Kpeté-Béna is a small town in Togo near the border with Ghana, in the prefecture of Wawa, about 200 km from the capital, Lomé. The town is also a transport hub for smugglers moving illegally cut timber from Ghana into the country for onward delivery to Asian markets, specifically China and India. Large loads of timber of different species, notably rosewood, are moved across the border at night; illegal logging is carried out in numerous forest communities in Ghana’s Oti region. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, wood from about six million Ghanaian rosewood trees has been imported by China…
Blame Ekoué
Blame Ekoué
Blame Ekoué is the Togo correspondent for the BBC and for Paris-based media house, ANA. He has also reported for Associated Press and Radio France International. He holds a BA in Communications from the Leader Institute in Lomé. Formerly deputy editor of the West Africa Revue, he has been a contributor to the Lome-based Business and Finance magazine since 2015.
In recent years, the West African country of Togo has committed itself to the path of decentralisation, which led in 2020 to the first local elections in more than 30 years. However, over the past five years since the creation of 117 municipalities managed by majors, results have varied, with more work left to be done to meet the citizen’s expectations. Policymakers and civil society organisations believe decentralisation will accelerate Togo’s progress towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Indeed, analysts have tracked notable progress in education, health, sanitation, and access to drinking water, largely through the construction and…
Togo, a nation where agriculture accounts for more than 40% of GDP and employs over 65% of its workforce, is pursuing an ambitious vision of greater agricultural productivity and food self-sufficiency through what it calls Planned Agricultural Development Zones (ZAAP). In a move aimed at boosting harvests and improving living standards, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas, Togo is on course to establish 400 of these zones by 2025, which are designed to focus on specific strategic crops, including rice, sesame, cashew, corn, soy, and sorghum. As of 2021-2022, Togo had already set up 130 zones nationwide, covering an area…
