Adoption of a new strategy, access to the prevention and resilience window, and financing of new innovative projects to increase access to electricity, improve public service delivery, and social cohesion.
WASHINGTON, USA, 24 May 2024 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/The World Bank Group (WBG) today endorsed a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Togo, granted a special waiver for the country’s access to the Prevention and Resilience Window, and approved three new loans from the International Development Association (IDA*) for a cumulative amount of over $600 million, aimed at strengthening prevention and resilience, increase access to reliable electricity, improve the performance of public administration, and support for refugees and host communities in the northern part of the country.
The new CPF is the strategy that will guide the WBG’s interventions in Togo over the next five fiscal years (2025-2029) to help meet the country’s development challenges to reduce poverty, increase shared prosperity, and promote sustainable development for its population of over 8 million. It is structured around three high-level objectives, notably the creation of quality jobs by the private sector, the improvement of human capital, and the promotion of an inclusive and resilient territorial development. It also includes two cross-cutting themes – strengthening the macroeconomic framework, and governance. The WBG interventions in Togo will primarily focus on agricultural productivity, logistics and connectivity as key drivers for structural transformation of the Togolese economy.
“This new Country Partnership Framework opens a new page for strengthening the cooperation between Togo and the World Bank Group,” said Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa. “We are committed to strengthening our support for the implementation of Togo’s ambitious development strategy, through innovative and transformative programs that will have a significant impact on the well-being of the Togolese population.”
The new strategy is based on an integrated approach by the World Bank Group – World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) – to provide solutions in priority sectors, including agriculture, energy, logistics, and connectivity.
“This synergy of actions within the World Bank Group is essential to increase our impact in Togo and strengthen the role of the private sector in supporting the structural transformation of the economy,” said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa. “IFC will work closely with the World Bank and MIGA to boost private sector participation in several promising sectors, such as agribusiness, infrastructure, digital, manufacturing, transport and logistics.”
As for MIGA, “it will provide guarantees that could potentially support the agricultural sector, public-private partnerships in infrastructure, digital investments, as well as in the energy sector,” assures Ethiopis Tafara, Vice President of MIGA.
On the same day, the Board of Directors granted a waiver allowing Togo to access resources from its Prevention and Resilience financing Window, amounting to about $315 million, to support the implementation of the emergency program for prevention and the strengthening of community resilience.
The Board of Directors also approved three important new IDA-financed operations for a cumulative amount of almost $298 million. These operations, which kick off the implementation of the new CPF, are aimed respectively at strengthening access to reliable electricity, the performance of public administration, and social cohesion. More specifically,
- The Inclusive Development through Electricity Access Project ($200 million) will help strengthen the supply of electricity, through the construction of 161kV transmission lines that will enable more than 1.5 million people to benefit from improved access to electricity, mainly in rural areas. The project will also strengthen the institutional capacities and performance of the energy sector and will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by facilitating the expansion of renewable energies.
- The Public Sector Strengthening for Service Delivery Operation ($75 million) will help improve human resources and public finance management. Focused on performance, it will notably help modernize public administration, improve the digitization of tax revenue collection, promote the increase of digital payments, as well as expenditures related to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
- Finally, the additional financing ($23 million) for the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion Project will further support refugees and host communities in the northern part of the country. This project is already responding to the growing fragility in the north and other regions of the country, by promoting community-led development.
“With this Country Partnership Framework, the World Bank is scaling up its engagement with Togo and plans to mobilize more than $1.5 billion to support reforms and investments in strategic sectors, such as agriculture, energy, connectivity and the development of secondary cities. Youths and women will be the main beneficiaries of this partnership framework,” said Fily Sissoko, World Bank representative in Togo.
*International Development Association
The International Development Association (IDA) is the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. Established in 1960, it provides grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 76 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. IDA resources help effect positive change in the lives of the 1.6 billion people living in the countries that are eligible for its assistance. Since its inception, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments are constantly on the rise and have averaged $21 billion over the past three years, with about 61% going to Africa.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of The World Bank.
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Source : African Media Agency (AMA)
