Togo: Police officers seize an important quantity of corn being illegally sent to Benin

Security

Thursday, 21 April 2022 19:36

Togo: Police officers seize an important quantity of corn being illegally sent to Benin

(Togo First) - Togolese authorities announced on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, the seizure of 26 tons of corn from Bassar (246 km north of Lomé), bound for Benin. The goods, which were destined for export, were intercepted by the Gendarmerie Nationale at the entrance of Aného.

The owner of the goods did not have any document from the ministry in charge of trade and local consumption authorizing her to transport "such a large quantity of goods", according to the police officers. “We cannot allow this volume of goods to be exported while prices on the local market are surging significantly,” said Ouro-Koura Agadazi, director-general of the National Agency for Food Safety of Togo (ANSAT).

The goods seized will be diverted to ANSAT stores and later made available to the population.

The seizure aligns with the provision of June 2021 under which the export of cereal products for mass consumption is subject to prior authorization. The decision was taken to avoid goods shortages that spark speculation.

Esaïe Edoh

REFORMS OVERVIEW

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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….

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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... .

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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 .

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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.

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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.

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