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

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.

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

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

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

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

The World Bank disbursed 37% of the funds it planned to provide Togo in the previous fiscal year (July 2019-June 2020). 

This is “one of the best disbursement rates relating to the portfolio of projects financed by the Bank in Africa, where the average is 22%,” said the WB’s resident representative, Hawa Cissé Wagué last Tuesday. 

Wagué however stressed that the disbursement rate should be increased considering populations’ ever-growing needs. We know we can do more because populations’ needs keep increasing and there are available resources. 

For his part, Sani Yaya recalled the Bank’s commitment to helping Togo “put in place conditions that induce an inclusive and sustainable growth, driven by a more dynamic private sector and more efficient investment policies.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Bretton Woods institution has injected CFA50 billion in three projects - one in the health sector, another in education, and the last in economic reforms. Overall, the country’s disbursements in the country so far amount to $400 million. 

Séna Akoda

In Togo, nearly two million hectares of land were analyzed to draw a soil fertility map. The latter is aimed at enabling farmers to be better informed about the composition of their land. The information was disclosed last Wednesday during the council of ministers. 

This map will help farmers plant crops and use a fertilizer that matches the composition of their land. 

Out of the total areas analyzed, around 1.2 million ha have been mapped. This represents 33.18% of Togo’s arable lands. 

The mapping project was launched three years ago and “should help not only boost crop yields and productivity but also draw a crop map, in line with the second axis of the government’s roadmap for the 2025 Togo Plan.” 

Visit the platform dedicated to the project here.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi