EBOMAF’s subsidiary in Togo has been put in charge of the Lomé-Kpalimé road modernization project announced recently by the minister of transport, Zouréhatou Kassah-Traoré. This was disclosed on the website of the construction firm. 

The works, officially launched on June 17, also include the rehabilitation of roads in Kpalimé. However, let it be emphasized that the modernization of roads along the Lomé-Kpalimé axis and the rehabilitation of roads in Kpalimé are two different contracts with respective costs of  195 billion and 19 billion CFA francs. Both projects will be financed by the State.

Already, EBOMAF has deployed equipment in Adidogomé and Atikoumé, hence marking the beginning of the new works.

Séna Akoda

One and a half tons of cannabis. That is how much of the drug was intercepted on June 9-10, 2020, by the Togolese customs office. 

The illegal goods, which were presented to the media on June 16, by the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR), was seized aboard a 15-seater minibus at the Hihéatro customs checkpoint, about 151 km from Lomé. The vehicle was coming from Kpalimé and was headed to the northern region. 

A few days before the arrest, another 600 kg of cannabis was seized while being transported to Kara. 

Séna Akoda

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) plans to raise $2.5 million in the weeks to come to support Togo to restart its economy after the coronavirus-induced sanitary crisis. 

In effect, the money will be used to boost the production capacities of SMEs, incubators, artisans, and farmers. The main motive behind the move is to support local processing of commodities and revitalize chains of value in agricultural sectors. 

According to the UNIDO, the post-Covid period will certainly not allow things to return to how they were. Therefore, it is crucial to provide some resilience to the local socio-economic fabric.

In-depth, the UN entity will encourage local actors to produce protection tools (sanitizers, masks, etc.) to fight the pandemic while the economy is being revived. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

In Togo, the National Commission for the Fight against the Proliferation of Light and Small Caliber Weapons (CNLPAL) is planning some rehabilitation works.

To this end, the institution, which is attached to the Presidency, seeks the expertise of female and young entrepreneurs. Interested firms must submit their bids to the Presidency by 14 July 2020. Five firms will be selected to carry out the works. 

The government’s decision to hire female and young entrepreneurs aligns with its provision that set 25% of public procurements for this group of individuals. The latter mainly aims at promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship, thus tackling unemployment which is a major issue for youth and women in the country. 

Séna Akoda

Starting September 1, 2020, the elaboration of the report on transparency in Togo’s extractive industries (ITIE) for 2019 will begin. 

In this framework, authorities have launched the process to recruit a consultant to undertake the task. Interested parties have until June 30 to manifest themselves. 

The hired consultant will have three months to write the report which will contain an in-depth analysis of the systematic publication of ITIE data. The document will also indicate progress made and challenges to overcome, based on recommendations made in the reports released in 2017 and 2018. 

Last year, BDO LLP won the contract to produce the ITIE reports for 2017 and 2018, for XOF90 million, taxes included. This is the fifth biggest audit firm after Deloitte, Ernest & Young, KPMG and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

Séna Akoda

Throughout May, prices of maize, millet, and sorghum in Togo were stable. This should continue in the coming months, especially in these three sectors and that of rice according to the latest economic outlook for Africa’s cereals market.  

Moreover, the Togolese food security agency (ANSAT) restarted “collecting white rice with organized cooperatives to tackle pockets of food insecurity which resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.”  

Let it be noted that recently, restrictive measures taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 have been relaxed. This has improved market supply. 

In West Africa, price outlooks are the same, except for millet and sorghum whose price should slightly increase in the coming weeks. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Transportation fares have not been reduced in Togo. The rumor circulating on social networks over the past few days was denied by the government. 

The claims are “purely manipulative,” reads a joint statement issued by the ministry of transport and the ministry of trade and promotion of local consumption. “Tariffs for transporting people and goods in the country are the same set by inter-ministerial decrees. Failing to use these tariffs is punishable by law,” the statement adds. 

Thus, despite the reduction in fuel prices at the pump, fares are the same. However, due to the pandemic, authorities have reduced the number of passengers that can board public transport vehicles.

The third international conference on social businesses and corporate social responsibility (CIESRES’20) will take place virtually, on June 29 and 30, 2020. 

This year, the theme picked for the event is Social entrepreneurship and CSR: Concrete solutions to challenges and for innovation. Participants will include, as usual, advocates of the social solidarity economy (SSE), politicians, development experts and partners. 

The conference, which will take place amidst the covid-19 crisis, aims at increasing the number of social entrepreneurs active in Togo’s agriculture, energy, and technology sectors. It is organized by the ministry of grassroots development and the US embassy in Togo and is backed by various partners such as Ecobank ETI.

Lomé prepares to invest XOF46 billion in the PERECUT project (Programme d’Extension de Réseau Electrique dans les Centres Urbains du Togo). The latter aims at expanding the power network across the country’s urban centers. 

The funds will be mobilized with the help of technical and financial partners including Agence française de développement (AFD), Germany’s Kwf, and the European Union (EU). In effect, more than 500,000 people will have access to electricity as a result of the project. 

The PERECUT, according to the ministry of energy and mining, is divided into three axes. First is the rehabilitation, reinforcement, and extension of the distribution network serving 53 municipalities situated across all five economic regions of Togo. The second axis concerns additional support for grid access while the last relates to support and consolidating capacities. 

Among others, sources mention a 48-km Medium Tension line and more than 145 substations which are to be rehabilitated and/or reinforced; more than 226 new substations to set up and more than 1,164 low tension networks, as well as the extension of the network to supply 142 medium tension stations. 

Séna Akoda