Togo: General assembly of UEMOA Consular Chamber in progress in Lomé

Economic governance

Wednesday, 06 December 2023 19:10

Togo: General assembly of UEMOA Consular Chamber in progress in Lomé

(Togo First) - Lomé is hosting the 24th ordinary session of the General Assembly of the UEMOA Regional Consular Chamber, a consultative body that ensures dialogue between UEMOA and the community’s major businesspeople. The meeting began on December 5 and will end on December 7.

Some of the meeting’s goals include taking stock of the implementation of the recommendations of the last Assembly, reviewing various reports, and adopting the institution's 2024 budget.

Also, UEMOA CCR’s chairman will assess progress made during his mandate. "As far as the three years of our mandate are concerned, several reflections and proposals have been put in place. The most emblematic is the question of SME financing, for which we have imagined financing through support from the deposit and consignment funds," declared Daouda Koulibaly, President of the UEMOA CCR.

Under his leadership, the funds allocated to the Consular Chamber increased from CFA400 million to CFA500 million, bolstering the Chamber’s impact in the region.

The ongoing meeting was opened by Rose Kaye Mivedor, Togo's Minister of Trade. On the occasion, the Togolese government representative praised the CCR-UEMOA claiming it is "a successful model which the UEMOA can be proud of" and it is "proof that the private sector is dynamic and remains the main driver of wealth creation and job promotion in our Union".

Mivedor then asked the institution to "keep striving to consolidate its achievements and…to continue working to make our national and regional businesses more resilient to rising shocks."

B2B meetings will be hosted during the ordinary session.

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.