Togo First
Togo ends Q1 2018 with a good performance, on regional debt market
Togo ends Q1 2018 with a remarkable performance on the regional debt market, UMOA-Titres. Indeed, after recording poor results for its security issuance on March 2, the nation raised CFA17.82 billion over a targeted CFA20 billion (thus an 89.1% coverage) last Friday.
Quite a laudable feat especially considering the mild performance of its neighbor, Benin, the day before. The latter reflects investors’ lack of interest in the region.
Overall, Lomé raised, via securities it issued, about CFA58 billion to finance its budget during Q1 2018.
Next quarter, the government wants to raise CFA40 billion, according to scheduled calendar.
Let’s recall that last week, Togo’s minister of economy and finance announced that a regional bond issued between end-2017 and the beginning of 2018, and arranged by Dakar-based firm CGF Bourse was successful. This operation helped the Treasury raise CFA61.8 billion, while it initially aimed for CFA60 billion.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo wants to reduce time spent by truck on National Road 1 to 24-hours, by 2022
By 2022, the Togolese government wants to shorten to about 24 hours the time spent by a truck to cross the National Road 1 (Lomé-Ouagadougou Corridor).
This would be a significant improvement compared to the current duration, 48-hours, recorded since 2016; and an even greater improvement compared to 2012, when trucks spent 72 hours to cross this road. To achieve its goal, for 2022, the country plans to rehabilitate old roads and build new ones.
In 2012-2016, let’s note also, proportions of roads in good state across the country soared from 18% to 29%. This attests to the fact that roads are better built and also road maintenance has become very important for the government.
To reduce the travelling duration, the government counts on its arm, Société Autonome de Financement et d’Entretien Routier (SAFER) which manages toll revenues, excise duty on oil products and allocate these proceeds to road rehabilitation and maintenance works.
SA
Togo: Consumption prices level slumped by 0.1% year-on-year at January 2018
National Institute for Statistics, Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED) has released a report on the Harmonized Index of Consumption Prices (IHPC) for January 2018. According to the document, global consumption prices level slumped by 0.1% compared to January 2017.
This is mainly due to a 2.9% decrease of the indicator related to “food, non-alcoholic drinks” and “health” baskets. Meanwhile, the indicator related to clothing and shoes slumped by 1%.
However, it (slump in global consumption prices level) can also be attributed to a 0.6% decrease of “Furniture, household equipment indicator” and a 0.9% decrease of the “Alcoholic drinks, tobacco and drugs” indicator.
Contrarily, the “Transports” and “Restaurants-Hotels” indicators respectively rose by 3% and 2.6%.
Inflation rate determined based on the average value of these indicators on a year-to-year basis was -0.6% in January 2018 and -0.8% in December 2017.
Infrastructures: 104 km of roads to be rehabilitated under Support scheme for vulnerable populations
In Togo, 104.3 km of rural and urban roads will be soon rehabilitated, under the support scheme for vulnerable populations (PAPV). These roads are located in four prefectures, namely: Agou, Anié, Tône and Bassar.
In details, 23.1 km of road (Avétonou-Messiobé-Kologan-Agokpala) will be rehabilitated in Agou while in Anié’s prefecture, a total of 40 km of road will be rehabilitated. PAPV will also lead to the rehabilitation of 25.2 km and 16 km of roads in the prefectures of Tône and Bassar respectively.
Rehabilitation and development works will be partly financed by the 2018 State budget. They include surfacing, leveling, suppression of critical points and sanitization infrastructures.
In this framework, PAPV has launched a restricted tender to select firms to perform the works which are divided into seven distinct categories. These firms will be given 8 months to complete the task.
Togo soars 17 places in UN’s World Happiness Report 2018
Last Wednesday, United Nations (UN) released in Vatican its World Happiness Report 2018.
The report which was created since 2012 ranks 156 countries based on their happiness level and 117 countries based on happiness level of their residing immigrants.
In this year’s edition, while Finland has overtaken Norway as the world’s happiest nation, Togo is the one to have recorded the greatest progression globally, soaring 17 ranks compared to the previous edition. Indeed, the nation which was last (156th) in the ranking last year, has jumped to the 139th position.
The 2018 report gives a lot of attention to immigrants’ happiness ; as such, it comprises four whole chapters on immigration, both within a country and from one country to another.
World Happiness Report also assesses “compassion, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, social safety nets and good governance”.
Togo: Vivendi Africa to launch fiber to the home on March 22
On March 22, 2018, Internet Service Provider (ISP) GVA (Group Vivendi Africa), subsidiary of French multinational Vivendi, will launch its fiber to the home (FTTH) service in Lomé. This was reported by French newspapers Jeune Afrique.
The telecom firm will launch its service in some of the capital’s areas before expanding.
Last June, let’s recall, GVA and Teolis, another telecom operator, had secured licenses to operate in Togo. The provision of the permits fall in line with government’s strategy to make the country a digital hub by providing all social layers access to broadband, by 2030.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
IDB grants Togo CFA11 billion to support its microfinance sector
In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) via two loan agreements announced it will inject $20 million (about CFA11 billion) into Togo’s microfinance sector.
Related agreements were signed yesterday, March 14, by the Togolese minister of economy and finance, Sani Yaya, and IDB’s President, Dr. Bandar Mohamed Hamza Hajjar (photo).
The loans will be poured into the Togolese microfinance support project. The latter aims at improving financial inclusion in the country, thus reducing poverty and making populations more resilient to socio-economic and climate shocks. The project would more importantly improve living standards of very vulnerable communities and create jobs.
In details, the first agreement is CFA5.5 billion provided by Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development. This fund is dedicated to reducing poverty in IDB’s member countries. The second agreement is for a loan of about CFA6.45 billion.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo : 3,000 local technicians to be trained and accredited under CIZO scheme
The pilot stage for the Presidential energy scheme CIZO is now on. This project, let’s recall, aims at providing electricity to more than two million Togolese by 2022, by supplying to beneficiaries individual solar kits which they will pay for in tranches, via mobile money.
Under the pilot phase, 3,000 local technicians spread across Togo’s five economic areas, will be trained. This was revealed by the website L’Union pour la Patrie.
In details, each economic region will host a solar academy where 600 local technicians will be trained. The academy is an accredited training institution which will be part of a professional training center with peculiar standards such as adequate facilities, teaching equipment, skilled instructors, etc.
Regarding instructors, there will be 50 of them, all recruited and trained by experienced professionals of the off-grid solar power sector.
Call to interest for the selection of the 3,000 candidates has already been launched and deadline to submit applications has been set on April 9, 2018. Applicants are requested, compulsorily, to indicate on their application that it is for a training related to the “installation of five solar academies in Togo”.
Orabank Togo benefits from Islamic Development Bank’s support to SMEs
Oragroup, holding of banking group Orabank, which is present in 12 African countries, Togo included, just confirmed it got €40 million from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). This was in the framework of an agreement signed between the two institutions in December 2017.
The funds which will be dispatched to various subsidiaries of the group such as Orabank Togo, will mainly be used to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in ICD’s member-States, in the coming months.
Projects supported will be Sharia-compliant. The facility will also be provided under a Wakala agreement between ICD and each selected bank.
According to Binta Touré Ndoye (photo), Managing Director Oragroup, the financing will help the group significantly boost its impact on economic development across the region by creating jobs, accelerating industrialization and local processing, creating value, redistributing wealth, fighting poverty and contributing to the emergence of the middle class.
For his part, Salah Babale, Head of the Financial Institutions Development at ICD, said: “We will keep supporting actors that contribute to economic diversification and industrialization across the continent.”
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: Institut des Métiers de l’Agriculture of Kara to train individuals in agribusiness and more
Situated 450 km from Lomé, the Institut des Métiers de l’Agriculture (Institute of Agricultural Professions - ISMA) of the University of Kara officially opened on March 12, 2018. This institution will help promote agribusiness in Togo, training individuals in agricultural professions turning them into skilled professionals.
Various courses that will be offered by ISMA include animal health, animal production, agribusiness & agricultural marketing, agricultural processing, rural and agro-industrial development and equipping, etc.
Courses will be offered on a “learning-by-doing” basis, which, according to the institution’s director, Atti Tchabi, means they will involve regular field activities.
ISMA will without doubt play a major role in the development of agropoles and that of agribusiness globally in Togo.
Let’s emphasize that agropoles’ development is part of a strategy to revalorize agriculture and make it an important source of wealth and jobs. This strategy is financially supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Its long-term objective is to turn farmers into full-fledged entrepreneurs.