Togo is launching its second network of reading and cultural animation centers. This second network regroups eight centers, against 12 for the first. The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) financed the latest network with €700,000. The OIF and Togo signed the related agreement in December 2023.

Details about the project were disclosed last week, by Cyriaque Noussouglo, director of the National Center for Reading and Cultural Animation (CENELAC).

Part of the money was used to buy rolling stock and cultural goods for the new centers and equipment for the previous 12. 

CLACs are not only reading centers. There are places to play games such as Scrabble, dominoes, checkers, pétanque, and also watch documentary films. 

Esaïe Edoh

Atakpamé should get a new active technical landfill next month. The project is 95% complete, according to the Minister of Water and Rural Hydraulics, Yark Damehane. The official recently visited the site.

"The supervising office (ed. note: in charge of the project) gave us some explanations and set up the completion deadline on March 11, 2024,” Damehane said after visiting the town. Atakpamé is located in the Plateaux region.

The landfill includes internal roads, disposal cells, a basin, and a drying platform. It will make it easier to process waste in Atakpamé and its surroundings.

The project aligns with the government's commitment to improving waste management in urban areas. A similar facility will be set up in Dapaong, in the Savanes region.

It is worth noting that the town of Aképé in the Maritime region also has a technical landfill. The facility was commissioned in 2018.

The U.S. and Germany launched on 22 February 2024 a mechanism to curb the rising instability in the West African region, from the Sahel to the coastline. The mechanism, the  Coastal States Stability Mechanism (CSSM),  was launched in Lomé, Togo. 

In Togo, the mechanism supports the Emergency program for the Savanes region (PURS). The latter is a State-led program covering the northern part of the country.

The U.S. Ambassador to Togo, Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, commented on the launch: "The U.S. government's commitment to preventing violent conflict before it erupts is firm. We firmly believe that in partnership with governments, organizations, and communities, we can foster conditions of long-term regional stability.”

The German Ambassador added: "It is crucial for us to support the operational coordination of the PURS to enable a rapid and more effective response to the challenges of the Savanes region.”

Through the MSCEC, the U.S. and Germany join the World Bank and the West African Development Bank (BOAD) which also back the PURS.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Worldwide, 20 countries are forecast to experience the strongest economic growth this year. Eleven of them are in Africa, and Togo is one of them. This was recently disclosed by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in a report titled "Macroeconomic Performances and Prospects of Africa".  Togo, according to the report, could record a growth rate of 6% in 2024.

The ten other African countries are Uganda (6%), Niger (11.2%), Senegal (8.2%), Libya (7.9%), Rwanda (7.2%), Ivory Coast (6.8%), Ethiopia (6.7%), Benin (6.4%), Djibouti (6.2%), and Tanzania (6.1%).

The report added that "Africa is expected to remain the second-fastest-growing region after Asia."

The group says the growth in the 11 countries will be driven by greater agricultural production, an expansion of the services sector, and reforms aimed at enhancing private sector participation in energy and mining, among others.

The AfDB further attributed its forecasts to the concerted efforts of African policymakers, in the 11 countries concerned especially. The efforts, in question, foster the implementation of economic diversification strategies for greater investments in key growth sectors.

The report’s authors, however, call “for cautious optimism in light of challenges posed by global and regional risks, including rising geopolitical tensions, increased regional conflicts, and political instability, which could disrupt trade and investment flows and maintain inflationary pressures."

Esaïe Edoh

The partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO) and Togo grew significantly between October 2018 and February 2024. Fatoumata Binta Diallo, Resident Representative of the WHO, made the statement on February 20, at the end of a meeting with Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo.

Among other achievements, the WHO, according to Binta Diallo, has helped improve Togo’s health system, as well as helped contractualize and bolster the country’s partnership with the Global Fund. 

Also, the WHO provided technical and financial support for the development of the CHO-SO Hospital. In February 2022, it provided CFA105 million of equipment to the country's biggest hospital. 

Together with the World Bank, WHO-Togo also gave paramedical training schools some teaching, computer, and videoconferencing equipment. Over 600 nurses and midwives across the country have also been trained in infection prevention by the institution.

It has also helped Togo fight the Covid 19 pandemic, by bolstering the country’s response capacities with funds from the "Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF)"-$1 million.

The WHO helped Togo to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and to hold the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC72) in August 2022.

"We have achieved the objectives. Togo is considered an example today. We can congratulate ourselves on Togo’s improved health system," said Dr. Fatoumata Binta Diallo after meeting with President Gnassingbé. 

Esaïe Edoh 

Togo’s biggest export destination in Q4 2023 was India. In value, the exports to the Asian giant amounted to CFA80.1 billion. Quantity-wise, they represented 31.3% of Togo’s total exports over the quarter reviewed.

Burkina Faso followed India, with a share of 8.4% and a value of CFA21.6 billion. Next was Mali (7.4% for CFA19 billion).

France, the USA, and other neighbors...

Togo's other major customers include France (6.9%), the only European country in the top 5, Benin (6.1%), and Ghana (6.0%).

In Q4 2023, Togo earned CFA11.3 billion from its exports to the U.S. It came 8th, right after Côte d'Ivoire (7th), and before Niger and Senegal.

Together, Togo's top ten customers accounted for 83.5% of the quarter's exports by value.

Togo’s exports in Q4 2023 were valued at CFA256.4 billion, up by 14.4% YoY. The main exports were petroleum and bituminous mineral oils, phosphates, and soy-based products.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The city of Doha, in Qatar, currently hosts the 2023 International Horticultural Exposition or Expo 2023. Togo was allotted February 17th during the event to showcase its assets in the horticulture sector.

On that day, Comlan Nomadoli Yakpey, representing Togo’s Minister of Trade and Craftmanship, Kayi Mivedor-Sambiani, pointed to Lomé’s efforts to improve agricultural productivity while preserving the environment.

The Expo 2023 is chaired by Mohammad Ali Al-Khouri. In response to Yakpey’s comments, Al-Khouri lauded Togo's political and economic achievements, highlighting the country's investment opportunities for both local and foreign players.

The Togolese pavilion showcased various products including coffee, cocoa, soya, gari, and tapioca.

The Expo 2023 began on October 2, 2023, and ends on March 28, 2024. Over 80 countries  take part in the event which is themed "Green Desert, Better Environment."

Exports from Togo earned the country CFA256.4 billion in Q4 2023. The data was disclosed by the National Data Institute, INSEED. 

Main export products

Over the period reviewed, "Petroleum oils or bituminous minerals" were the main exports. They generated CFA69 billion and represented 27.0% of quarterly exports.

"Natural calcium phosphates, natural alumino-calcium phosphates, and phosphate chalk" followed. They generated CFA38 billion and made up 15.1% of exports. 

Next came soy-based products (oilcake and other solid residues from the extraction of soybean oil) (CFA14 billion FCFA for a 5.5% share).

Togo also sold "Plastic bags, sacks, pouches, and cones", earning CFA13.6 billion from these goods (which made 5.3% of the country's exports in Q4 2023). 

Exports of beauty products generated CFA13.16 billion (for a 5,1% share volume-wise). 

Other exports included refined palm oil and its fractions, worth CFA8.9 billion (3.5% of exports), other beauty products and extensions (Wigs, beards, eyebrows, eyelashes, locks, and similar articles of hair or textile materials; articles of hair), for CFA8.3 billion or 3.2%. 

 Extractive and agricultural products came at the bottom of Togo’s top 10 exports in Q4 2023. They include soybeans (CFA7.2 billion, 2.8% share), clinkers (CFA7 billion, 2.8%), and Cotton (excluding linters) (for CFA6.4 billion, 2.5%). 

The top 10 made up 72.8% of all exports, generating CFA186.7 billion.

Imports

"Petroleum or bituminous mineral oils (excluding crude oils) and preparations" dominated imports, with a value of CFA30.8 billion and a 6.9% share. "Motor vehicles for the transport of persons" followed (CFA24 billion FCFA, 5.4%). Togo spent CFA18 billion to import "Refined palm oil and derivates". They made up 4% of all imports in Q4 2023. Over this period, imports stood at CFA448 billion, which translates into a trade balance deficit of CFA192 billion.

Trade balance improves

Compared to Q4 2022, Togolese exports went up 14.4% in value and 7.0% in quantity. Imports fell by 7.0% in value but rose by 3.6% in quantity. The trade deficit thus improved, year-on-year, with a significant drop of 25.5%.

From Q3 2023 to Q4 2023, exports rose by 33.3% in value and 18.3% in quantity. Imports also increased by 0.7% in value and 2.0% in quantity. The trade deficit was thus down by 24.2% quarter-on-quarter.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi