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A few weeks ago, Togo reached the level of reform that made it possible to take the threshold of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. This threshold for the US program is 20 billion CFA francs, or more than 30 million euros, which will be used to modernize the technology, information and communication sector (ICT) at a time when Togolese consumers are complaining about the high cost of telephone consumption. .
If there are things that Togolese agree on, it is the high cost of mobile communications credits, the hassle of transferring money and the slowness of the internet. The trouble is legion, as evidenced by this consumer, who evokes the time lost in sending and receiving a money transfer: “I was in my village and I had asked my wife to send me. pennies by TMoney, because I had spent everything I had. She initially spent over an hour doing and redoing the operation, after which I got a beep that the money had been sent. But it took me another three hours to get back only 20,000 CFA francs! It is frankly regrettable. ”
Consumer organizations have repeatedly condemned these inconveniences and the cost of calls, they have become powerless. Pastor Edoh Komi, president of the association Martin Luther King – The Voiceless Voice, is upset: “We pay for the internet from day to day, but in the end we realize that we have done nothing and that it is exhausted! And even worse, there is involvement between the two operators, Togocom and Moov, the only ones we have. Today the quality is mediocre, we pay a lot, but we communicate a little and it does not suit consumers. “
The Electronic Communications and Postal Authority (ARCEP), which is responsible for regulating the sector, has in recent weeks had to send letters and formal notices to the two operators. The public then realizes with surprise that these GSM operators have not followed the rules when setting prices for several years.
In any case, things have to change, the government is thinking about it, the 20 billion CFA franc envelope, from the Millennium Challenge Corporation that Togo has just received, will enable a better environment for information technology and communication. communication. Stanislas Bamouni Baba, Togolese Coordinator of the Millennium Challenge Account Unit: “This money will be used primarily to ensure that information technology is of high quality and affordable for everyone, everywhere and at the lowest cost, including in areas where ICT investment is not accepted be profitable. The second goal is to secure land to improve agricultural productivity. ”
The next challenge for Togo after this threshold is to continue the reforms to reach the compact program that will enable it to benefit from more aid, the envelope of which can reach $ 700 million.
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