World Bank VP Central and West Africa expected in Lomé on Oct. 27

Economic governance

Tuesday, 26 October 2021 17:27

World Bank VP Central and West Africa expected in Lomé on Oct. 27

(Togo First) - The World Bank’s Vice President for Central and West Africa, Ousmane Diagana, will be in Lomé from October 27 to 31. The Bretton Woods institution announced the visit in a statement published on October 25.

This is the first time that the Mauritanian executive comes to Togo. From there, Diagana, who has been overseeing 22 countries in West and Central Africa since July 2020, will go to Benin where he will be staying until November 2. The visit aligns with efforts to “strengthen the partnership between the World Bank and these two countries.”

In Togo, the World Bank VP will meet President Faure Gnassingbé and officials. They will mainly talk about the key development goals of the country, and how the World Bank can contribute to their achievement.

Ousmane Diagana will also meet representatives of the civil society, the private sector, the youth, and conduct field visits. According to the Washington-based institution, this will be an opportunity to discuss with the press “the orientations of the Bank’s support in the coming years.”

The World Bank is one of Togo’s main technical and financial partners when it comes to its development. To date, it has initiated 15 projects and programs in the country, for a total investment of $385.5 million. These projects are mainly in the agriculture, education, health, social protection, and telecommunication sectors.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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.