Togo joins Africa Finance Corporation to better develop its infrastructures

Infrastructure

Tuesday, 04 December 2018 14:45

Togo joins Africa Finance Corporation to better develop its infrastructures

(Togo First) - On Monday, December 3, Togo officially joined the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a multilateral institution that finances infrastructure development in Africa.

The nation is the twentieth across the whole continent to join the organization. In West Africa however, it is the twelfth and comes after Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Guinea, Chad, Cabo Verde, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.

“We are glad to have become a member of AFC,” said Robert Dussey, minister of foreign affairs. “Being one of the biggest organizations financing and developing infrastructures in Africa, AFC is well-positioned to help Togo achieve its investment goals, improve the quality of infrastructures and allow it to accelerate its economic growth via regional integration, for the benefit of the people,” he added.

Sharing the same opinion, Sani Yaya, minister of finances declared: “It is vital that we make infrastructure development a priority of our 2018-2022 national development plan (PND). We are aware of technical challenges and restrictions that we must overcome with the help of international partners such as the AFC, to successfully implement the PND.”

Adopted last August, the new national development plan whose implementation is expected to cost more than CFA4,000 billion ($5.4 billion) greatly focuses on the development of extractive, logistics, road, energy and telecommunications infrastructures. AFC, which invests in these various sectors said it is ready to provide the West African nation with technical and financial support to implement “this ambitious program which aims to modernize the economy, infrastructures especially”. “As a leading investor in this sector in Africa, we are ready to help Togo finance and develop its infrastructures,” promised AFC’s CEO, Samaila Zubairu.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

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.