Togo First
Togo’s employers association adopts new 5-year strategic plan to boost private sector
Last Wednesday, Togo’s employers association (Conseil national du patronat –CNP Togo) validated in Lomé its 2018-2022 strategic plan. This plan will cost CFA5 billion and support firms towards sustainable growth.
“This plan will help CNP-Togo overcome challenges that will arise in the years to come while analyzing social and economic environments and to anticipate and adapt to changes in order to foster the growth of its members,” said Laurent Coami Tamegnon, head of the association, during the validation ceremony which was presided by the minister of trade and private sector promotion, Bernadette Legzim-Balouki.
The official, that day, urged top executives of CNP-Togo to make sure the strategic plan is effectively implemented, reassuring them that government would, for its part, keep putting in place reforms to make private sector the driver of economic growth.
CNP-Togo’s 2018-2022 strategic plan was financially supported by the International Labor Bureau (ILB).
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: Health-accident and car insurances contributed about 70% of monies paid to insured individuals
In Togo, 70% of monies paid to users subscribed to insurance policies, yearly, come from health-accident insurances and car insurances.
Car insurances provide 33% of this value while 36.6% fall under health and accident insurances.
Meanwhile, penetration rate of insurance in the country is quite low, contributing less than 1.5% of GDP. According to the cabinet director of Togolese ministry of finances, Kossi Tofio, who revealed the information, monies paid by insured individuals under their subscribed policies are also very little.
Actually, this trend is not specific to Togo only but is recorded in most member States of the Inter-African Conference of The Insurance Markets (CIMA).
Quite a paradox considering that this market is disputed by 13 firms, including six life insurers, and seven non-life insurers. In 2016, the market helped collect CFA53 billion of insurance premiums.
Séna Akoda
Togo and other African countries get $200 million from world bank to support off grid electrification
The World Bank has granted a funding of $200 million (about CFA110 billion) to 19 West African and Sahel countries, including Togo. This is in the framework of its Regional off-grid electrification project (ROGEP), which aims to provide beneficiaries support to foster a sustainable and scalable off-grid electrification market to meet the electrification needs of unserved populations (remote areas).
Under the project, standalone solar systems will be provided to households, public services, etc.
Funding allocated is divided into two parts. First is $60 million (about CFA33 billion) to organize the electrification market. And second is for a credit line of $140 million (about CFA77 billion) which will be used to support and develop supply and demand for off-grid solar systems. This component should interest solar equipment importers and distributors, as well as these equipment end-users, and households.
ROGEP is to be carried out for over five years, from April 2017 to August 2022. This in two distinct stages, namely: a one-year preparatory stage (already completed) and four years of effective implementation (ongoing).
Séna Akoda
Togo : Social Security Fund (CNSS) goes through digital transformation
Digital transformation. That is what the Togolese Social Security Fund (CNSS in French) relies on to accelerate its processes and improve the quality of its services.
Indeed, the fund which is headed by Ingrid Awadé, launched since November 2017 a major project for digitalization. E-declaration was one of the services falling under this project.
Others such as requests for social mandate, certificates and individual insurance reports, submission of complaints and account verification, can also be done online, on CNSS’ website. Now, it is possible to calculate normal pension and anticipated voluntary pension; this would save employers a lot of time.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo’s Asky Airlines and Rwanda’s Rwandair first to sign bilateral air services agreement, ahead of SATM launch
Ahead of the fourth ministerial meeting for the launch of the Single African Transport Market (SATM) which will be held in Lomé, on May 25-28, 2018, Asky Airlines, from Togo, and Rwandair, Rwanda, inked on May 22, a bilateral agreement to serve the countries respective capitals at lower costs.
Representing the two airlines during the signing ceremony were the respective ministers of transport of Togo and Rwanda, Ninsao Gnofam and Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye.
With the new agreement, Asky Airlines and Rwandair, and subsequently Togo and Rwanda, position themselves as pioneers of bilateral agreements for air services. Agreements which, let’s note, will be the main topic of the two-day meeting that will regroup members of the SATM next Friday.
Séna Akoda
Retail Banker International Awards 2018: Ecobank wins Best Digital Strategy Award
Lomé-based pan-African bank Ecobank has won the Best Digital Strategy Award at the Retail Banker International Awards ceremony held in London last week.
Commenting on the development, the group’s CEO, Ade Ayeyemi, said: “This award is a real vote of confidence for the hard work of everyone at Ecobank and the massive strides that we have made in meeting the changing ways that consumers are demanding to engage with their bank.”
Besides this award, Ecobank was also nominated in the following categories:
- Best Payment Innovation for its Ecobank Xpress Cash which is a card-less withdrawal solution which is integrated in the Ecobank Mobile App and available in all 33 African countries where Ecobank operates
- Product Innovation of the Year for its Ecobank Mobile App
The Ecobank Mobile app has already been downloaded by more than five million people. It provides 24/7 banking services and allows for transactions in 18 different currencies. It is available in four languages (English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish).
For Ecobank, digital strategy is the pillar on which lies its ambition to become Africa’s first banking service, and reach 100 million customers.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: Organic producers launch local products market in Lomé
In Lomé, a local products’ market was just launched by Togolese organic producers. The market is located at the FAO place and will open every Friday.
The initiative was led by Togo’s agricultural products processors cooperative (COTPAT), and various associations such as the Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs Forum (FOJEA) and Espace Vivi-Fruits. It emerged from the fact that farmers and producers fail to sell their output, due to insufficient outlets. Actually, this causes them to sell their products cheaply, making very little profit.
The local products market thus aims to valorize local organic products and boost their consumption and sales.
To achieve this goal, the market’s promoters intend to sensitize visitors about the benefits - mostly for health - of products offered. However, they also urged producers to improve their output’s quality.
Triggering a change in populations’ perception of local organic products would not only create more jobs, but also positively impact economic growth, the promoters indicated.
Products sold at the market include maize flour-made biscuits, oils, tea, syrups, spices, chocolate and soaps, among others.
Séna Akoda
Togo: Soon, taxes could be paid via mobile
Since 2016, major companies have been able to declare their taxes online, on the website of the Revenue Office (OTR). In January 2017, it was the turn of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and 400 of those were actually recently trained to e-declaration, last March to be exact.
This move, let’s emphasize, aligns first with the OTR’s will to make it simpler for Togolese firms to declare and pay their taxes, and secondly with government’s desire to modernize public administration and improve business climate.
Commenting on the e-declaration reform, the Business Climate Cell (CCA) said it would significantly shorten delay for tax declaration.
With e-declaration, Togo’s tax office should become more efficient and provide better services to taxpayers.
In the same framework, it should soon be possible to pay taxes via mobile, revealed Adoyi Esso-Wavana Ahmed, tax commissioner in an interview with Togo First.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo : Maritime Profession Institute opens in Lomé
On May 22, 2018, the Maritime Professions Institute (I2M, standing for Institut des Métiers de la Mer in French) opened its doors. The institute which is at the University of Lomé will train individuals to port-related professions.
According to authorities, creating the center aims mainly to provide the Port of Lomé and firms active in the maritime industry with qualified personnel,especially with new challenges faced by this industry: hull and navigation tools design, management of transport means by sea, handling of goods at ports, etc.
Actually, it was noticed that despite having a deep-water port and substantial fisheries resources, Togo lacks qualified staff to meet the demands of maritime companies.
With the I2M, the government aims to bridge this gap and ultimately make the Port of Lomé (PAL) the country’s main growth driver.
The institution’s establishment, let’s note, actually is the concretization of a decision taken in 2014 – during a forum held on April 2 to 4 – to provide college courses for maritime professions.
Séna Akoda
Togo : Property transfer delay exceeds expectations for first quarter, stands below eight days
Property transfer delay was at eight days average over the first quarter of 2018. This is against 20 days a year earlier. The reduction results from efforts made by Togolese authorities to improve business climate and attract more private investments.
In detail, this delay was at 9, 7 and 10 days in January, February and March 2018 respectively. The average for the period exceeds the expectation of the Revenue Office (OTR), knowingly 15 days for the whole year. At this pace, Togo could be close to Rwanda which is the leader in regard to property transfer delay, in Africa, with a duration of 7 days.
As mentioned earlier, the remarkable performances are attributable to the fact that the former directorate of the land and cadastral affairs (DADC) got additional equipment and staff, paired with the dematerialization of processes, and the creation of a property transfer bureau (to speed up issuance of related titles).
Besides that, many tax incentives have also been implemented since the beginning of 2018, such as: property registration fees and stamp duties were reduced by 3%, down to 6.3% in accordance with the government’s 2018 finance bill.
Moreover, to boost transparency, data related to land titles and cadastral map were made freely accessible to all, on the website of the DADC which is now attached to the OTR.
Togo, let’s recall, had dematerialized 46,342 land deeds at the end of March 2018. This out of a total of 46,833 deeds issued by then.
This a major achievement for the country’s land sector which could become one of the best performance in sub-Saharan Africa, considering that it will benefit from the MCA’s threshold program recently approved, and the imminent passing of a new land code by parliament.
Back to property transfer delay, according to the Doing Business, it assesses time needed by a firm or person to buy a property from a third party (seller) and transfer this property under its own name, as it could subsequently use it as guarantee to secure loans from lenders or exploit it in simple terms.
Fiacre E. Kakpo