Togo First
German-Togolese consultations are ongoing in Lomé
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.
Last year, over 200,000 jobs were created in the agricultural sector
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
Moov changes tariffs after warning from regulator
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
Togocel secures approval to test 5G
Togocel has obtained the authorities’ approval to test the 5G. The firm, the country’s leading mobile operator, is thus the first to get this green light and should proceed to initial tests next year.
This aligns with Togo’s desire to modernize and democratize access to the internet and become a reference in the region, in terms of digital technologies, within the next five years.
Driven by 3G and 4G, the penetration rate of the internet (landline and mobile) soared from 49.5% in 2018 to 61.7% in 2019. This was notably due to an increase in the penetration rate of broadband (mobile and landline), from 34.26% in 2018 to 43.96% in 2019.
The obtention by Togocel of a pre-license for 5G validates the development program of Agou Holding (majority shareholder) which announced when taking over Togocom group an investment plan valued at nearly €245 million to be implemented over seven years.
It should be noted that in Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, and Senegal have already launched their pilot phase for 5G. Before them, Vodacom in Lesotho was the first to launch the technology in 2018.
Junior Atiglo-Gbenou
PNPER to provide seedlings to 5,000 poor households
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.
Togo: Which companies are owned by the State ?
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
National Administration School (ENA) gets CFA300 million from UNDP
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
The government wants to boost cooperation with the private sector under its current five-year development roadmap
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
Togo is one of the most secure and safe countries in Africa (Mo Ibrahim Foundation)
Despite an overall “concerning” slowdown in the region, Togo has progressed in terms of good governance in the past 10 years. The country ranked 25th on the latest Mo Ibrahim Foundation index published on November 16.
Togo is, according to the index, one of the rare countries whose score improved this year. However, there remains substantial progress to be made in some areas.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation index is one of the most important indexes ranking African economies. It assesses about 100 indicators across four main categories: security and rule of law, human rights and participation, sustainable economic development, and human capital development.
According to the Sudanese billionaire’s foundation, besides Togo, the other countries to have improved their scores in these categories are Angola, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Seychelles, and Sudan.
In its latest index, the Mo Ibrahim foundation also observed that Togo recorded significant progress in human capital development. The latter covers the following indicators: health, education, social protection, and living standards. Moreover, the country is considered by the authors of the report as one of the safest and secure countries in Africa, amid some turmoil in the region.
Nevertheless, the report notes shortcomings regarding economic opportunities, for the youth especially.
In West Africa, Togo only comes behind Senegal, Ghana, and Cape Verde, in terms of good governance.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo to commit CFA3.14 billion to tackle road accidents
To reduce accidents in the country, the Togolese government will dedicate about CFA3.14 billion to a plan of key actions to be implemented over two years. The project is the emergency phase of the road safety policy adopted by the government last Wednesday.
The policy revolves around six major axes: management, infrastructure, vehicle quality, users, and rescue. Moreover, it aims to strengthen control and monitoring mechanisms, with road safety services providing fixed feedback.
Over the first half of this year, Togo recorded 2,627 road accidents, which resulted in 241 deaths and 3,734 injured. According to data available, more than 2/3 of the deaths registered (164 of them) were caused by bikes.
Séna Akoda