ECOWAS countries could soon meet to discuss reopening of land borders

Transport

Friday, 18 September 2020 15:17

ECOWAS countries could soon meet to discuss reopening of land borders

(Togo First) - After reopening its air borders, Togo is looking to soon do the same for its land borders. This, however, must be done in coordination with other countries of the subregion.

The news was disclosed by Col. Djibril Mohaman who heads the team in charge of the response to the pandemic in Togo. He did so during the latest press briefing on the disease’s evolution in the country.

Regarding land borders, we are awaiting the harmonization of the ECOWAS so that we all agree to reopen them.

In the meantime, as Covid-19 cases are stabilizing in the country, following some disturbances in August, public authorities plan to further raise awareness and boost prevention to mitigate the spread of the virus.

“As part of our control strategy (...), we will raise awareness further, continue preventing the virus from entering our territory, so we are reinforcing our activities at borders, especially at the airport, but at the port also.”

Let’s recall that besides Nigeria, all ECOWAS countries have reopened their air borders which were closed for many months.

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)

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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)

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