Ahead of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), scheduled for 2025, Togolese Foreign Minister, Robert Dussey, attended a preparatory ministerial meeting in Japan from August 21 to 25.

The meeting aimed to outline key discussion points for the upcoming conference. Among others, participants discussed current and future challenges facing the African continent. They also addressed relations between Japan and Africa, innovative solutions, and economic, security, and environmental issues. 

On the sidelines of the meeting, Dussey lectured at Sophia University in Tokyo. He spoke about peace and security in Africa and Togo's role in mediation. He then met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. They discussed Togo's roadmap (TOGO 2025) and its ambition to become a sub-regional hub.

TICAD 9 will center on "co-creating innovative solutions with the African continent." The forum should help Togo get closer to Japan.

Togo and Japan became diplomatic partners in 1960. Since then, they have developed a fruitful partnership–especially in agriculture, health, and education. Japan supports several development projects in Togo, including projects to boost food security and infrastructure.

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Enrollment at the IFAD training centers for the 2024-2025 academic year has been pushed back to September 13. The Agence Education-Développement (AED), which manages the centers, recently announced the extension. The prior deadline for enrolling was August 8.

This extension provides a new opportunity for young Togolese aged between 16 and 29 to apply for the training courses. Applicants must hold at least the Brevet d'Études du Premier Cycle (BEPC) and can choose from three areas: aquaculture (IFAD Elavagnon), livestock (IFAD Barkoissi), and building trades (IFAD Lomé).

Students can apply online, on the AED’s website, or on-site, at any IFAD. Successful applicants will receive a 3-year training course, culminating in a Professional Baccalaureate. They will acquire practical and specialized skills tailored to the needs of the Togolese job market, as expressed by the Togolese authorities through the creation of IFADs.

The goal is to train qualified human resources to meet the country's development requirements.

The transitional government announced these appointments during its first cabinet meeting on August 23, 2024. Each governor will oversee one of the country’s regions.

The new governors are Affoh Atcha-Dedji, Komlan Adjitowou, Dadja Maganawé, Taïrou Bagbiegue, and Zouréhatou Kassah-Traore. They will oversee the Savanes, Kara, Plateaux, Maritime regions, and the Autonomous District of Greater Lomé, respectively. 

Through the appointments, the government aims to enhance security and improve coordination of public policies. 

Governors will report to the Minister of Territorial Administration. They will enforce laws and regulations and implement government policies across their regions.

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Togo raked up CFA144.50 billion in non-tax revenues last year, against an annual target of CFA60.07 billion. In 2022, the country had mobilized CFA58.98 billion in non-tax revenues, according to a recent Ministry of Economy and Finance report.

The strong growth in non-tax revenues, which are not linked to taxes but to considerations such as remuneration for services rendered, miscellaneous income, and dividends, is mainly attributable to the collection of non-tax arrears from previous years. These arrears brought in CFA83.22 billion, or 138.56% of forecasts.

Business and estate income represented a significant share of these arrears. These revenues, derived from commercial and industrial activities and the management of the State's real estate assets, reached CFA106.19 billion in 2023, compared to CFA18.06 billion in 2022, a more than five-fold increase (487.98%).

Rental income from state-owned buildings generated CFA29.96 billion in 2023, almost 500 times more than in 2022 when it stood at just CFA0.06 billion. Mining royalties also increased by more than 26 times, rising from CFA1.73 billion in 2022 to CFA45.33 billion in 2023.

Over the past year, tax revenues (taxes and duties) were around CFA1,000 billion.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s tax body, Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR), collected CFA990.1 billion in 2023. This is about 90 billion more than it aimed for the year (CFA912.1 billion).

Over the year reviewed, the OTR gathered CFA226.86 billion from income, profits, and capital gains taxes, and 493.07 billion FCFA from domestic taxes and duties on goods and services, according to the "Rapport d'exécution du budget de l'Etat exercice 2023 situation à fin décembre." 

Duties and taxes on foreign trade and international transactions. Additionally, stamp duties and registration fees contributed CFA13 billion, while other taxes, including payroll and wealth taxes, brought in just over CFA19 billion.

Year-on-year, revenues collected by the OTR were up by 15% - a performance attributable to new strategies implemented by Philippe Tchodié and his team. Last year, the OTR reorganized its tax services by creating tax operations offices in every commune of Greater Lomé and each prefecture across the country, following a nationwide tax census conducted in 2022.

The effective connection of the Togolese customs information system with those of Mali, Benin, Niger, and Burkina Faso has also helped improve the monitoring of transit and combat the dumping of goods. Strengthening tariff specification codes has further aided in better controlling the customs value of goods.

This year, the OTR’s boss expects tax revenues to stand at CFA1,042 billion. This would account for 48% of the fiscal 2024 budget of CFA2,179 billion. In the first quarter of 2024, tax revenues are already estimated at CFA207 billion.

Esaïe Edoh 

Nigeria's electricity regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has expressed frustration over unpaid debts from Niger, Benin, and Togo, which together owe $14.19 million for electricity supplied in the first quarter of 2024.

In a recent report, NERC criticized foreign electricity companies, particularly Société Béninoise d'Énergie Électrique (SBEE) in Benin and Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET), for not making due payments. Benin owes $3.15 million for the Para-SBEE partnership and $4.46 million for Transcorp-SBEE. Niger owes $1.21 million for Mainstream-NIGELEC, while Togo has a debt of $5.36 million for electricity from the Odukpani power plant.

NERC noted that none of these companies have paid their invoices issued by the Market Operator, which is part of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). This situation follows a previous report of $51.26 million in payment arrears for electricity exported in 2023.

The regulator warned that these unpaid debts are harming the Nigerian energy sector and urged the Market Operator to enforce market rules to address this "financial indiscipline."

Last May, the Federal Government also expressed concern about the growing arrears from international electricity consumers, stating that these delays are affecting Nigeria's ability to maintain stable energy production.

At present, Togolese citizens can travel to 61 countries visa-free. The Henley Passport Index recently disclosed these countries. 

Over the past five years, Togo has increased its worldwide reach thanks to visa waiver agreements and changes in the travel policies of several countries, simplifying the procedures for obtaining visas (notably visa-on-arrival).

From 54 in 2018, the number of visa-free destinations that Togolese citizens can visit rose to 61 in 2024. 

Here are the 61 countries accessible without a visa for Togolese in 2024.

•  Bangladesh (Visa on arrival, 30 days)

•  Barbados (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Benin (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Bolivia (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 90 days)

•  Burkina Faso (Visa-free)

•  Burundi (Visa on arrival, 30 days)

•  Cambodia (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 30 days)

•  Cape Verde (Visa-free - EASE)

•  Comoros (Visa on arrival, 45 days)

•  Congo (Dem. Rep.) (eVisa, 90 days)

•  Ivory Coast (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Djibouti (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 90 days)

•  Dominica (Visa-free, 21 days)

•  Ecuador (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Ethiopia (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 45 days)

•  Gambia (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Ghana (Visa-free)

•  Guinea (Visa free)

•  Guinea-Bissau (Visa-free)

•  Haiti (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Cook Islands

•  Iran (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 30 days)

•  Kenya (eTA, 90 days)

•  Kiribati (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Laos (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 30 days)

•  Liberia (Visa-free)

•  Macao (China SAR) (Visa on arrival, 30 days)

•  Madagascar (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 90 days)

•  Malaysia

•  Maldives (Visa on arrival, 30 days)

•  Mali (Visa-free)

•  Mauritania (Visa on arrival)

•  Mauritius (Visa on arrival, 60 days)

•  Micronesia (Visa-free, 30 days)

•  Morocco (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Mozambique (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 30 days)

•  Namibia (Visa on arrival, 90 days)

•  Nepal (Visa on arrival/eVisa, 150 days)

•  Nicaragua (Visa on arrival, 30 days)

•  Niger (Visa-free)

•  Nigeria (Visa-free)

•  Niue

•  Palau (Visa on arrival, 30 days)

•  Philippines (Visa-free, 30 days)

•  Rwanda (Visa-free, 30 days)

•  Samoa (Visa on arrival, 90 days)

•  Sao Tome and Principe (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Senegal (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Seychelles (Tourist registration, 90 days)

•  Sierra Leone (Visa-free)

•  Singapore (Visa-free, 30 days)

•  Somalia

•  Sri Lanka (eTA, 30 days)

•  Saint Kitts and Nevis

•  Saint Lucia (Visa on arrival, 42 days)

•  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Suriname (Tourist card, 90 days)

•  Tanzania (Visa on arrival/eVisa)

•  Chad (Visa-free, 90 days)

•  Timor-Leste (East Timor) (Visa on arrival, 30 days)

•  Tuvalu (Visa on arrival, 30 days) 

Updated monthly, the Henley Passport Index features 199 different passports and 227 travel destinations. It is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The University of Lomé (UL) and the Washington International Management Institute (WIMI) are set to sign an educational partnership agreement. The details of this collaboration were outlined on August 20, 2024, by UL President Adama Mawulé Kpodar and WIMI founder Bruno Mukendi.

The partnership will primarily focus on expertise and skill sharing. WIMI will leverage the UL’s expertise to improve its training and technical support in Africa and the US.

WIMI will also offer discounted training courses to any UL administrative, technical, and academic staff who wishes to be a better administrator, manager, or leader.

The partnership with WIMI should help the UL become more effective. By 2025, the UL aims to be a high-performance university dedicated to quality education, offering professional training and producing innovative research on key societal issues to support sustainable development in Togo, Africa, and beyond.

To achieve this goal, Togo's largest university has already initiated an Investment Planning and Monitoring Program to improve lecturers' and students’ working and study conditions.

Founded in 1995, WIMI is committed to supporting developing countries in enhancing their capacities to promote structural and socio-economic transformations.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo officially launched its National Energy Information System (SIE-Togo) in Lomé last week. This initiative is part of the operational phase of a broader West African energy sector development policy led by the Energy and Mining Directorate of the ECOWAS Commission.

The SIE-Togo is a digital platform designed to enhance data sharing, reduce entry errors, and speed up processing times. The system aims to prevent information loss and improve data quality, which is crucial for effectively monitoring Togo's energy policies.

"Togo is proud to be at the forefront of this innovation. This initiative aims to understand the dynamics of the energy sector better, identify opportunities, and implement innovative and sustainable energy policies, nationally and regionally," said Mila Aziablé, Minister Delegate to the President of the Republic.

The establishment of SIE-Togo is intended to address the country’s energy challenges, especially issues related to planning and developing policies needed to achieve universal electricity coverage by 2030. The new system is expected to facilitate the implementation of projects and programs to better supply electricity to the Togolese people.

Esaïe Edoh

Essowè Georges Barcola is Togo’s new Minister of Economy and Finance. The replacement of Sani Yaya was announced on August 20, 2024. Barcola, the former Director General of the Togolese National Lottery (LONATO) and a Commissioner at the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), where he oversaw the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.

As Minister of Finance and Economy, Barcola will continue implementing economic reforms and help sustain Togo’s economic growth.

Sani Yaya, the outgoing Minister, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Transport. He was the Minister of Finance and Economy for 8 years.

During his tenure, Yaya, a former executive at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and Ecobank, implemented several key initiatives. These include the creation of the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR), which merged the customs and tax departments for greater efficiency. He also oversaw the signing of two Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programs with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the second program currently underway.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi