Togo’s chamber of commerce and industry (CCIT) urged those exporting chemical products to the European Union from the country to respect European laws regulating the activity.

Deadline to register their products is May 31, 2018. The products are used in industrial processes, according to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals scheme. In addition to these, there are also substances used on a day-to-day basis, such as paints, cleaning chemicals, those used on clothing, furniture and appliances.

Producers or importers of such substances (producing or importing at least one ton per year) who are not registered at the European Chemical Products Agency, will no more be allowed to export to the European Union, CCIT warns.

Séna Akoda

Diplomats from Morocco and Togo no more need visas to visit each other’s countries. This was decided by an agreement signed on Wednesday by the two nations’ respective ministers of foreign affairs, Robert Dussey and Nasser Bourita.  

This was done in Marrakech on the sidelines of the 5th Euro-Africa conference of migration and development.

Togo, let’s recall, recently signed with Qatar’s emirate a series of agreements, including visa exemption, for their respective diplomats.

Regarding the current agreement with Morocco occurs in a context where all is set for the Cherifian kingdom to join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), whose Heads of States conference is led by Togo’s president, Faure Gnassingbé, since June 2017.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Announced a few weeks ago during a ministers’ council, the project for biometric identification of Togolese citizens is now operational.

A credible source indicated that “Togo’s presidency has enough funds under the State budget to finance e-ID Togo project to carry out biometric identification of the population. It plans to use part of these funds to pay equipment required for the project, as well as installation and maintenance of the biometric ID system”. A call to tender was launched to this end.

The e-ID Togo project aims to help “identify all Togolese, residents or not in a single manner”. This would further help with targeted supply of public, private and social services. In addition, it will become a major component of existing ID systems, namely civil registrar, citizenship, national ID card and passport.

Once effective, the system according to its promoters, will be fundamental to ID verification in Togo. “e-ID Togo” will provide a unique ID number, and manage life cycle of all citizens, even newborns and kids.

Séna Akoda

In line with the Presidential measure to provide youth and women entrepreneurs 20% of public procurements, EPAM which is the public autonomous institution for procurements operation launched a restricted call to tender targeting the population concerned by the measure, for some works.

To be exact, 15 young people including women, will be selected. The call to tender however states that “firms that are not subjected to VAT are not allowed to participate”.

Works projected include setting up kiosks at Akodessewa and Kégué markets (all in Lomé) and are separated in three groups. First group is for six kiosks at the Akodessewa market and twelve kiosks at the Kégué market (two mill kiosks and 10 ordinary kiosks in lots 2 and 3 respectively).

Séna Akoda

World Bank claims Togo and other West African nations fail to draw significant funding in their power projects because these are small scale projects yet very expensive.

This is mainly due to the fact that local demand of these countries is low and lacks planning, among others. This indeed led authorities to resort to emergency rental plants.

Meanwhile, West Africa’s electrification rate stands at 52%, with shortages that sometimes last up to 80 hours in a month. Also, power cost is one of the highest worldwide in this region, about $0.25/kWh, thus about twice the average in other parts of the world.

According to the Bretton Woods institution which disclosed this, West African countries would gain a lot from investing in major projects likely to promote and integrate commercialization of power. This could help save up to five to eight billion dollars every year to the countries, providing cheap, reliable and modern power.

Citing an example, the institution mentioned the West African Power Pool (WAAP), an interconnection project between 14 countries of the sub-region aiming to provide power to the whole ECOWAS zone and ensure power sufficiency. The project regroups more than 27 power utilities, to establish an integral regional power market.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

The project to support agro-ecological transition in West Africa (PATAE) was launched April 27, in Abuja. The project currently covers Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo. 

With €8 million (CFA5 billion), AFD supports this project which will extend over four years, from 2018 to 2021. 

PATAE will in detail finance field projects supporting agro-ecological intensification and experience-sharing, to help draw public policies, according to ECOWAS top authorities.

According to ECOWAS commissioner for agriculture, environment and water resources, Sékou Sangaré, this initiative will foster ecological transition in agriculture, food and nutritional security in West Africa, especially in areas with arable land degradation, low rain and natural resources degradation issues. 

According to Sangaré, PATAE will be an experimentation field which will later be expanded to other member-States of ECOWAS.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Togo’s public treasury wants to raise CFA20 billion on UMOA-Titres financial market. This is the second operation of such size in Q2 2018 and it will occur on May 4, a note from UMOA-TITRES reveals.

According to the source, fungible treasury bonds issued by Togolese treasury have a nominal value of one million CFA per unit. It comes with multiple interest rates to give much margin to investors. It matures over twelve months thus on May 5, 2019.

Let’s recall that the country’s two most recent issuances were very successful, recording a subscription rate of more than 100%.

Results for the current operation will be released May 4.

Séna Akoda

Government plans to make significant investment in health sector, said President Faure Gnassingbé last Friday during his speech for the 58th anniversary of Togo’s independence.

The investments align with major projects launched by Lomé, to enhance hospital management and improve health services. “Besides putting management of public health centers under contract, massive investment will be made to rehabilitate various infrastructures and renew equipment,” the President said.  

In this framework, Togo’s largest hospital, CHU Sylvanus Olympio, was contractualized on April 24, 2018, and two new major hospitals will be built to take care of cases that currently need to be transferred abroad. One of these facilities will be built by Indian firm Ping Pong Global.

Togo’s President also said training in health sector will be improved. This will lead to the construction of four nursing schools in Dapaong, Atakpamé, Kpalimé and Tsévié respectively.

Fiacre E. Kakpo