Togo First
Revised constitution: Togolese Assembly kicks off nationwide consultation tour for second reading
A nationwide tour to consult key stakeholders about the constitutional revision project kicked off today in Togo. The 3-day tour will mainly focus on traditional leaders and organized groups. Around 30 localities will be visited, according to the assembly.
Three groups of deputies are leading the tour which is dubbed the "Information and Listening Tour of the Population on the Revision of the Constitution". With the ultimate goal of enriching the new text, the 3-day tour aims to collect stakeholders' and citizens’ opinions about the new constitution of the 5th republic adopted last month. It was launched after President Faure Gnassingbé asked the Assembly to review the revised text.
It is worth noting that the newly passed law, amidst controversies, shifts the West African country to a parliamentary regime. This means abolishing direct suffrage for presidential elections and creating a position of President of the Council of Ministers who will ensure the effectiveness of the executive power. Meanwhile, the President of the Republic will be confined to a ceremonial role.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo and Sierra Leone aim for stronger cooperation in key areas like financial inclusion and digitization
Sierra Leone's Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh, met in Lomé with Togo’s Prime Minister, Victoire Dogbé, on April 5, 2024. The two officials discussed their countries’ ambition to deepen cooperation in various areas, such as financial inclusion, digitization, and youth employment.
I'd an incredible meeting with the Prime Minister of Togo @DogbeVictoire today. We both share a passion for inclusion, digitization, and youth employment. Sierra Leone & Togo have a lot to learn from each other, and we will ensure we deepen our bilateral relations! #WeWillDeliver pic.twitter.com/E5tkmaawtL
— David Moinina Sengeh (@dsengeh) April 5, 2024
“We both share a passion for inclusion, digitization, and youth employment. Sierra Leone & Togo have a lot to learn from each other, and we will ensure we deepen our bilateral relations!" Sengeh posted on X after the meeting.
Last May, Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, visited his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbé. The two discussed ways to bolster trade between their countries among others.
Togo and Sierra Leone are both located in West Africa. For some years, they have been working to develop new cooperative bonds in sectors such as agriculture, energy, education, social protection, and gender equality.
Esaïe Edoh
ECOWAS to launch its Fund for Energy and Transport before year ends
The ECOWAS Development and Financing Fund for the Transport and Energy Sectors (FODETE) should come online by the end of this year. According to the Ecofin Agency, which reported the news, Sediko Douka, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitalisation, mentioned the possibility on April 4, on the sidelines of the first ECOWAS Investment Forum (EIF) in Lomé.
Approved for implementation in June 2009, the FODETE was delayed by several issues. However, recent regional tensions between 2020 and 2022 have injected new momentum into the project.
According to Sedikou Douka, the Fund will be fueled by export taxes levied in ECOWAS States: mining, oil, gas, and agricultural exports will provide the needed tax revenues. According to recent estimates, these revenues could reach $450 million yearly.
The FODETE will help improve infrastructure in the transport and energy sectors, crucial for economic growth and regional integration. It will be managed by the Lomé-based ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID). The latter has allocated $4 billion or half of its financing for 2024 to integration infrastructure projects.
However, there are still issues of the regional consensus on the tax levy and the levy rate. Still, the FODETE should significantly help tackle the ECOWAS’ growing needs for infrastructure, estimated at an annual investment deficit of $12 billion.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo: Grain output rose steadily in 2019-2023, from 1.26 million Mt to 1.5 million Mt
Togo’s cereal production has grown steadily in the past five years. From 1.26 million Mt in the 2019 campaign, it rose to 1.5 million Mt in 2023. Togo First obtained the data from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).
In detail, the output stood at 1.26 million Mt, 1.36 million Mt, 1.397 million Mt, 1.44 million Mt, and 1.5 million Mt in 2019, 2020, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Corn, paddy rice, millet, and sorghum are the main grains grown in Togo. Most of the grain output is for domestic use.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
Togo joins Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, ICIEC
Togo has joined the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC). The country’s parliament passed on April 4 a law approving its adhesion to the Corporation.
Joining the ICIEC allows Togo’s businesspeople to secure export loans for goods produced locally. Commenting on the development, Rose Mivedor, the Minister of Trade and Local Consumption, claimed the adhesion is “a true response to the economic and social needs and private sector financing” in line with Togo's 2025 government roadmap. The adhesion should help finance strategic and structuring projects with more ease.
Established on August 1, 1994, the ICIEC is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) group. It helps cover the capital needs of the member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), fostering the inflow of foreign direct investments into these countries.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Minister of Energy breaks the silence on recent outages
At last, Mila Aziable, Togo’s Minister of Energy, commented on the power outages that the country has been experiencing since January 2024. The official gave the real reasons behind the crisis on X (ex-Twitter).
"The energy crisis that has been ongoing since January 2024 in our region, mainly due to a natural gas supply shortage, is causing power cuts and disrupting our economies," Aziable said.
"The demand for natural gas in Togo is 35,000 MM BTU per day, but supplies are insufficient, sometimes nonexistent, resulting in high production costs and frequent outages," she explained following a meeting in Lomé of the West African Gas Pipeline Ministerial Committee (WAGPCo). The crisis takes place in a period of peak temperatures, and it affects Togo and neighbors such as Benin and Ghana.
Questioned on the matter, Olivier de Souza, oil and gas expert at Ecofin Agency, a pan-African economic media, said: “Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a natural gas product. Here, Nigeria supplies gas to Benin, Togo, and Ghana via the WAPCo pipeline since 2010. Unfortunately, recent maintenance works have caused transportation issues.”
“The Nigerian organization N-Gas, which aggregates gas volumes for WAPCo, sometimes fails to gather the necessary volumes to meet demand in the countries traversed by the West African gas pipeline,” the journalist added.
“It's a contractual breach that has been going on for ages, but everyone deals with it. Ironically, Nigeria, sometimes, uses volumes intended for its neighbors since its electricity production fails to meet demand,” De Souza further noted.
Despite these recurring difficulties, ECOWAS states keep relying on the WAGPCo. This year, stressed Minister Aziable, “the WAGPCo will focus on supply security, pipeline inspection, developing a new five-year strategic plan, promoting and managing the WAGP project.” In this regard, our source at Ecofin Agency claimed that “investment in an LNG import and regasification terminal is imperative. Especially for countries traversed by the WAGP: Benin, Togo, and Ghana (underway).” A project of this kind was also announced in Togo in 2018, with Equatorial Guinea, a significant LNG producer.
Diversifying energy sources is a viable solution, but it requires substantial investments in infrastructure, a process that could prove lengthy. Indeed, the WAGP project took over 28 years to materialize, and other similar initiatives have experienced comparable delays, while some are still not operational.
In Côte d’Ivoire, several natural gas reservoirs have been recently discovered. These include the Baleine and Calao reservoirs. Leveraging these discoveries, the country wants to connect to the West African pipeline. Again, this will require substantial investments.
Fiacre E. Kakpo
Togo: 4,503 businesses officially registered in Q1 2024, down 3% YoY
A total of 4,503 businesses were officially registered in Togo over the past quarter. The figure, compiled by the country’s Center for Business Formalities (CFE) and obtained by Togo First, is 3% less than the number of businesses registered over the same period last year – 4,655.
In detail, CFE data indicates that 1,546 businesses were registered in January 2024, compared to 1,636 in 2023. The next month, 1,470 new businesses were registered, up from 1,420 in February 2023. And last month, the CFE recorded 1,487 new registrations, down from 1,599 in the same month last year.
Of the 4,503 companies launched, 3,810 (85%) were registered by Togolese citizens, compared to 693 registered by foreigners. Additionally, 1,372 or 30% of the businesses registered in Q1 2024 are women-owned.
While the number of newly registered businesses fell slightly over the reviewed period, Togo offers a favorable business climate fostered by several reforms introduced by the government. These reforms include reducing the time and cost of business creation, as well as digitizing formalization procedures, among others.
Esaïe Edoh
Lomé hosts first edition of ECOWAS Investment Forum
The first ECOWAS Investment Forum began today, April 4th, in Lomé. The two-day event gathered over 400 key stakeholders of development, investment, and governance in West Africa. Together, they will discuss major issues the region faces. These include food security, developing sustainable infrastructure, and leveraging the green economy to tackle youth unemployment.
“In a world plagued with tensions and uncertainties, and a sub-region that faces various crises and a surge in extreme violence, our country, Togo, chose to build bridges instead of walls, both politically and financially," declared Victoire Dogbé, Prime Minister of Togo, who attended the opening.
Also present, George Agyekum Donkor, President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), noted that the forum aims to bolster regional cooperation and foster innovative solutions to the various bottlenecks that hamper the region’s growth. Through the forum, the EBID seeks to secure investments for large ECOWAS projects. The Lomé-based Bank has a clear goal: Bridging an investment deficit estimated at $12 billion per year, vital to support the economic development across all 15 ECOWAS member States. The EBID, it is worth noting, has disbursed $3.69 billion since the end of 2022 to support these countries.
"The forum serves as a platform for investors and promoters to converge, collaborate, and deliver transformative projects that inspire economic growth and position the ECOWAS region as a preferred investment destination. Investing in developing economies is not just about generating profits; it's about creating sustainable growth, reducing poverty, and building a better future for all," added George Agyekum Donkor.
PM Dogbe, for her part, further noted that "regional institutions, often perceived by the population as distant from realities, seem to play a limited role in people's daily lives, at least according to this perception". She then lauded the “new dynamic emerging” through this inaugural forum.
"We reiterate our commitment to significantly support this dynamic, especially by sharing our experience and highlighting the strong influence of His Excellency, the President of the Republic," the Togolese official added.
It is worth pointing out that three countries, knowingly Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, recently left the ECOWAS block to form the Sahel States Alliance countries.
Fiacre Enagnon Kakpo
WAEMU Securities: Togo seeks CFA30 billion in first issue for Q2 2024
Togo wants to secure CFA30 billion for its inaugural operation on the WAEMU market this quarter. The operation involves a simultaneous issuance of fungible treasury bonds (OATs) and fungible treasury bills (BATs), with the closing date set for April 12.
Specifically, the country seeks to raise CFA15 billion through BATs and an equal amount through OATs. The BATs have a par value of CFA1 million, mature over periods of 91 days and 364 days, and feature various interest rates. On the other hand, OATs have a par value of CFA10,000, mature over five years, and offer a fixed interest rate of 6.40% per annum.
The proceeds will finance the country’s 2024 income and expenditure budget, which totals CFA2,179 billion.
Lomé plans to raise CFA195 billion on the regional market this quarter, up by one billion compared to the previous quarter.
Esaïe Edoh
Togo: Legislative and regional polls “slightly” postponed
The government of Togo has postponed the coming legislative and regional polls. Intuitively scheduled for April 20, the elections are “slightly” delayed, according to the government.
"The government will proceed with a slight adjustment of the schedule for the legislative and regional elections originally scheduled for April 20, 2024," the authorities said after a meeting between President Faure Gnassingbé and the National Assembly Bureau.
The polls were delayed amidst criticisms regarding the recent adoption, by the parliament, of a law that would transition Togo into a parliamentary system. President Gnassingbé halted the process last week, calling for a second reading of the law. According to the presidency, the leader called "deputies to listen to all stakeholders and take stock of all contributions that could enrich the Constitution."
The new schedule for the polls is yet to be known.