Togo: Telecom Regulator Record Revenue Boost Following Strategic Reforms

Telecom

Friday, 14 July 2023 17:24

Togo: Telecom Regulator Record Revenue Boost Following Strategic Reforms

(Togo First) - Togo’s Telecom Watchdog, the ARCEP, earned the State CFA4 billion in 2022, up from 3.94 billion in 2021. This is according to the latest official data.

The regulator has, since 2020 and under the leadership of Michel Yaovi Galley, launched several sanction procedures that yielded three warnings and three major fines.

The operators most affected by the sanctions were Togo Cellulaire, Moov Africa, and Vivendi Africa Group (GVA Togo), which markets Canal Box’s fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet offers.

Togo Cellulaire received two fines totaling 3.4 billion FCFA, one in February 2021 and another in June 2022, for intra and extra-network price differentiation and for serious breaches of the obligation to ensure continuous availability of mobile electronic communication services.

Moov Africa Togo was also fined nearly 594 million FCFA in May 2021 for non-compliance with the service availability obligation.

As for GVA, it received a warning for serious and recurring service availability failures, a procedure whose conclusions have not yet been made public.

The ARCEP’s ongoing reforms aim to simplify its regime of royalties, which are another source of income of the regulator. The Council of Ministers adopted a draft decree to this effect on April 5, 2023. While details of this decree are yet to be known, it should facilitate the ARCEP's operations.

The revenue growth recorded last year aligns with the government’s efforts to make Togo a digital hub, in line with its "Togo Digital 2025" vision. In August 2022, the Minister of Digital Economy, Cina Lawson, indeed signed a decree setting sixteen quality indicators to be respected by the operators. Complying with these indicators should, in the long run, help improve both user experience and ARCEP's revenues, and consequently the State’s.

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.