Togo First
Togo Opens Justice Centers in Kabou and Pagala in Access-to-Justice Push
Togo has opened two new community justice centers as part of efforts to expand access to legal services, particularly for citizens living far from formal courts.
The centers, located in the towns of Kabou and Pagala, became operational after ceremonies on Nov. 24 and Nov. 27 to appoint mediators. The events were presided over by Kadanga Tchalim, chief of staff at the justice ministry.
Created by presidential decree in 2018, the centers serve as intermediaries between formal courts and the public. They provide free mediation, conciliation and basic legal guidance for minor disputes.
Their role includes resolving neighborhood conflicts, rental disputes, family or land issues, and directing users to the appropriate services.
Data shows rising use of the centers. Cases handled by the 16 centers currently in operation increased from 3,857 in 2022 to 5,518 in 2024. The mediation success rate exceeded 90% in 2024, up from 85.8% the previous year, while debt recovery cases processed through the centers more than doubled over the same period.
The new facilities are funded through a support program financed by the Togolese state and the World Bank. Authorities urged communities to use the centers to resolve conflicts peacefully and affordably.
With Togo now operating about twenty justice centers, authorities say the goal is to continue expanding the network to cover more municipalities.
R.E.D
Togo Gets 1,625-Ton Rice Shipment From Japan for Vulnerable Households
Togo received a shipment of 1,625 tons of rice from Japan on Friday under a food aid program targeting vulnerable households.
The donation is part of Japan’s Kennedy Round (KR) program, an initiative aimed at strengthening food security. The shipment will be stored in facilities of the National Food Security Agency (ANSAT).
The rice will be sold nationwide at an affordable price, mainly for low-income households and the revenue used to finance development projects, especially in agriculture.
The program has previously supported projects such as the development of Planned Agricultural Zones and the purchase of farming equipment, including tractors.
“It is a model that turns food aid into long-term investment in agriculture,” the authorities said.
Japan’s Kennedy Round program is a food aid instrument within its cooperation policy with partner countries. Since 2008, Togo has received more than 33,000 tons of white rice through the scheme.
Lomé to Host 9th Pan-African Congress Dec. 9-12, 2025 After Delays
The 9th Pan-African Congress will be held from Dec. 8 to 12, 2025, in the Togolese capital, Lomé, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The event, organized by the government in partnership with the African Union, has faced repeated postponements over the past year.
The 2025 congress will take place at the Lomé Convention Center under the theme “Renewal of Pan-Africanism and Africa’s role in the reform of multilateral institutions: mobilizing resources and reinventing itself to act.”
The ministry said it has opened registrations for the gathering, which will bring together participants from across the continent, the diaspora and African-descendant communities for a series of panels and discussions.
Talks will focus on issues shaping the continent’s future and will reaffirm Pan-Africanism’s founding principles, according to the announcement.
The issue of reparations for historical injustices suffered by Africans will also be discussed. Participants will review the conclusions of preparatory regional meetings held across the continent.
Togo's Cost of Tax Breaks Rises 14.6% to 164.1 Bln CFA Francs in 2024
Togo’s fiscal cost of tax expenditures rose to 164.1 billion CFA francs in 2024, up 14.6% from 143.2 billion CFA francs in 2023, according to a recent government report. The amount represents 18.6% of the state’s net revenue and 2.7% of GDP.
Tax expenditures, defined as revenue the government did not collect to support specific taxpayers or sectors, were assessed based on 695 preferential tax provisions contained in various laws. Of these, 506 measures, or 72.8%, could be quantified.
Most of the cost came from indirect taxes. Value-added tax accounted for 70.3 billion CFA francs, or 42.9% of the total. Corporate income tax followed at 42.8 billion CFA francs, equal to 26.1%.
Other revenue losses came from the statistical royalty at 21.5 billion CFA francs, customs duties at 20.7 billion CFA francs, the business license tax at 3.7 billion CFA francs and excise duties at 3.1 billion CFA francs.
Personal income tax on business and wage earnings contributed only 1.4 billion CFA francs, while the national solidarity levy and the property tax accounted for 0.5 billion and 0.2 billion CFA francs respectively.
Businesses were the main beneficiaries and received 50.6% of all tax advantages. Measures that applied to both businesses and households represented 42.7%. Public administrations and public-utility entities received 5.1%.
These preferential tax treatments include exemptions, deductions, tax credits and reduced rates. They are used by the government to encourage investment, support employment and strengthen social protection.
They also reduce budget revenue, which requires a balance between tax incentives and the need to raise public revenue. Togo’s revenue targets have increased steadily in recent years, driven by the Togo Revenue Authority, and are set at 1,208.4 billion CFA francs for 2024.
Togo’s Tchaoudjo 1 Sets 2035 Goal to Recycle Up to 60% of Local Waste
The Tchaoudjo 1 municipality in Togo’s Central Region has launched a local waste and sanitation policy. The policy was presented in Sokodé in late November as part of the European Union-funded Waste Management in Togo (GEDEC) project, implemented by Expertise France.
The municipal policy, which covers 2025 to 2035, sets out measures for effective and sustainable waste management involving local stakeholders. It addresses solid and liquid waste, organizes pre-collection activities and closely monitors transfers to the engineered landfill site.
For liquid waste, the system involves collecting waste from households and public facilities before transporting it to a fecal sludge treatment plant.
The policy, which runs until 2035, sets interim targets for expanding service by the end of 2027 and 2030. By then, the municipality aims to collect 85 to 90 percent of the waste generated and recycle more than 60 percent of plastic and organic waste.
On sanitation, the goal is to ensure that 90 percent of the population has access to latrines that can be emptied and that all collected sludge is treated at the fecal sludge plant.
Tchaoudjo 1 Mayor Ouro Sama Mohamed Saad said the policy will improve living conditions in Sokodé over the long term. “The entire population will be involved in implementing this policy. We will work with residents to keep our city clean,” he said.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo Calls on Municipalities to Catalogue Heritage Sites as Part of Tourism Push
Togo has launched a new effort to promote its cultural and tourism sites through its local municipalities. A training session for municipal officials on how to better develop and promote these sites was held in Lomé last week.
The initiative is part of a national place-branding strategy aimed at preserving Togolese musical heritage through municipal programs, encouraging the creation of sports centers in each municipality and strengthening the local culture and tourism sector. Municipalities are being encouraged to integrate tourism more systematically into their development plans.
Ahead of the preparation of a national strategy to promote cultural and tourism assets, Culture Minister Isaac Tchiakpé has asked all municipalities to compile an inventory of their heritage sites.
The initiative comes as Togo pursues a range of programs to boost its tourism sector. The government is working to expand business tourism, including through a digital hotel booking platform for major events. Work is also underway to restore several key sites, such as the historic Kamina site near Atakpamé and the Koutammakou cultural landscape. Official data indicates that tourism contributes about 8 percent of national GDP.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo Weighs Allowing Women to Claim Husbands as Dependents for Income Tax
To reduce gender inequality in taxation, female civil servants should be allowed to declare their husbands as dependents for Personal Income Tax calculations, just as men can do for their wives. This recommendation appears in an analytical brief published earlier this year by the Directorate General of Budget and Finance within Togo’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, which examines gender disparities in the tax system.
Currently, only a husband may declare his wife as a dependent for IRPP calculations in Togo. The ministry argues that this contradicts existing laws on gender equality in public administration.
Togo’s IRPP applies a progressive rate ranging from 0 percent for annual income below 900,000 CFA francs to 35 percent for income above 10 million CFA francs. Overall, most current tax measures are gender neutral, and the analysis finds that they do not reduce economic inequalities between men and women.
Beyond the IRPP proposal, the report suggests lowering import duty rates for women traders. The African Union levy could be reduced from 0.2 percent of customs value to 0.1 percent, and the national solidarity levy from 0.5 percent to 0.2 percent. These adjustments would target the informal sector, where women account for 54 percent of workers.
The report also proposes reductions for women subject to certain import-related charges, including adjustments to the ECOWAS solidarity rate, given women’s strong participation in informal trade.
On the budgeting side, allocations for gender-related programs increased from 20 billion CFA francs in 2022 to 30.5 billion in 2024, a rise of 52 percent. Even so, they represent only a small share of the national budget, increasing from 1.07 percent in 2022 to 1.35 percent in 2024.
The ministry recommends expanding gender-equality strategies across all sectors, strengthening statistical data collection and building administrative capacity for gender-responsive budgeting.
The assessment highlights progress in education and healthcare, alongside persistent disparities. Women hold only about 21.7 percent of leadership positions in the administration. Their access to land and finance remains limited, despite initiatives in Planned Agricultural Development Areas and inclusive finance programs. Some 7,964 women have been allocated plots in ZAAPs, representing 41 percent of beneficiaries.
Gaps also remain in secondary schooling, although primary completion rates for girls reached 95.7 percent in 2024. The Wezou initiative has supported more than 400,000 pregnant women. Women’s representation in the National Assembly stands at 18.5 percent, and women’s land ownership in the Savanes region is only 2.6 percent.
The ministry argues that integrating gender into taxation and budgeting is essential to closing these gaps. The goal is a fairer allocation of resources and stronger support for women’s economic participation. Women make up 51.3 percent of the population and more than half of the national labor force.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo Drafts National Strategy to Guide the Use of Artificial Intelligence
Togo is developing a national artificial intelligence strategy to guide the use of the technology in public administration. A forum was recently held in Lomé for representatives from ministries, public institutions and civil society under the theme “Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Governance.”
The meeting, organized by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, aimed to establish a clear framework for the use of AI in government. Discussions focused on the opportunities these tools offer to improve public services and the risks linked to algorithmic bias and the protection of citizens’ rights. For Oubo M’bo, director for democratic governance, the challenge is to integrate emerging technologies while safeguarding democratic principles.
The symposium comes as several sectors are exploring the use of AI to improve performance. Public administration already relies on data analysis tools, automation and digital process management. The government now wants to formalize this shift to ensure transparent decision-making, high data quality and a defined human role in workflows.
This effort builds on a series of national initiatives. In technical education, a policy for integrating AI into training programs is being developed to modernize learning. In 2024, the “Grand Atelier du Digital” laid the foundation for a national strategy to guide innovation, protect data and strengthen the digital ecosystem.
The strategy now being drafted is expected to outline guidelines for public services, support local research and define an appropriate regulatory framework.
R.E.D.
Internet Society Togo Launches Pilot Community Network In Atti-Akakpé
Internet Society Togo on Saturday launched a community wireless network in the village of Atti-Akakpé, aiming to improve internet access in a long-underserved area.
The deployment, funded by the Internet Society Foundation, includes a solar power system and network infrastructure with access points installed across the village. Emmanuel Elolo Agbenonwossi, president of Internet Society Togo, said the rollout shows how community networks can provide sustainable connectivity.
“Communities take charge of their own digital development when they have the skills and tools they need,” Agbenonwossi said. He urged authorities and partners to increase resources for rural areas in order to speed up digital inclusion.
Connectivity is delivered through a radio link supplied by operator Café Informatique. The system relies on a tower nearly 20 meters high and provides speeds of 20 megabits per second. Power is supplied by six solar panels and lithium batteries that keep the service running continuously. Access to the network is available to the public for a flat daily fee.
Residents say their access to essential services has improved. Before the installation, villagers often traveled several kilometers to buy mobile data. The new service now makes it easier to complete online administrative tasks such as university registration and to obtain medical consultations through a partnership with local tech startup Dokita Eyes. The startup also offers digital skills training for young people and women, including those without formal schooling.
The project includes training on network governance, maintenance and responsible technology use. Other partners include Compassion International and ARCEP Togo, the national telecom regulator.
Internet Society Togo is the national chapter of the Internet Society, an organization that promotes an open and accessible internet. The chapter works on digital inclusion, skills training and community network initiatives in rural areas to reduce the digital divide and help communities manage their own infrastructure.
The Atti-Akakpé network serves as a pilot site and the chapter plans to seek additional funding to expand this model to other rural communities.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo Kicks Off Landmark 20th Lomé Fair with Digital Push, Chinese Delegation
The 20th Lomé International Fair opened Friday at the Togolese Center for Exhibitions and Fairs (CETEF) and will run until December 14.
This year’s anniversary edition, themed “40 years of history, 20 editions,” looks back at the fair’s legacy while highlighting the country’s economic future. In his opening address, Trade Minister Kossi Tenou said the fair is more than an exhibition, describing it as a catalyst for opportunities in a more connected, innovative and inclusive economy.
According to CETEF Director General Alexandre de Souza, the 2025 edition introduces several new features, including digitized administrative services via the e-FIL platform, a dedicated helpline, twice as many B2B meetings as previous years, and special events such as Black Friday promotions and a “Blue Night.”
China, this year’s guest of honor, is represented by more than 30 companies from various sectors.
This 20th edition is especially significant because it coincides with CETEF’s 40th anniversary. More than 1,300 exhibitors and about 700,000 visitors are expected across the 90,000-square-meter fairgrounds.
Esaïe Edoh