As part of major infrastructure projects underway or already carried out in Togo, the government plans to build or rehabilitate 400 km of roads and 4,000 km of rural tracks.  

This should make communities affected more accessible and contribute to their development. 

By 2025, Togolese authorities hope to have 60% of roads across the country asphalted. This will be done through projects aimed at rehabilitating the development corridor, crossroads, and access ways. 

To this end, Lomé has launched many road projects. These include the rehabilitation and modernization of the Avépozo-Aneho road, another covering the Lomé-Kpalimé axis, or even road works in Kpalimé. 

Séna Akoda

In Togo, quarantined repatriated citizens will have to pay XOF500,000, against XOF700,000 previously, to the State upon their return.

The government, therefore, takes care of the XOF200,000 difference during the 14-day period during which the returnees will be quarantined. The information was disclosed in a notice issued by the national team in charge of the covid-19 response on June 26, 2020. 

Let’s recall that so far, about 340 Togolese citizens have returned home since the pandemic emerged, via special flights. Most of them came back from the Middle East, Switzerland, and Senegal.

The State will give up its 40% shares in the Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo (NSCT). The government adopted in this framework a bill to transfer the stake to the private sector, in full, if an interested investor is found, or in part.

For the moment, the other stakeholder of the NSCT is the national federation of cotton farmers (FNGPC) which holds 60% of the firm. 

Let it be noted the NSCT has greatly contributed to an increase in Togo’s cotton output. Indeed, from 27,000 t in 2009 (the lowest level ever recorded), the company helped ramp this output to 137,000 t during the 2018-2019 campaign. 

The increase also impacted farmers’ earnings. In 2019, their net income exceeded XOF24 billion, “a performance which no other sector could achieve so far,” said the minister of agriculture, Noël Bataka. 

However, between the 2018-2019 campaign and the 2019-2020 campaign, cotton production shrunk to 116,000 but the country expects this figure to rise to 200,000 t by 2022. 

Séna Akoda

Five out of the 224 people who tested for Covid-19 last Thursday came back positive. Thus, the number of confirmed cases in Togo now stands at 588. Meanwhile, 294 of the infected have been reported to have recovered (67% of infected individuals), 14 have died (2.3%), and 180 are still active (30%). 

These figures reflect overall stability, regarding the spread of the virus, in a context where the country keeps easing restrictive measures and reopens the economy. 

For example, since they reopened, only five cases were confirmed in schools. And while populations are yet to panic, authorities insist on compliance with safety measures. 

A contrast, in relation to countries in the region

Compared to its neighbors, Togo fares relatively well. Benin just passed 1,000 cases and Ghana for its part is the second most affected in West Africa with more than 15,000 cases, right behind Nigeria which has confirmed more than 20,000 cases.   

In Burkina Faso however, things are getting better. The country has reported 941 cases and its infection curve has flattened in recent weeks. In Senegal (+6,000 cases) schools reopened last Thursday. 

The pandemic expands rapidly in Africa, but not equally 

Across the continent, more than 340,000 cases have been confirmed, and about 8,000 people died. The most affected nations are South Africa (118,375 cases), Egypt (around 61,000 cases), Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon, and Morocco. 

No second wave, rather a continuation of the first

Worldwide, the number of cases seems to be on the rise, driven mainly by many infected in the U.S, India, and South America (Brazil especially). 

In the first - the U.S - the rebound is quite spectacular; following the easing of restrictive measures and the recent “Black Lives Matter” protests. 

Besides these countries, most other affected nations record not a second wave, but rather a continuation of the first wave. 

With the exception of Asia...

The second wave concerns part of the Far East, mainly China (which is very concerned and even decided to lockdown some parts of Beijing and suspend many flights). There is South Korea as well which recorded a second wave of contagion around Seoul in particular. 

According to experts, this is mostly due to populations complying with safety measures less strictly. 

So far, a total of 9.75 million Covid-19 cases are reported in the world. This is against about 5.3 million recoveries, and about 492,000 deaths. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

On June 25, 2020, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) inked in Lomé seven (7) agreements to finance its local partners. This falls in the framework of the body’s forest and farmer facility. 

In all, more than XOF130 million was disbursed in the process, and between 15%-20% of this amount will be spent on anti-coronavirus actions. The remainder will be directed towards initiatives aimed at making forests more resilient to climate change and improving the income of local communities. 

“Concretely, the goal is to contribute to the processing of products locally and create market systems that foster product sales, both at the local and international levels,” said Issifou Aboussissamilou, the national facilitator of the forest and farmer facility. Moreover, the financing should “help restore forest landscapes, by expanding the forest seeds sector to grow better seedlings and support the government in implementing the AFR100 project which aims at restoring 1.4 million hectares of forest lands.”  

The funds’ beneficiaries include the Togolese coordination of farmers and agricultural producers associations (CTOP), the botany and ecology lab of the University of Lomé, and Chocotogo. 

The agreements, it should be noted, were signed as the FAO celebrates its 40th anniversary in Togo. Over the past four decades, the institution has carried out 336 projects, worth about XOF70 billion, in the country. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) decreased its benchmark rates last Wednesday. 

The decision was approved by the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM). It aims to support efforts of WAEMU member States to get their economies to rebound, after months where their “public earnings fell and their expenditures rose” due to restrictive measures put in place to contain Covid-19. 

According to the apex bank, “the States’ recovery plans paired with the gradual easing of restrictions on movement should ultimately lead to a restart of the production chain.” For this reason, the CPM members have decided to step in and lower the BCEAO’s benchmark rates by 50 basis points. 

Therefore, the minimum interest rate on submission to cash injection tenders now stands at 2.00% (from 2.50%), while interest rate at the marginal loan window was reduced from 4.50% to 4.00%. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The BOAD announced the launch of a program to refinance lending institutions in the WAEMU with XOF100 billion. The move was approved by the institution’s board of directors during its 117th meeting last Wednesday. 

“The funds will help the private sector, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) meet their needs for liquidity inherent to Covid-19, resume their activities in the short term, and in the medium term make productive investments to consolidate or optimize their tools.”

The new program launched by the BOAD adds up to various measures it recently announced to support States. In parallel, the BCEAO has adopted different measures to benefit credit institutions. 

Séna Akoda

Twenty-five billion CFA. That is the amount recently approved by BOAD’s board of directors in profit of Togo’s power utility. The monies will be used by the latter to pay part of its debt to power suppliers. 

Among others, the funds should enable Togo to ease tensions with Nigeria which it owes, together with Niger and Benin, nearly XOF45 billion. Nigeria has even threatened many times to cut power supply if the debt was not cleared.

In detail, Togo and Benin owe XOF14.67 billion for Q1 2019, XOF10.8 billion for Q2 2019, and XOF3.4 billion for Q3 2019, according to Nigerian media. 

It is worth noting that Togo and Benin, since January 2019, have been buying electricity they need separately. As for the CEB, which used to be a joint organization between the two neighbors, it has been placed under provisional administration. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi