In Togo, outstanding loans granted by microfinance institutions in H1 2020 grew by 5.3%. This was revealed in the BCEAO’s latest analysis on the economic situation of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). 

The performance, which is slightly higher than that recorded in H1 2019 (5.1%), makes Togo the fourth economic driver in the WAEMU. It comes behind Ivory Coast (+12.1%), Mali (+9.5%), and Benin (+6.2%). Togo however comes ahead of Senegal (+2.3%), Guinea Bissau (+1.7%), Burkina Faso (+1.5%), and Niger (-27.5%). 

Overall, total outstanding loans for the WAEMU amounted to CFA1,505 billion in the first half of last year.  Nearly half of this amount (48.4%) were short-term loans. 

Regarding deposits, WAEMU’s central bank said CFA1,586.5 billion were recovered, as against CFA1,441.5 billion the year before. This represents an increase of 10.1% year-on-year.  Here, Togo came behind Burkina Faso (+15.4%), Mali (+17.1%), and Benin (+17.2%), and ahead of Ivory Coast (+10%), Senegal (+2.6), Guinea Bissau (-5.3%), and Niger (-0.8%). 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

An eco-tourism site will soon be built in Akébou, a prefecture located in the Plateaux region. 

Experts from the ministry of tourism met last Tuesday to discuss the project. The related meeting was opened by the minister of tourism, Kossi Gbenyo Lamadokou.

According to Dr. Adata Kossi who is in charge of the economic and financial assessment of the project, the latter “will involve building an eco-tourism site, including a hotel that will require local materials, and get people to reconnect with nature.”

The project leverages the geographical and climate conditions of the site. “Indeed, the Akébou prefecture’s climate has a lot in common with the climate in the west. This zone has many advantages and natural resources which can contribute to the project’s success.” 

Let it be noted that the project falls under the ministerial roadmap assigned to the tourism ministry. After it is validated, the initiative will be among the top investment projects, so that it gets rapidly implemented.

The Togolese economy is expected to expand by 3% in 2021. The forecast was disclosed in the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Outlook report published this month. 

With the projection, the Bretton Woods institution consolidates perspectives for a rebound this year. However, the figure announced by the Bank is lower than the 4.7% growth rate Lomé hopes for, “provided that the pandemic is quickly brought under control.”

The economic dynamism expected for the country should be driven by an increase in national public and private, as well as foreign investment, in line with the national development plan (PND), knowingly in agriculture, energy, ports, airports, and infrastructure. Among other factors that will contribute to the economic revival of Togo is the takeover of the cotton sector by the Singaporean company Olam and the commitment of its subsidiary Arise in the construction of the Adétikopé Industrial Park, a flagship project of the PND.

At the regional level, Sub-Saharan Africa should experience “moderate recovery in 2021, with a growth rate of 2.7%,” the World Bank’s report states. 

Klétus Situ KOMKO (intern)

As of Dec. 31, 2020, the sum of loans granted by the National Fund for Inclusive Finance (FNFI) had exceeded CFA98 billion, according to recently released statistics. 

In the months closing the year 2020, the institution had provided more than CFA11 billion via its partnering microfinance institutions. 

Let’s recall that in 2019, loans provided by the FNFI amounted to CFA87 billion, making it the third-best performer in terms of financial inclusion across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). According to the BCEAO report on financial inclusion in the union for that year, Togo was behind Côte d’Ivoire (77.9%) and Benin (77.8%). 

Since it started operating, the Togolese Fund has provided 1,766,001 loans. 

Séna Akoda

The government will carry out a mixed control and audit of school fees management in all junior and senior high schools in Togo. The news was disclosed by the ministry of education, Dodzi Kokoroko. 

The mission will be conducted by external experts and agents of the ministry of education. Also involved in the operation are the regional directorates for education and education inspections, states the official portal of the Togolese Republic. 

The project aligns with the public authorities’ decision to improve the quality of services and education. It will enable the government to have a clearer idea of how school fees are collected, the performances of schools, and related demographics. 

Last Wednesday, while meeting with the press, the Togolese Revenue Authority (OTR) disclosed the major tax innovations of the new finance act. 

On the occasion, officials from the authority revealed that many changes have been made to the original draft bill. These include broadening the tax base and strengthening measures to control and tackle tax fraud and evasion, reducing the tax burden, making technical adjustments, and taking into account sub-regional tax regulations.

In detail, this year, value-added tax (VAT) will be imposed on electronic or digital transactions, i.e. services, operations, advertising, and others, offered by Togolese residents or businesses subjected to the Togolese law. 

Also, it is now compulsory for bailiffs, authorized customs agents, and other administrative authorities like notaries to request, hold and declare any information regarding beneficial owners of businesses and other entities to which they provide their services. 

Besides broadening the tax base to boost tax and customs revenues, the OTR reduced tax pressure on young entrepreneurs who pay the unique professional tax (TPU). From CFA300,000, the TPU was reduced to 20,000 CFA for the year 2021. Moreover, to encourage the population to adopt the motor vehicle tax, the Togolese government has significantly reduced the tax burden, which is considered too high for taxpayers. 

The tax revenue authority also observed that, in line with efforts to improve the business climate in Togo, it will no more collect any fee when a guarantee on immovable property (a mortgage registration) is released and canceled. 

In the same vein, the registration fee for transferring a property (resale) fell to 0.6% against 6% in 2020, while the fee for parceling was cut from 1% to 0.3%. 

In addition to these, some technical changes were also introduced. For example, the new tax law allows businesses to issue a provisional declaration of their annual performances and regularize it within the following three months. 

Séna Akoda

In Togo, the extension of credit granted to companies and individuals since April 1, 2020, due to the health crisis induced by the Covid-19, amounts to more than 18 billion FCFA.

Let’s recall that, as of September 30th, the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao) instructed credit institutions to grant, without any interest charge or late penalty, three months extension of maturities to companies that request the delay due to struggles caused by the pandemic.

In detail, as at the end of September 2020, maturity extensions had been granted to 212 companies for a total of 15 billion FCFA. On the other hand, 1361 individuals have requested and benefited from the incentive for 3 billion FCFA.

This was disclosed by the minister of finance, Sani Yaya, during the last session of the National Credit Council (CNC) in 2020. According to him, the measure has not only allowed banks to control credit risk, but also businesses and individuals to preserve the quality of their signature and, therefore, maintain their access to financing.

Séna Akoda