This country profile was published in November 2008 in our annual 'Africa in 2009' issue. The next edition, 'Africa in 2010' will be on sale 23 November 2009.

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The 2010 presidential election risks overshadowing everything else in 2009, simply because so much hope is placed on it by the Togolese people. Their main concern is that the poll happen without the violence of the previous presidential election, when Faure Gnassingbé took over from his late father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who had ruled the country for 38 years. Other initiatives may fall by the wayside as the incumbent attempts to run for another five-year term. The successful general elections of October 2007 are a good sign that political tensions are easing.


The institutional and constitutional reforms agreed in the latest accord between the opposition and the government – which cover the roles of the constitutional court, the electoral commission, the electoral code and the national broadcasting authority – will need to be ratified by the National Assembly, which is dominated by government supporters. The current administration has nothing to lose by keeping the old constitution but the opposition needs the reforms if it is to have any chance of a fair election. There is also a need to reform the army, which has often been implicated in electoral violence. If the reforms are not voted in before 2010, the risk of political 
turbulence will grow.


Those running for the presidency are most likely to be Gnassingbé himself, Gilchrist Olympio, president of the Union des Forces de Changement and Agbeyomé Kodjo, a former prime minister who broke away from the ruling Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT). The last quarter of 2009 will determine the alliances between the smaller parties, but these are unlikely to have a decisive impact. 


Ministers will have two large dossiers on their desks, those of health and education, where much needs to be done. School fees were abolished in primary schools in 2008, which has provoked a huge rise in enrolment. New schools are urgently needed and, as a result, new teachers will have to be hired. Strikes by health workers in 2008 will continue into 2009, and they may well be joined by other public sector employees whose salaries are rarely paid on time. In a pre-election year, politics will certainly become entwined with these protests.


The physical infrastructure is similarly in need of attention, especially those roads and bridges that were destroyed by serious flooding in 2008. This added to the economic damage of soaring food and energy prices that will pull real GDP growth down to an estimated 0.8% for the year, with a recovery to 3% hoped for in 2009. Donors had been wary of engaging with the country after 2005’s controversial elections, but a donor conference was held in Brussels on 18 September with the aim of giving the country more support, especially in regard to budgets and debt repayment. Calling the meeting a success, the IMF pledged $127m for 2008-2010 and the World Bank promised $98m. 


The port in Lomé, which had seen an upturn in business since the Ivorian conflict, is still not running to the best of its potential, though this is now changing. In August last year a consortium of MSC/Getma International/Manuport won the contract to build a new container terminal, which will include two ‘Gottwald’ cargo cranes. The trans-shipment opportunities in the sub-region mean that Togo could become a small-time logistics hub.