Togo First
Togo inks deals with Emirati firms Al Dahra Holding and AMEA Power
On the second day of President Gnassingbé’s trip in the United Arab Emirates, two major Emirati groups committed to invest in Togo’s agriculture and energy sectors respectively.
On March 12, Faure Gnassingbé met with the vice president and co-founder of Al Dahra Holding to talk about Togo’s goals in the agro-food industry. On that occasion, Al Dahra’s co-founder declared : “I discussed with the President, mainly about opportunities that Togo has to offer in terms of agriculture and agricultural outputs. We invest in farms and large plantations that span 200 hectares and above.”
AMEA Power commits to buid a 30MW solar power station
Under Togo’s new electrification plan, Togo will build four solar plants by 2025. The first of these facilities will cost $40 million and is already partially financed ($15 million).
During President Gnassingbé’s visit, Togo and AMEA Power inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to speed the construction of this first facility.
According to the Togolese Presidency, “with this MoU, this project is becoming a reality. The operator will take the necessary steps to get the rest of the funds needed and quickly complete it.” The agreement was signed by Togo’s minister of mining and energy, Marc Ably-Bidamon Dèdèriwè.
Séna Akoda
After Ecobank, UTB partners with OTR for its e-payment solution
Togo’s revenue office (OTR) signed last Tuesday a deal with Union Togolaise de Banque (UTB) to simplify and ease online payment of taxes and duties.
With this, UTB becomes the second bank to partner with OTR in the framework of e-payment’s implementation. The first bank was Ecobank transnational incorporated (ETI).
For the OTR, this partnership falls in line with its strategy to dematerialize fiscal operations. Indeed, by enabling taxpayers pay their dues online, the institution wants to save time for all involved parties.
The recent partnership should be extended to more banks in Togo.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
PND 2018-2022: A delegation of Abu Dhabi Fund to soon visit Lomé
A delegation of the Abu Dhabi Fund should soon visit Lomé, according to the communication division of the Togolese presidency.
This visit falls under the fund’s desire to support Togo’s 2018-2022 national development plan (PND 2018-2022). It was decided during talks between President Gnassingbé and Mohamed Saïf Al Suwaidi, director of the Abu Dhabi Fund.
The talks concerned improving cooperation between Togo and the Fund, in the sectors of infrastructures and energy.
Still seeking support for the PND, the Togolese President who is currently in the United Arab Emirates met the Prince of Abu Dhabi, on March 11.
As for the Abu Dhabi Fund, let’s note, it provided a $15 million loan for the construction of a 30MW solar power plant. It also partially finances the Sokodé-Bassar road.
Séna Akoda
Togo: 11th Notaries forum ongoing in Lomé
The eleventh edition of the notaries forum opened in Lomé, last Monday, March 12.
During the event, notaries will be updated on the new land code, their roles and responsibilities.
The three-day forum will help notaries better do their work, amid a changing regulation.
“The notaries’ forum is a real chance, an opportunity to boost skills,” Pius Agbetomey (photo), minister of justice told notaries.
For his part, David Tsolenyanu, chairman of Togo’s chamber of notaries said notaries must always “be updated to provide useful services to Togolese citizens.”
Let’s also emphasize that the notaries will have to prepare for the coming local elections this year.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo seeks CFA115 billion on regional financial market next quarter
In Q2 2019, Togo will try to raise CFA115 billion on the regional financial market. Broken down, the country’s public treasury should seek CFA40 billion as fungible treasury bonds and 75 billion as fungible treasury bills.
The figure was released in a statement issued by the West African Regional Debt Planning Agency. Provisional calendar for the fundraisings is however yet to be known.
Throughout the year, the country plans to raise on this market CFA390 billion, while the whole region eyes the sum of CFA2,778 billion. For the closing quarter, Togo raised CFA91 billion on the regional financial market.
Séna Akoda
BTCI commits CFA5 billion to MIFA
Togo’s Trade and Industry Bank (Banque togolaise pour le commerce et l’industrie – BTCI) has just committed five billion CFA to the agricultural financing promotion mechanism, MIFA. The facility, yielded after talks between the two parties involved, will support agricultural value chains in Togo.
Launched last June, the MIFA’s purpose is to encourage financial institutions to fund agriculture in the country. Over a 6-month pilot phase, the public scheme directly benefited 5,062 farmers, of which 916 are women, against an initial target of 6,000 farmers. This phase cost CFA1.082 billion.
The performances helped attract more investors, knowingly the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Indeed, last month, this institution invested CFA20 billion in the MIFA ; a sum that will be mainly used to develop the following four sectors: maize, rice, gardening and poultry. This should in parallel help create more than 40,000 jobs by 2025.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Odalys plans to expand to Togo, among others, by 2022
Odalys, Europe’s second largest tourist accommodation group, plans to set shop in Togo by 2022, in line with its expansion strategy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Besides the Togolese capital, the French group, which has already started operating in Douala, also intends to extend its footprint to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire by 2022. More than 10 projects are also being studied in markets such as Ethiopia, Senegal and Chad.
The company will eventually enter these markets via its high standing aparthotel brand, Odalys City. A move aligning with its global diversification strategy.
In 2017, Odalys’ turnover exceeded €240 million and the French company had more than 400 residences, hotels, and aparthotels over the world.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Keras secures approval to ship 10,000t manganese ore bulk sample
AIM-listed mining firm Keras Resources has secured the approval of theTogolese government to export a 10,000 ton bulk sample of its manganese production of Nayega.
“I am delighted to announce that we have completed the bulk sample and received all the required authorisations to begin shipping for metallurgical testwork at the third-party ferromanganese smelter facility. The shipping is the final part of the bulk sampling process which has proven the robust economics of the Nayega project,” said Keras CEO, Russell Lamming.
Output from the bulk sampling, which started last August, was sent to a secure warehouse near the port of Lomé, awaiting shipment in mid-March by the end-user. The latter, whose name was kept in the dark, is a major manganese-base alloy producer, the British firm indicated. This alloy producer will, upon reception of the sample, assess its quality at their smelters. Let it also be emphasized that “the bulk sample, including equipment, operating and logistics costs as well as management fees is fully funded by the end-user.”
Keras is active on the Nayega project via its subsidiary Société Générale des Mines SARL (SGM), in which it detains an 85% stake. In West Africa, Togo especially, the firm focuses on manganese, cobalt and nickel projects.
For ECOWAS and WAEMU commissions, establishing AfCFTA could negatively impact West Africa, unless…
Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could be detrimental to West African integration if all countries in this region fail to sign and ratify the related agreement. This was a concern expressed by the heads of the ECOWAS and WAEMU commissions during the two institutions’ latest joint meeting, on March 8th 2019.
To date, only eight countries in West Africa, including Togo, have inked and ratified the document. Nigeria is one of the nations that is yet to do so, as its President abstains, waiting for talks with the local private sector to end.
Meanwhile, in Togo, deputies, journalists, and others are being sensitized about this agreement’s benefits for the country.
Let’s recall that so far, 18 countries have ratified the agreement and at least four more should join if it is to come into force.
Séna Akoda
Togo: Prefectures of Golfe and Agoè-Nyivé, in the South, adopt CFA9 billion budget for 2019
In Togo, the Golfe and Agoè-Nyivé prefectures adopted a budget of about CFA9 billion for 2019, up 0.25% compared to the past year.
This budget entails two main components which are operations and investments. The second concerns development projects in the prefectures, including construction of public buildings in townships, as well six bridges.
Let’s recall that overall, the country fixed its budget for 2019 at CFA1,461 billion.
Also, Agoè-Nyivé is one of the four new prefectures established in Togo since May 2016, under an administrative restructuring process which brought the country’s number of prefectures to 39.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi