 years, 5 years, 7 years, 10 years, 12 years, and above).

Séna Akoda

Last week, Myriam Dossou-d’Almeida, Minister of Grassroots Development, took part in a webinar on the expansion of social protection for informal workers in Togo. The webinar was organized by UNDP Africa and the International Labor Office (ILO).

The goal of the webinar is to make Togo a model for other African countries.

“I talked about social protection and the informal sector in African countries. I shared Togo’s experience where we adopted an innovative social protection model based on various solutions that match our realities: a high concentration of youth, informal economic activities”, Dossou-d’Almeida said on her Twitter account.

The former Head of the National Health Insurance Institute also discussed the country’s experience in terms of legal health insurance and its extension to informal workers and the poor.

Togo, it should be recalled, is one of the first countries to have set up a State body to support informal workers ; the Delegation for the Informal Sector’s Organization (DOSI).

In sub-Saharan Africa, 9 out of 10 workers operate in the informal sector. The latter represents 63% of the region’s jobs.

Klétus Situ (intern)