Togo First
AfDB invests €12.3 million more in the Abidjan-Lagos corridor project
The African Development Bank will spend an additional €12.33 million in the construction of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor.
This was disclosed last Wednesday in an official statement from the pan-African institution. In the document, the AfDB said it approved the funds’ provision to the Ecowas commission two weeks ago. The money will be used to partly pay studies for the project.
The Abidjan-Lagos corridor connects Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. This axis alone captures nearly 75% of trade volumes in West Africa. The project aims at boosting these volumes and enhancing regional integration, by enabling landlocked countries to have access to the coast.
To date, the AfDB has contributed exactly €22.4 million to the project.
Coronavirus disrupts African supply chains and could provoke a food shortage, Kobo360 warns
The Coronavirus is disrupting supply circuits across African borders. For example, Kobo360, the Nigerian Uber-like app for trucks, said that 30% of its fleet is inactive due to the various measures taken by governments to contain the outbreak.
“There is no clarity around what can move around...or what is essential transportation,” said the startup’s co-founder, Ife Oyedele. He added that the truck bosses the firm works with “are scared to go out or have their drivers on the road.”
The Nigerian startup is just one of many actors whose activities have been impaired by the current pandemic. Due to this, crops in fields and warehouses are left to rot, as trucks fail to rapidly transport them, according to agriculture media Commodafrica.
The situation, according to many experts, from the UN and the World Bank namely, is alarming and could cause millions of people across the region to suffer a significant food shortage.
In Togo however, the head of the national agency for food security (ANSAT), after proceeding to an estimation of the country’s reserves said there is no reason for concern. Regardless, experts expect a critical situation in July, August, and September, in the WAEMU and the ECOWAS.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Covid-19: Nearly XOF5 billion has been disbursed so far under the Novissi cash transfer program
Launched three weeks ago, the Novissi cash transfer scheme has provided nearly XOF4.86 billion to populations that are most affected by the government’s Covid-19 response.
In detail, more than 1.275 million people registered to benefit from the initiative. Out of these, 475,579 have so far been declared eligible to get the money. Out of the eligible are 166,913 men and the rest women.
The first tranche, which exceeded more than XOF2.767 billion, was distributed to 455,579 people while the second tranche, about XOF2.1 billion, was disbursed to 358,344 beneficiaries.
The Novissi scheme was launched to help distressed populations during the three-month emergency state declared amid the Covid-19 outbreak. It should cost the State a total of XOF12 billion.
Séna Akoda
Covid-19: Word Bank’s IDA disburses $8.1 million to help boost Togo’s testing and treatment capacities
The World Bank will provide Togo $8.1 million to help it fight the coronavirus.
The funds will enhance the country's testing capacities and healthcare, by acquiring and setting up a mobile laboratory, treatment centres, and buying top-notch medical equipment. “They will surely improve Togo’s reaction against the pandemic,” said Hawa Wague, resident representative of the World Bank in Togo. This is in a context where the outbreak puts great pressure on the country’s hospitals and dispensaries which are at the front line of this war.
On April 29, Togo reported 109 Covid-19 cases, including 38 active, 64 recovered, and 7 deaths. Overall, Lomé has tested so far 6,675 people across the territory.
WURI: World Bank approves disbursement of $273 million for the second phase of the project
On April 29, the World Bank approved the disbursement of $273 million for Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger, by its International Development Association (IDA).
The funds are allocated for the West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI) program. The latter, which is currently in its second phase, seeks to facilitate access to services for people in the region, women and the poorest especially.
For Togo especially, the money will be used to accelerate the implementation of the E-ID project which is a biometric identification project. The goal of the latter is to make sure that every person living in Togo has a unique ID number by 2025.
Led by the ECOWAS, the WURI program is to set basic ID systems including anyone physically present in the community, regardless of their nationality, citizenship, or legal status. This ultimately should serve to improve their access to basic services such as social protection, healthcare, pension, as well as improve financial and digital inclusion, empower women and girls, and boost workers’ mobility. “These services are more important than ever regarding the period we are going through with the Covid-19,” according to the World Bank.
Overall, 65 million people are concerned by the financing. Let it be recalled as well that the first phase of the WURI was launched in 2018, in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. The project’s total cost is $395.1 million.
Public authorities in Togo are setting up a coastal protection institution
Togo will set up a coastal protection entity as part of the second phase of the multinational project for the rehabilitation of the Lomé-Cotonou road.
In this framework, the ministry of infrastructure and transport launched a call for manifestation of interest to hire a firm that will conduct studies related to the project. The deadline for the submission of applications is May 26, 2020.
The studies aim at establishing a management framework to ensure that important decisions are taken jointly. They will help define administrative, legal, and scientific features of the entity.
In the medium and long term, these studies should consolidate foundations for inclusive cooperation between all concerned scientific actors in the region.
The project is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), which acts as the implementing agency of the Global Environment Fund (GEF).
Séna Akoda
Togo: Farmers receive 72 agricultural tractors from the minister of agriculture
In Togo, the minister of agriculture, Noel Bataka, just gave 72 agricultural tractors to farmers.
The donation falls under a project steered by the MIFA and KFB Group, a private firm.
The tractors, which cost a total of XOF1.8 billion, will help sustainably develop food production chains, “through improved agricultural practices which increase output and boost food security,” Bataka said.
In November 2019, KFB Group had launched a call for entrepreneurs interested in buying agricultural equipment to advance the local agriculture.
Faure Gnassingbé to be sworn into office on May 3, 2020
The ceremony will take place in the afternoon (4 PM), at the presidential palace.
The information was disclosed by the Constitutional Court which stressed that given the actual health crisis, the event will be organized in a very simple manner, with a limited number of people.
Faure Gnassingbé won the elections (held on February 22, 2020) with more than 70% of the votes. For his new term, the leader has committed to keeping the improvement of Togo’s business climate a priority.
Coronavirus: WAEMU States need XOF5,300 billion to fight the pandemic
All eight member-States of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) need exactly XOF5,284.9 billion to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The estimate was disclosed on April 27 by the Union’s heads of State council which held a videoconference that day.
The council also noted that the funds will greatly deepen the WAEMU’s overall budget deficit (grants included). The deficit is now expected to stand at 5.5% in 2020, against 2.7% initially.
Hence, the leaders of the region have, among others, decided to suspend the WAEMU convergence criteria. This is to enable them to have more room to deal with the current crisis.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
The WAEMU States have put the brakes on the convergence criteria due to Covid-19 pandemic
The WAEMU convergence criteria for stability, growth, and solidarity has been suspended. The decision was taken yesterday during a videoconference between the Heads of State of the WAEMU.
This aims at enabling the union’s various member-States to have enough room to fight the COVID-19 pandemic more efficiently.
According to the leaders of the economic union, a total of 5,284.9 billion FCFA is needed to meet the needs of health equipment, effectively implement social measures and restart economic activity as the pandemic keeps gaining momentum. This could increase the overall budget deficit (grants included) of the region concerned to 5.5% of GDP, against 2.7% expected initially. Similarly, the average growth rate of the WAEMU for 2020 is estimated at 2.7%, against 6.6% before.
While these indicators may justify the leaders’ choice, some observers still estimate that they have done nothing but provide their governments with blank cheques.
The convergence criteria were agreed upon in 2015. In its framework, WAEMU States should have harmonized their macroeconomic indicators by the end of 2019. In detail, the criteria set the average annual inflation rate at 3%, budget deficit at a maximum of 3% of the GDP (which was to be effective from January 1, 2020) of each State, while debt to GDP ratio was fixed at 70%. Also, the wage bill was to remain below 35% of tax revenue, and the tax burden was to be above 20%. Such requirements have been compromised by the Covid-19 pandemic which has caused the global economy to slow down.
Fiacre E. Kakpo