Togo has just received a $4.5 million grant from the European Union (EU). The related agreement was signed last Friday in Washington, between the World Bank and a Togolese delegation.

The Togolese delegation was led by Sani Yaya, minister of economy and finances, and Tignokpa Demba, minister of planning and development while the World Bank was represented by its representative in Togo, Hawa Cissé Wagué, and Pierre Laporte, outgoing Chief of operations of the Bretton Woods institution in Togo.

The grant is actually an EU subsidy arranged by the World Bank, to support the implementation of Togo’s Economic Governance Support Programme (PAGE).

“The project’s purpose is to improve investment management, mobilization of internal resources, and strengthen reimbursement mechanisms as well as better monitoring of goods and services supply in key sectors,” declared Yaya.

“This is a successful example of synergy between actions of the WB and the EU to help Togo fight poverty and improve governance,” he added.  

The PAGE, let’s recall, was officially launched in October 2018. The program which will be implemented over five years, benefits from a $20mln financing from the World Bank and the EU.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi, special envoy, Washington

Togolese nationals living outside the country sent home more than $500 million in 2018. This is revealed in the latest update of the World Bank on remittances.

In Africa, Togo is the tenth in terms of remittances and this ranking is far dominated by Nigeria. According to the Bretton Woods institution, the remittances sent by Togolese represent 8.5% of the country’s GDP, the strongest ratio in the sub-Saharan Africa region, ahead of nations like Nigeria and Ghana.

Remittances outstrip ODAs and FDIs  

Monies sent by the Togolese diaspora exceed official development assistance (ODA) and foreign direct investments (FDIs) and are today the country’s main external source of financing, according to official data (2017). However, they are underestimated due to informal transfers.

A survey, backed by the PNUD, conducted in 2017 and whose results were released mid-2018 by Lomé indicates: 53% of remittances are sent to support families home. Most of the funds are dedicated to food, health and education. This clearly attests of their contribution to human development in Togo. Yet, studies by the World Bank say they could better contribute to inclusive growth, creating jobs, by partly being used for community or high-benefit projects.

A roadmap to better organize the diaspora

In line with its desire to get the diaspora involved in the deployment of its national development plan (PND), Lomé has just issued a roadmap for Togolese living outside the territory. This roadmap, according to Robert Dussey, minister of foreign affairs, “aims at ensuring a better organization of the diaspora so that it is more engaged in the efforts to develop the country.”  

Its implementation should help “mobilize investments, skills and know-how of the diaspora, develop a program under which both migrants and authorities will jointly carry out development projects in their home country, as well as a solidarity volunteering project for growth.”  Besides the poor organization of the diaspora, another major issue related to remittances is the prohibitive cost of some transfer media, in Africa especially.

Nigeria, a giant like no other

In 2018, remittances sent to the sub-Saharan Africa region stood at $46 billion, up 9.6% compared to 2017 where they were valued at $42 billion.

Nigeria alone captured more than half of the amount recorded last year, $24.3 billion. Far behind the giant are Ghana and Kenya with $3.8 billion and $2.7 billion respectively. Within the WAEMU, Senegal, Mali and Togo are also countries that captured substantial remittances in 2018.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Between 2013 and 2017, the volume of Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers handled at the Port of Lomé, has tripled from 311,470 to 1,193,841.

Dominique Chantrel, who is in charge of managing the UNCTAD’s port programme, declared during a coordination meeting for the TrainForTrade : “The economic development of the Port of Lomé is so significant and has made this infrastructure one of the world’s largest.”  

This reminds of a similar comment by Ammar Kanaan, new head of the Lomé Container Terminal, who recently said: “The port works well and productivity at its docks is rising year-on-year making our terminal one of the most performant to date.” Kanaan also revealed a €500 million investment plan aimed at increasing to four million the port’s containerized traffic.

Séna Akoda

The government plans to soon launch a campaign to identify all agricultural lands in Togo. This was disclosed yesterday, on the first day of the 11^th National Farmer Forum in Kara, by Noël Bataka, minister of agriculture.

The move aligns with a decree passed last Feb. 27^th, forcing all rural land owners to valorize their property or have it transferred to any person interested in doing so and submitting a request to this end. Of course, the land will be exploited under specific lease terms.

Bataka indicated that leases will be signed between land owners and agricultural entrepreneurs, under the State’s supervision. These will guarantee revenues for the country.

The authorities, in the long run, wish to harness the lands’ agricultural potential as only 45% (1.53 million ha) of Togo’s total arable lands (3.4mln ha) are valorized now.

Séna Akoda

As announced earlier, the 11th edition of the Togolese Farmer Forum (FNPT) was launched yesterday at the Palais des Congrès of Kara, by Noël Bataka, minister of agriculture, fishery and animal production. “As we start this forum, opportunities and exchanges are the two main subjects," the official said.

“We talk of opportunities because the agricultural sector will be presented in its opulent and diverse nature. But beyond showcasing this sector, the forum will serve as an exchange platform regrouping actors operating across the various chains of value, through the systems established in the framework of this event."

The minister expects that various contracts will be signed, and commitments will be taken to deeply transform Togo’s agriculture.

Kodjo Adédzé, minister of trade and industry, was also present at the launching ceremony.

The theme for this edition of the forum is: “Agricultural transformation poles to valorize Togo’s potential: A new vision reflected by the 2018-2022 national development plan”.

 Séna Akoda

It’s official. Coralie Gevers, former chief of the World Bank’s operations in Mongolia and active in Madagascar and the Comoros since 2014, is the new chief of operations of the institution in Togo.

She replaces Pierre Laporte who oversaw the bank’s operations in Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

Gevers, a Belgian economist, joined the World Bank in 1996, holding various functions at the offices of the president and chief economist, but also in South Eastern Asia and Pacific.

The decision was announced during a meeting, in Washington, between a Togolese delegation led by minister of finances, Sani Yaya, and Demba Tignokpa, the minister of development planning, and officials of the Bretton Woods institution.

Feasibility studies for the Abidjan-Lagos road corridor project has begun.

Related contracts for the studies, environmental and technical, are already signed, reliable sources indicate.

An execution team was set to steer the project and monitor the ongoing studies. This cell will communicate details about progress made to the ECOWAS Commission, as the project goes on.

While $22 million has already been raised for the project, an additional $3 million should be this year.

Let’s note that 75% of West Africa’s commercial activities depend on the 1,000km-long corridor. It will connect Abidjan to Lagos, passing through Lomé and Cotonou. “In 2020, when the project should be completed, heavy trucks should move from Lomé to Cotonou (150 km) in five hours, against 11 hours at the moment,” says AfDB.

Séna Akoda

HeidelbergCement, world’s second largest cement maker, plans to invest €25 million in its Togolese subsidiaries, Cimtogo, Scantogo and Granutogo.

At a meeting with the press last Friday, Eric Goulignac, local MD for the firm, discussed projects planned by HeidelbergCement to support the national development plan (2018-2022 PND) whose second axis focuses on the extractive sector.

At the beginning of the summer, this investment programme will be submitted to the German company’s board. It includes the installation of a new grinder in Lomé, and a solar PV plant to fuel factories. All projects are to cost €25 million or more than CFA16 billion.

In its financial statements for 2018, HeidelbergCement revealed that Cimtogo, the group’s largest subsidiary, recorded a net benefit of €3.7 million (CFA2.4 billion) in 2017, while Scantogo in which the German holds an 89% stake had a net profit of €7.7 million (CFA5 billion). Granutogo, its third subsidiary recorded a net profit of €0.3 million (CFA196 million) over the period.

Leveraging a successful bond issuance recorded last Friday, Togo seeks to raise a total of CFA95 billion on UMOA securities market during five more operations it plans this quarter.

In detail, according to the UMOA-securities debt planning agency, the country will seek CFA40 billion on the regional market, via two fungible treasury bills issuances. The two operations are set for April 19 and June 14, with a respective target of CFA20 billion each. On May 17, another operation, a fungible treasury bonds issuance, is set for a similar target. Two more then, fungible bonds issuances, are set for May 31 (with a target of CFA15 billion) and June 28 (CFA20 billion).

Overall, Togo intends to raise CFA115 billion this quarter, up by CFA20 billion compared to the previous one.

Séna Akoda