In Togo, the ministry of trade and local consumption urged businesses that import fabrics and printed clothes in Togo to get the certification necessary to continue this activity. 

Indeed, in a recent statement, the ministry recalled the decree issued on June 20, 2020, that imposes the prerequisite to businesses importing the products concerned. This is in a context where it was found that 70% of fabrics sold in Togo are bad copies. 

Those in need of the certification can contact the directorate of domestic trade and competition for more information. 

According to some experts, the move aims at promoting transparency, tackling counterfeiting, and reducing unfair competition in this sector which has been contributing to Togo’s notoriety since the 60s.

It will cost CFA719 million to supply power to Kara’s agricultural park and all six communities living on the site. The announcement was made by Agence Togolaise d’Électrification et des Énergies Renouvelables (AT2ER), in a statement revealing the winner of the contract for electrification works. 

According to the statement issued on January 12, 2021, e-HUB - a Togolese firm- will build medium and low tension lines for the electrification project.

In an interview with Togo First, the late Essowè Batana, former interim director general of the APRODAT (agency for the promotion and development of agropoles in Togo) had said that construction of the agricultural park, dams, irrigated areas, and other production infrastructure should have begun at the end of 2020. He added that the project would reach its cruise phase in 2022. 

The project will cost CFA65 billion. More than 50% of the sum had already been mobilized at the time of the interview. 

Séna Akoda

To fast-track the deployment of fiber optics across the country, the Togolese government adopted a new decree imposing all persons and firms undertaking construction projects to systematically deploy the fiber, at their own cost.

Togo First was informed of the reform last Thursday, by the minister of the digital economy and digital transformation, Cina Lawson. 

Specifically, the decree concerns projects to expand water, power, railway, and road networks, as well as those related to ports and airports. 

Works to lay the fiber as these projects are being carried out will be executed by the Digital Infrastructure Company (Société d’Infrastructures Numériques - SIN) which is fully owned by the State. 

Connecting telephone towers to fiber optics networks

In line with the authorities’ ambition to rapidly deploy the fiber, it will be connected to nearby telephone towers. 

Lawson stressed that “more than ever, it is necessary to cut costs to deploy the optical fiber and speed up its expansion,” in a context where the government plans to provide internet access to 95% of the population by 2025. 

In this framework, the minister of the digital economy added that the adoption of the new  decree “facilitates digital development in the country.” It also reminds us that “implementing the government’s development roadmap revolving around the digital sector will require broadband’s democratization and improving the quality of mobile network services.”  

It should be emphasized that deploying the optical fiber, according to the ministry of the digital economy, directly aligns with Togo’s goal to become a digital hub and Africa’s top fiber-connected country, by 2025. 

Séna Akoda

The Covid-19 vaccine should be available in Togo between May and June. This was announced by the Togolese minister of foreign affairs, Prof. Robert Dussey, in an interview with Israeli TV channel i24news.

While the situation in West Africa is already “under control”, Dussey insisted that the vaccine would help the Togolese population live normally. He supported the Covax initiative to facilitate access to the vaccine. 

On the same occasion, the official lauded the cooperation between Togo and Israel, which began 60 years ago. 

Nigerian power developer, Daystar Power, plans to start operating in the Togolese, Senegalese, and Ivorian markets. This is after raising $38 million with the help of the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), a Danish bank, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. 

The Nigerian firm, in effect, wants to expand access to solar power in West Africa, to 100 MW from its current capacity of 23 MW. 

In Togo, Daystar Power should play a significant role in the government’s ambition to bring the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix to 50%, by 2030. This is one of the objectives of the national electrification strategy under which the whole country is expected to have full access to electricity by the same year. 

Big projects, like the 50 MW Blitta solar power plant, have been launched to this end. 

Séna Akoda

Yesterday, the workshop to validate the national strategy to promote local consumption in Togo came to an end. The two-day meeting was organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Local Consumption. 

The strategy, ordered by the ministry, was elaborated with support (technical and financial) from the European Union (EU). It focuses on boosting investments in key sectors (like agriculture), in partnership with the private sector. 

Moumouni Ouro-Salim, who provided consulting services for the document’s elaboration, said it should add value to local products, cut reliance on imports, boost employment, and foster decentralization. 

In the long run, the new local consumption strategy should stimulate economic development, by boosting the market shares of local producers. 

The initiative falls under Togo’s national development plan and its 2025 strategic vision. It also aims to prepare the country for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.

Though it is dealing with multiple issues related to the quality of its services, Togocom’s T-Money mobile money platform recorded an “exceptional growth” last year. At the end of November 2020, transactions via the platform amounted to CFA518 billion, said Cina Lawson, minister of the digital economy and digital transformation, in a recent message to deputy Gerry Taama who heads the NET-PDP, a parliamentary group. 

The sum disclosed is nearly five times that recorded in 2019. For Lawson, the surge was sparked mainly by the Novissi cash transfer scheme launched to help the poorest cope with the Covid-19 crisis. However, the growing digitization resulting from the pandemic also played a major role. Added to these two factors are reforms related to e-payment put in place for some public services such as tax services or social security. 

It should be noted that since the end of November 2020, T-Money registered some saturation, due to an aging infrastructure. The latter even caused recurring failures in service supply - a situation sanctioned by Togo’s telecom regulatory organ, the ARCEP. 

Regarding these recent issues, Cina Lawson said the T-Money platform would be updated in the “coming weeks”, to better handle transactions that keep growing. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi