Togo First
Togo : New electrification strategy already attracting funds
The recent roundtable organized by Togo’s government to raise funds for its new electrification strategy is already bearing fruits.
Indeed, an official statement released by AfDB and relayed by republicoftogo.com indicates that the institution will finance the strategy with €120 million (€30 million in own funds and €90 million from partners) over the off-grid power development project’s first two years of implementation.
Another institution engaged in the initiative is BOAD which plans to inject CFA21 billion into mini-grids.
Next is the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (BIDC) which will invest $40 million in the Togolese project. The money will be used to finance solar kit suppliers.
World Bank which co-organized the roundtable also promised $30 million for the project which aims to provide electricity to all Togolese by 2030. Other lenders are analyzing modalities to support the strategy both technically and financially, AfDB’s statement adds.
The Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROJEP) could enable solar kits firms to benefit from a credit line of $148 million from World Bank. Its implementation should begin in January 2019.
Séna Akoda
Togo: Civil society organizations contribute to national development plan
In Togo, civil society organizations (OSC) met last Tuesday with the minister of planning and development, Kossi Assimaïdou, to discuss the 2018-2022 national development plan.
At this occasion the OSCs, according to Séna Alouka, executive director of NGO Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement (JVE), recommended the establishment of the GT-OSC-ODD platform which is a special unit dedicated to their contribution to the achievement of SDGs via the national development plan. Also, they suggested quarterly meetings be held with the minister.
The recent meeting let’s indicate, is part of government’s plan to draw an inclusive national development plan, one that would involve all actors concerned by the issue of development.
Séna Akoda
Togo : GreenLight Planet to provide populations 300,000 solar kits by 2022
In the next three years, Greenlight Planet will provide Togolese households 300,000 solar kits.
The firm got local authorities’ approval for the initiative, credible sources indicate.
This project should greatly strengthen the government’s goal to achieve universal power access by 2030.
After the deal is finalized, Greenlight Planet will add to British firm BBOXX which is engaged in the CIZO project that aims at distributing solar kits to 550,000 household across the country.
According to Patrick Muriuki, Head of Development for Africa at Greenlight Planet, “Togo is a relatively small market”, but which still interests his company because “it moves at a fast pace with its electrification strategy, unlike other nations which are slow to invest in renewable energy infrastructures”.
The executive also praised the regulatory, logistic and fiscal framework that authorities are putting in place in order to attract more investments in the clean energy sector. “The government has, for example, lifted custom taxes (30%) imposed on solar kits, and developed a good system to distribute them,” Muriuki said.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Between 2015 and 2018, World Bank’s investment portfolio for Togo has more than doubled
Between 2015 and 2018, World Bank’s investment in Togo soared from about $150 million to $350 million, according to the institution representative chief, Joëlle Dehasse.
Dehasse disclosed this information on June 28, while meeting with Togo’s Prime Minister. “When I came into office in 2015, the portfolio was valued at about $150 million and now it has exceeded $350 million,” she said while notifying the official of her mandate’s end.
Major achievements recorded during Dehasse’s time in Togo include the implementation of partnership framework by World Bank for Togo, a mid-term strategy and reopening of dialogues regarding reforms and budget support.
Over the past three years, the Bretton Woods institution prioritized Togo’s power and agriculture sectors which it helped boost. This trend should be maintained by the outgoing representative’s substitute, Dehasse declared.
Séna Akoda
Togo : CFA30 billion needed to rehabilitate and maintain roads in 2019 (SAFER)
On June 28, the autonomous company in charge of financing road maintenance (SAFER) in Togo said it needs about 30.3 billion CFA to rehabilitate roads in 2019. This, the entity revealed during a scheduling conference towards the programme budget’ elaboration.
The forecast was issued based on data collected to better handle and assess road maintenance efficiency.
Compared to the past years where SAFER raised 20-30% of funding it needed, this year, the company aims to mobilize up to 50% of this sum, according to its managing director Sylvain Outchantcha.
Out of the monies mobilized, CFA400 million will be used to repair roads that got damaged during the recent political protests that took place throughout the country, Outchantcha added.
Séna Akoda
BOAD gets €50M from Belarus’ Development Bank
The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has secured a €50 million financing from Belarus’ Development Bank.
This was disclosed in a statement released subsequent to the 109th ordinary session of BOAD’s board, held last Wednesday.
During the meeting, the institution’s authorities also approved 11 transactions including 7 mid and long term loans valued at CFA90.8 billion, a refinancing line of CFA10 billion, a short-term loan of CFA5 billion and two stake acquisitions worth CFA6 billion.
Among the 11 transactions, there is a CFA10 billion loan granted to improve agricultural processing in Kara, in the Northern region.
Overall, the commitments total CFA111.8 billion bringing to CFA5,201 billion all BOAD’s commitments since it started operating.
BOAD regroups Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Senegal and Togo. It is headquartered in Lomé, Togo’s capital.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
“Today, rural roads are top priority” - minister of transport
In 2019, rural roads will be given priority by government. “Under the President’s actual social mandate, today, rural roads are top priority,” said Ninsao Gnofam, Togo’s minister of infrastructures and transports.
The official explained that the goal is to make sure people who have no or low access to roads are no more secluded, “enabling them to access markets and other localities”.
In this regard, in each region and prefecture, priorities will be set based on road-related data collected by technical teams.
Séna Akoda
Lomé is less expensive than Cotonou, Accra, Abidjan, Dakar, Lagos and Abuja according to US firm Mercer
In its 2018 cost of living survey, US firm Mercer ranked Lomé as the 134th most expensive city in the world, rising from 144th position in the previous edition.
Though it regressed in the rankings, Togo’s capital is still less expensive than most neighboring metropoles namely, Abidjan (24th most expensive city), Lagos (42nd), Accra (63rd), Abuja (99th) and Cotonou (111th)
Luanda is no more the world’s most expensive city. Falling to the sixth position, the Angolan capital was dethroned by Hong Kong. While the top of the rankings is dominated by European and Asian cities, Ndjamena, Chad’s capital, makes its way to the top 10 most expensive cities worldwide. Meanwhile Tunis, Nouakchott and Kampala remain the least expensive cities according to Mercer’s survey.
Mercer’s cost of living survey aims to help governments and international companies better evaluate wages paid to expatriates abroad, but more importantly calculate hardship allowances. Cities selected for the survey were picked based on demand for data submitted to Mercer.
The 24th Cost of Living Survey compares prices of 200 products and services, such as housing, transport, food, clothing, household items and entertainment, across 375 cities worldwide but ranked only 209 cities overall.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: BOAD invests CFA10 billion in Kara’s agropole
The board of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) approved on June 27 a CFA10 billion financing for Kara’s agropole, a statement released on the bank’s website indicates.
The money will be used to build roads, drill boreholes, electrify 14 villages, etc.
Kara’s agropole which will require more than CFA63 billion of investments is the first of nine projects that Togo’s government plans to develop under the agropoles programme in Togo. The latter aims to boost animal and crop production, improve agricultural infrastructures and market accessibility, and also support processing segment.
Agropole development aligns with the second strategic axis of the national development plan which aims at developing agricultural processing, manufacturing and extractive industry hubs.
In the long run, the plan should help improve agricultural trade balance by 25%, help tackle food insecurity and reduce poverty rate in rural areas to 27%, by 2026.
In addition to BOAD’s financing, Togo has already secured from the African Development Bank (AfDB) a CFA15 billion commitment for this first agropole.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Emirati firm Emaar inks contract to manage 2 Février Hotel in Lomé
Emaar Hospitality Group and Kalyan Hospitality signed on June 27, in Dubaï, an agreement that makes the Emirati firm the manager of the 2 février hotel, a five-star hotel situated in Lomé. Through the move, the hotel will fall under the Address brand and hence be renamed Address Hotel 2 Février.
It is Emaar’s first hotel in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the firm’s executives, the contract is a significant milestone towards its expansion across the region. “This is a management agreement that we just officialized with Kalyan Group for 2 Février Hotel. It is operational and meets our standards. We wish to make this hotel a reference in West Africa. This strategic partnership will let us bring to the region our experience in regards to hotel management,” said Olivier Harnisch, CEO Emaar Hospitality Group.
According to him, the decision to start their sub-Saharan adventure in Togo was motivated by the country’s bright perspectives for economic and touristic growth. In this mindset, the firm is prospecting more opportunities in the country.
For his part, Ashok Gupta, CEO of Kalyan Hospitality, concessionaire of 2 février rejoiced over the new partnership. “Africa, we believe, is the continent of the future. Togo is determined to boost its tourism industry and we are glad to contribute to that vision,” Gupta said in the presence of Togolese ministers of tourism and trade, Yaovi Attigbe Ihou and Bernadette Legzim-Balouki, as well as the country’s ambassador to Gulf nations, Mohamed Ouro-Sama.