After months of talks between negotiators from the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the two parties reached an agreement on a political treaty that will replace the Cotonou Agreement. The latter which has already expired was signed in 2000 and regulated free-trade between ACP states and the EU. 

The new agreement, reached last Thursday, is a significant milestone in the talks which started in September 2018 at the general assembly of the UN in New York. 

For Robert Dussey, Togo’s foreign affairs minister and chief negotiator who represented the ACP bloc in the negotiations, “the political deal reached today, after long and intense talks, paves the way towards a modern partnership that will be more engaging at the national, regional, and international levels.”

According to an official statement, the new text will cover “a great number of areas,” notably sustainable growth, human rights, peace, and security, among others, while focusing on regional priorities. 

However, some members of the EU parliament warned they would block the treaty if it does not include provisions granting a bigger oversight role for members of parliament from each bloc, with clear functions and powers.  

There is therefore much room to cover before the new accord is materialized. Regardless, once it is finalized and ratified, the agreement will set a framework for relationships (economic, political, and cooperation) between the EU and all 79 ACP members - two blocs which together boast a population of 1.5 billion people.  

In the best-case scenario, the new deal should be finalized and signed in 2021. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Economic Governance Support Project (PAGE) will finance the elaboration of a manual to reinforce deputies’ capabilities concerning the assessment of projects that fall under the Finance Act. 

In a context where Togo switched to a program-budget model, the projected manual will be structured so that deputies will be updated regarding budgetary principles, procedures involved in the elaboration of the finance acts, and customary terms of public finances.

Moreover, the manual will help the assembly appropriate the documentation related to finance bills and their content, the components of the State’s program-budget, as well as procedures and methods to assess projects laid out in finance bills. 

Regarding the elaboration of the manual, Lomé launched a call for expression of interest to individual consultants who may be looking to produce the document. The deadline for the submission of applications is December 9, 2020. 

Séna Akoda

SouthBridge Group advised Togo regarding the transfer of the Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo and Adédikopé’s integrated industrial platform (PIA) to Olam and its subsidiary Arise Special Economic Zone, respectively. 

According to a recent statement, the pan-African finance and investment consulting firm is a strategic partner in the two major deals. 

Regarding the PIA, the agreement for the project was signed on July 8, 2020, for €200 million. Developed by Private Industrial Adétikopé (a private company), the project is owned by the State (35%) and Arise (65%). 

As for the NSCT, the State plans to sell its 51% to Olam for €34.4 million (€15.3 million of equity interest in Olam and €19.1 million of net working capital).

“We are delighted with the support provided by the Southbridge Group for the implementation of these two operations at the heart of the National Development Plan and the Government's Roadmap,” said Sani Yaya, Togolese minister of economy and finance. 

“Our involvement in these operations is fully in line with the Group's ambition. We intend to contribute to accelerating the emergence of Africa and Togo in this case, which are in the front line through these two transactions,” said for his part Lionel Zinsou, ex-Prime Minister of Benin and CEO and Managing Partner of SouthBridge Group. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Ivorian Christopher Balliet Bléziri is the new country representative of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Togo. 

Among others, he will work to “increase the IFC’s actions in key sectors like infrastructures, agribusiness, industry, and will give particular attention to access to financing for SMEs in Togo.”

Bléziri has a “solid experience in the structuring of investment projects and complex financial arrangements in the infrastructure structure.” The senior executive previously worked at Dexia Crédit Local (a French company) and the West African Development Bank (in the structured financing and infrastructure department). 

Over the past 10 years, the IFC has invested more than $600 million in Togo, notably in the energy, finance, cement, logistics and health sectors. 

It officially opened its offices in Lomé last year. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The construction of the 161kV transmission line in northern Togo has officially started. It was launched on December 3, 2020, by the minister of energy and mines, in Kara.

The works include engineering, supplying energy to and laying the line over 240km. Also, there will be multiple transmission stations connecting the following areas: Kara, Mango, Dapaong, Naki, and Mandouri. 

Financed by Exim Bank of India ($52 million), the project will be executed by three Indian power developers - KEC International, Transrail Lighting, and Techno Electric & Engineering. The first of these three is the second largest manufacturer of power transmission towers, in India, and one of the biggest engineering, supply and power transmission companies in the world.  

The project should be completed within 20 months. It will boost access to power in the northern part of Togo and significantly contribute to the country's goal to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.

A feasibility study is underway to rehabilitate the Kamina site (20km from Atakpamé), a vestige of colonial history and tourist heritage. The study will define the financing mechanisms necessary for rehabilitation. 

This project is one of many similar projects initiated by the country in recent years to valorize its cultural and touristic heritage. All these projects fall under the second axis of Togo’s 2020-2025 development roadmap. 

Progress made on the rehabilitation project was evaluated by the minister of tourism, Kossi Lamadokou, who toured the Plateaux region where the Kamina site and the Roc Hotel (in Atakpamé) are located. 

Kamina was a former German military base, housing a powerful transcontinental radio station, and a wireless telegraphy transmitter center with direct links to Berlin, the Namibian colony, and the German fleet in the Atlantic. The site was dynamited by the army before its surrender in August 1914, during one of the first confrontations of World War I.

Starting from December 15, 2020, quality controls for private producers of drinking water (in a sachet or bottled) will resume. 

The news was disclosed by the ministry of water and rural hydraulics which added that the inter-ministerial committee in charge of the controls will restart activities at the set date. 

The resumption comes in a context where “production and marketing of these water products by private actors are subject to prior approval by the ministry, which ensures that they are fit for human consumption.”   

Ayi Renaud Dossavi