Togo is gearing up for senatorial elections after the legislative and regional votes on April 29. The Minister of Territorial Administration, Hodabalo Awate, has started the process by asking mayors to provide personal information on each municipal councilor.

This data will help the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) create the electoral list of grand electors for the 2024 senatorial elections. The required documents must reach the Ministry by Friday, June 7, 2024.

Municipal and regional councilors will elect 2/3 of the Senate members. The President of the Republic will choose the remaining 1/3.

The Senate's establishment is crucial for electing the next President of the Republic and the President of the Council of Ministers, as per the new Constitution in force since May 6. This will be a first for Togo.

The country, it should be noted, held regional and legislative elections on April 29.

Esaïe Edoh

The 5th edition of the European Film Festival will take place in Lomé from June 11 to June 15, 2024. The event celebrates the best of European cinema and aims to encourage co-productions with Europe and foster exchanges between Togolese, West African, and European film professionals.

For five days, cinephiles will be able to enjoy a variety of films at the auditorium of the Institut français du Togo and the conference room of the Goethe-Institut in Lomé. 

"Far from being aimed solely at professionals, this year's festival will offer screenings of carefully selected films to bring Togolese and European cinephiles together in front of the big screen. On the program are the best of Afro-European co-productions and major European festivals such as Cannes, the Venice Mostra, and the Berlinale," the Institut Français announced.

Alongside the screenings, a specific program is dedicated to professionals, providing Togolese scriptwriters and directors a platform to discuss with and learn from European experts. The best projects will be rewarded, thanks to the initiative of TOGO CRÉATIF, which supports the festival, to support the development and production of local cinematographic works.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

A workshop was held in Lomé on Wednesday, June 5, to promote road safety in West Africa. The event, organized by the Ministry of Road, Air and Rail Transport, brought together road safety agencies and transport stakeholders from several countries in the sub-region.

The workshop, part of the Organization for Road Safety in West Africa (OSRAO) day, focused on two major themes: "Safe and sustainable transport in Togo: issues and prospects" and "Modern technology at the service of road safety." The main aim of the proceedings was to raise awareness of road safety issues and explore effective ways of reducing road accidents and saving human lives.

"We have around 600 road deaths and more than 6,000 injuries every year in Togo. So it's really a question of public safety. It's a question for us to see how we will proceed to reduce traffic accidents on our roads," noted Dermane Tadjudini, Director of Road and Rail Transport.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Road, Air and Rail Transport, Dr. Komlan Tindano, stressed the importance of safe, sustainable transport for the country's ecological and economic future. In Togo, reforms have been underway for several months, gradually transforming the transport sector and making it more organized and professional.

The government has also made it compulsory for all two-wheeled users, who account for over 70% of the Togolese vehicle fleet, to wear helmets to reduce the severity of accidents.

Togo's 2023/2024 cotton season has come to a close. Compared to the previous season, output and yield, respectively, stood at 67,718 tonnes and 844 kilograms per hectare, up 45%.

According to Olam, all regions of Togo saw their performance improve, generating gross revenues in a surplus of CFA20 billion. However, farmers are not pleased.

"We've been watching Olam for over three years, and right now, it doesn't give us the confidence to be with them moving forward," said Koussouwè Kouroufei, president of the Fédération Nationale des Groupements de Producteurs de Coton (FNGPC).

The organization regroups five regional Unions for 27 prefectural Unions with 3075 producer groups, totaling 153,000 cotton growers.

Kouroufei complained that compared with other countries such as Chad and Côte d'Ivoire, where Olam is said to have significantly increased yields, results in Togo are far from expectations, stagnating at between 600 and 700 kilograms per hectare.

He also complained about stagnant yields well below expectations, unexplained debt increase, and chronic delays in distributing essential inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides.

"And worse still, they hang debts on the federation every campaign, without us knowing where these debts come from," the FNGPC’s boss added.

Olam took over Togo’s Cotton Company, Nouvelle Société Cotonnière du Togo (NSCT), in 2020. Its arrival was expected to have led to output doubling but the Asian group failed to meet expectations. Except this year, the output has declined steadily since Olam came. 

"We, the farmers, that's our job and we've already started planting. Olam wasn't there, we were producing, so even if he leaves or stays, we're still going to produce. As head of the federation, we've already given instructions to our fellow growers to prepare the fields, and we're encouraging them to start sowing. The problems are there, but we reassure them that solutions will be found as they come," Koussouwè Kouroufei told Agridigitale.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

From May 26 to 30, a UNESCO mission visited the Koutammakou cultural site in Togo to assess its state of conservation. The site was listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage site 20 years ago.

The mission, carried out jointly by the World Heritage Centre, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, aimed to evaluate the site's conservation and meet with stakeholders involved in its preservation.

Experts noted the effects of climate change and growing urban pressure on the site. They also observed the construction of new structures using new materials and modern architecture.

Based on their findings, the mission made some recommendations to better manage and preserve the site. Key recommendations included involving the local population in initiatives to conserve and develop the site.

Recently, the Togolese government announced a project to enhance the Koutammakou cultural heritage site. With an estimated cost of CFA3 billion, the project aims to improve the site's conservation and development.

Esaïe Edoh

Mali has decided to follow the example of Guinea and Burkina Faso by emulating Togo’s health insurance model. A Malian delegation recently visited the Togolese Health Insurance Institute (INAM) to learn from its best practices.

With the INAM’s top brass and technicians, the Malian delegation, led by Modibo Sow, Director of Information Systems at the Malian Institute for Social Prediction, discussed topics like customer relationship management, beneficiary registration, and digitization of procedures.

According to Sow, "INAM is a benchmark institution for health insurance in the sub-region. We came to learn from its best practices to strengthen our own system".

The INAM has received international recognition for its efforts, including an award from the International Social Security Association (ISSA) in May 2023.

The Malian delegation was in Togo from May 27 to 31, 2024.

Esaïe Edoh 

China and Togo reaffirmed their commitment to their partnership at a meeting in Lomé on June 3, 2024. The meeting reviewed their cooperation and announced new areas of collaboration.

The two countries discussed implementing initiatives and programs launched in 2021 after the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The talks focused on energy production, water development, agriculture, and irrigation.

According to Liu Junfeng, Vice President of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, who was present, China “will work to realize joint projects and programs” in line with efforts to bolster its partnership with Togo.

The renewed partnership will cover areas like security, the environment, and youth employment to improve the living conditions of Togolese people. According to Togo’s Prime Minister, Victoire Dogbé, the announcement shows China's commitment to strengthening ties with Togo.

China has already been involved in several infrastructure projects in Togo, including airport extensions, road development, and stadium rehabilitation.

Esaïe Edoh

Kofa, a Ghanaian start-up specializing in battery solutions and electric motorcycles, is set to enter the Togolese market. Already well-established in Ghana, Kofa plans to introduce its sustainable mobility innovations to Lomé, a market currently dominated by Spiro.

Launched in 2021 in Ghana, Kofa has quickly made a name for itself with its electric motorcycle models and Kore2 interchangeable battery system. The Jidi electric motorcycle, equipped with the Kore2 battery, offers a range of over 100 km.

While other companies focused on importing ready-to-use EVs into the market, Kofa concentrated on creating a market for efficient batteries and the charging infrastructure needed to support battery users.

"Kofa's key innovation lies in delivering high-performance energy through its batteries, which are economical - being at least 30% more competitive than gasoline - but also versatile in their applications," explains Erik Nygard, CEO of Kofa.

To gain a foothold in the Togolese market, Kofa plans to capitalize on its strategic partnerships, notably with TAIL-G, a global manufacturer of electric motorcycles, and MAX, a pioneer of electric vehicle solutions in Nigeria.

In Togo, Spiro, which offers electric motorcycles and an advanced battery management and exchange platform, enjoys a strong position. With the arrival of Kofa, the Togolese electric vehicle sector is about to become more competitive.

According to Kofa's CEO, the electric mobility market, which promises double-digit annual growth, is still wide open and brimming with opportunities. "Our main competitor is gasoline," he asserted.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Faure Gnassingbé is in Seoul for the Africa-Korea Summit which started on June 4, 2024. On the opening day, the Togolese leader delivered a speech highlighting his country's commitment to economic openness and strategic development.

Gnassingbé emphasized the importance of outward-looking development, stating that Togo cannot "pretend to live isolated." He noted that his country's strategic positioning at the crossroads of West Africa makes it a major entry point, thanks to its deep-water port. "It was therefore natural for Togo to develop as a regional hub and open up to West Africa, a market of 400 million consumers undergoing rapid transformation," he said.

The Togolese president also emphasized the need for a business-friendly environment, citing legal certainty and fiscal stability as key measures to attract more players to the country. He highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships and other initiatives to promote openness.

Gnassingbé also touched on agriculture, which employs 65% of the population and accounts for 40% of GDP. He emphasized the development of agricultural development zones, agropoles, and ZAAPs, which have led to significant increases in agricultural yields. "The results of this voluntary state involvement are obvious. Agricultural yields have surged, tripling in just a few years. We need to build on these successes," he noted.

Gnassingbe then stressed the importance of reconciling "openness to the world and rootedness in our territories." He noted that economic growth and environmental concern are key priorities, as well as the accumulation of wealth and its equitable sharing.

During the summit, the leader of Korea, the host country, promised to double official development assistance to African countries, reaching $10 billion by 2030.

Lomé is hosting the 15th meeting of the Africa Initiative, an international forum promoting good tax practices. Started yesterday, June 3, the event ends on June 5. It is organized by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, the Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR), and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It has gathered over 100 participants from 40 countries and a dozen international organizations.

The three-day event, co-chaired by Philippe Tchodie, Commissioner General of the OTR, and Edward Kieswetter, Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), is a platform to assess the Initiative's 10-year commitment to tax transparency on the continent, share experiences from member countries, and exchange best practices.

The meeting will focus on strengthening the partnership to enable participating countries to tackle tax evasion and other financial flows better, and to mobilize national revenues.

"Today, tax administrations face considerable challenges such as illicit financial flows, corruption, and evasion. But these challenges offer us unique opportunities to strengthen our regional and international cooperation," stressed Akou Mawussé, Director of Cabinet of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who officially opened the proceedings.

The meeting will also be marked by the publication of the latest annual report on tax transparency in Africa. To date, the Africa Initiative has 39 member countries, including Togo.

Octave A. Bruce