## _cr1106 - Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) on PRSP implementation for Togo, July 2009–June 2010

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [_cr1106 - Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) on PRSP implementation for Togo, July 2009–June 2010](https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/scr/2011/_cr1106.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/scr/2011/_cr1106.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/scr/2011/_cr1106.pdf.json)

---

### Overview
- Reviews implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Togo over the period July 2009 to June 2010, as reported in the Annual Progress Report (APR).
- PRSP adoption and strategic period:
  - PRSP adopted by the Council of Ministers on July 6, 2009.
  - Discussed by the Boards of the International Monetary Fund and International Development Association (IDA) in November and December 2009, respectively.
  - PRSP strategic period: 2009–2011, based on four strategic pillars:
    - (i) strengthening of governance;
    - (ii) consolidation of the bases for strong and sustained growth;
    - (iii) development of human capital;
    - (iv) reduction of regional imbalances and promotion of community development.
  - Cross-cutting themes integrated: environment, HIV/AIDS, gender and human rights.
- APR preparation:
  - APR prepared by the government through a participatory process and discussed and disseminated at a workshop in September, 2010.

### Poverty trends and diagnostic
- Data constraints:
  - No new income or expenditure poverty survey with country-wide coverage since the 2006 QUIBB.
- Key poverty statistics and recent trends:
  - Poverty incidence in 2006: 61.7 percent.
  - Rural share of the poor: 74 percent; urban share: 37 percent.
  - Food prices increased 20.4 percent between 2006 and 2008.
  - GDP per capita growth: 0.7 percent in 2009.
  - Partial Lomé estimates (2008 Household Expenditure Survey): poverty in Lomé changed from 24.5 percent in 2006 to 25.1 percent in 2008.
  - GDP per capita fell by 1.4 percent in 2007 and by 0.3 percent in 2008.
- Staff findings and recommendations:
  - Reiterate the need to improve monitoring of poverty and update information on recent poverty trends to inform the upcoming PRSP.
  - Commend government safety net measures: fertilizer subsidies, increase in the guaranteed inter-professional minimum wage, countercyclical fiscal policy to stimulate consumption and investment.
  - Recommend developing additional structured interventions to address endemic poverty and cushion shocks for the most vulnerable.
  - Highlight weaknesses in targeting of public subsidies (2006 QUIBB results):
    - Poorest 20 percent received CFAF 5,607 in education subsidies per capita; wealthiest 20 percent received CFAF 10,376 per capita.
    - Poorest 50 percent received only 20 percent of public health subsidies.
  - Note progress in monitoring poverty-related expenditures but call for better understanding of the impact of pro-poor policy actions.

### Macroeconomic policies and framework
- General assessment:
  - APR macroeconomic framework broadly consistent with the one agreed during the 5th ECF review mission.
  - Real GDP growth modestly accelerated but remains below potential due largely to exogenous shocks.
  - Government maintained a prudent fiscal stance anchored by targets on the domestic primary balance.
  - 5th ECF review mission concluded that all 2010 quantitative targets through June 2010 have been achieved.
  - Inflation has remained stable around 2 percent annually.
- Selected macroeconomic figures and observations:
  - Public investment rose to 5.5 percent of GDP in 2009 vs 2.8 percent average for the period 2005-2008.
  - APR projects a current account deficit of 9.5 percent of GDP for 2010; IMF staff projections are 7.7 percent of GDP for 2010.
  - APR projects a zero overall balance for Togo’s balance of payments in 2010; staff expects a negative balance.
  - Balance of payments pressures linked to stagnation in remittances and falls in foreign direct investment flows during 2009 and 2010.
- Public financial management and structural reforms — progress:
  - Improvements in budget execution, particularly public investment execution.
  - Cash management, accounting, reporting, and procurement improvements: monthly treasury plan accompanied the 2010 budget; monthly Tableau de Bord published since January 2009.
  - Public procurement code in conformity with WAEMU Procurement Directives adopted in November 2009; Procurement Regulatory Authority and National Directorate for the Audit of Public Procurement established in December 2009.
  - Clearance of audited domestic arrears to private suppliers: by August 2010 over 1,900 suppliers had been paid; progress slowed since early 2010.
  - Banking sector reforms to resume after enactment of the privatization law; National Assembly adopted new legal framework for privatization in early October 2010 enabling final call for bids for four state-owned banks targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2011.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Include an updated macroeconomic policy framework and explicit discussion of risks to the medium-term outlook in the next APR.
  - Elaborate on macroeconomic challenges and risks posed by the external environment.
  - Consider alternative macroeconomic scenarios reflecting different growth and export assumptions.
  - Accelerate arrears clearance to private suppliers, with assistance from the employers’ association to contact remaining creditors.

### PRSP Pillar A — Strengthening Governance
- Institutional and procedural advances:
  - Set up a committee to follow up implementation of the new WAEMU Directives adopted in 2009.
  - Introduction of the Integrated Budget Execution and Reporting System (SIGFIP) on a pilot basis at the central level and five regional Treasury offices.
  - Initiation of rationalization and simplification of the expenditure chain and significant reduction in exceptional expenditure execution procedures.
  - Operationalization of the Court of Accounts.
- Cash management, accounting, reporting, and procurement:
  - Monthly treasury plan included with the 2010 budget.
  - Regular monthly Tableau de Bord of fiscal operations published on the SP-PRPF website.
  - Procurement contracts, including sole source contracts, published monthly since June 2009 in the Chamber of Commerce newsletter and on the SP-PRPF website.
- Remaining weaknesses and Action Plan (2010–2012) priorities:
  - Persistent weaknesses in public finance management system.
  - Priority actions include:
    - (i) preparation by all line ministries of sectoral Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks as building blocks of the Medium Term Budget Framework;
    - (ii) further simplification and shortening of the expenditure chain while strengthening capacity for internal and external control;
    - (iii) full roll out of SIGFIP including its accounting module to all ministries, institutions, and regions to improve coordination and tracking of priority spending.
  - Staffs urge swift implementation of the Action Plan and adoption of WAEMU new public finance management directives in national legislation.
  - Authorities encouraged to continue close collaboration with development partners and utilize technical assistance to address capacity constraints.

### PRSP Pillar B — Promoting Strong and Sustained Growth
- Private sector and business climate reforms — actions and pending items:
  - Key measures taken:
    - Approval of a new privatization law by the National Assembly in October 2010.
    - June 2010 Decree allowing CFE to become a real one stop shop for enterprise creation (with delegation of approval).
    - Preparation of a Doing Business Road Map.
    - Revision of the draft new investment code to align with international best practices.
    - Preparation of a new draft of the Free Zone law.
  - Critical pending measures: implementation of a national “one stop window” for clearing goods at the port of Lomé and timely follow-up on other reforms.
  - Staffs note need for significant political will, resources, time and effort across stakeholders to ensure successful implementation.
- Phosphate sector reforms and EITI:
  - Achievements:
    - Strategic audit finalization, three-year business plan preparation, adoption in March 2010 of the phosphate sector strategy.
    - Togo granted EITI Candidate Status on October 19, 2010 with two years to become compliant; audit exercise commenced with publication of 2008 and 2009 payments and revenues.
  - Staffs urge continuation of critical reforms including:
    - (i) updating the regulatory framework (modernizing the Mining Code and preparing regulations);
    - (ii) improving internal controls and corporate governance (financial management, inventory control, procurement of spare parts);
    - (iii) streamlining organizational structure and optimizing human resources;
    - (iv) introducing corporate social responsibility standards to address social and environmental concerns;
    - (v) preparing an action plan for implementation of Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Phosphates Sector Rehabilitation Strategy, including competitive search for a strategic partner.
- Agriculture and cotton sector:
  - Agriculture prioritized for growth with significant poverty reduction potential.
  - Adoption of the National Agriculture Food Security Investment Plan in 2009 and donor mobilization to start implementation in early 2011.
  - Critical reforms needed:
    - (a) strengthening sanitary and quality control systems in food;
    - (b) establishing improved information services and communication;
    - (c) supporting restructuring of the rural economy, professionalization of agricultural sectors, and emergence of rural entrepreneurship;
    - (d) reducing population vulnerability to natural disasters.
  - Cotton sector recommendations:
    - Modernize the accounting system of the new cotton company (NSCT) to improve transparency.
    - Ensure efficient mobilization of resources for timely provision of inputs to producers.
    - Intensify identification of a strategic private partner to advance rehabilitation.
  - Staffs recommend development of a multi-sectoral, outcome-focused strategy to better support agriculture’s contribution to poverty reduction.
- Infrastructure and energy:
  - Notable investment: Contour Global thermal electricity plant with capacity to produce approximately 100 megawatts.
  - Electrification progress:
    - Seven new villages in the prefectures of Moyen Mono and Blitta received electrification in 2009.
    - In 2010, 27 villages across the country gained access to electricity.
    - Public lighting: 15 streets in Lomé, covering 55 km, now have public lighting, including one lit by solar energy.
  - Concerns and recommendations:
    - Power supply diversification not likely to reduce cost of electricity; ensuring energy security may require an increase in the price of electricity due to fixed costs in the power purchasing agreement.
    - CEET’s financial situation is fragile; staffs urge actions including tariff adjustments and reductions in technical and operational losses.
    - Recommend revising legal and institutional framework to create mechanisms promoting rural electrification.
    - Emphasize need for maintenance of rehabilitated and new bridges and roads in urban and rural settings to enable continuous flow and expansion of goods to market and social services.

### Education sector: reforms, outputs, and financing
- Policy and access:
  - National Education Sector Plan (PSE) adopted and implemented; decision to eliminate tuition fees for pre-school and primary education in October 2008.
  - Gross enrollment rate rose from 98 percent in 2007-2008 to 114 percent in 2009–2010.
- Outputs and capacity building:
  - Secondary education: twelve secondary school classrooms built; training courses provided for 6,381 teachers.
  - Pre-school and primary: initial training provided to 511 new teachers; remedial training provided to 4,909 teachers.
- Financing and programs:
  - Adoption in March 2010 of the PSE, endorsed by development partners and EFA-FTI Partnership, led to approval of the Education and Institution-Building Project (PERI) in the amount of $45 million for the 2010–2013 period, to fund construction of classrooms, training, and institutional reinforcement.
  - The PERI will be executed under World Bank supervision.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Effective and swift implementation of the PSE; availability of funds is conditional on a strict disbursement schedule.
  - Ensure the sectoral committee of the PSRP for education is the same as the PSE Coordination Committee to achieve consistency in monitoring and evaluation.
  - Three Ministries in charge of the education sector should set up a structure to oversee coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the PSE and strengthen the project coordination unit.
  - Monitor school drop-out rates to better understand causes and design appropriate measures to minimize them.

### Health sector: measures, constraints, and recommendations
- Implemented measures during the APR period:
  - Construction, rehabilitation, expansion and equipping of various health units, including three university hospital centers, six regional hospital centers, district hospitals and peripheral health care units.
- Human resources:
  - Estimated less than 8,000 health professionals exist in Togo for a population of 6.5 million habitants.
  - 80 percent of those professionals are in the main cities.
  - Human Resources Development and Management Plan approved in 2009 to recruit new professionals and retain health professionals in rural areas.
    - First round of recruitment completed in 2009.
    - Second round planned for 2010 delayed due to lack of financial resources.
- Financing and planning:
  - National Health Development Plan prepared but facing financial constraints.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Emphasize measures to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of health expenditures.
  - Address continuity in financing to sustain reforms.

### Reducing regional imbalances and promoting community development
- Progress and constraints:
  - APR acknowledges significant measures to boost regional economic development are yet to be implemented despite government and partner efforts.
  - Constraints include need for reorganization of local structures, involvement of local stakeholders, and sufficient financial, material and human resources for local governments.
  - Limited progress due to delays in finalizing the institutional framework for decentralization and deconcentration of central administration functions.
  - Programming of investment projects needs to better reflect regional socioeconomic imbalances.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Finalize the institutional framework for decentralization and deconcentration.
  - Clarify government options for addressing regional imbalance.
  - Adopt a systematic approach for safety nets.
  - Capitalize on ongoing pilot projects in local development (financed by some development partners) as examples for future activities.

### Implementation, monitoring and evaluation: structure, challenges, and recommendations
- Institutional monitoring framework includes multiple levels with overlap and unclear division of labor:
  - National Council on Development Policy and Poverty Reduction (chaired by the Prime Minister).
  - Interministerial Committee on the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
  - Technical Steering Committee.
  - Permanent Technical Secretariat.
  - Sectoral Committees.
  - Regional and Local Committees.
- Preliminary lessons:
  - Redundancies, unclear division of labor, and limited capacity impeded implementation.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Streamline the oversight structure while ensuring adequate involvement of all stakeholders and clarification of responsibilities.
  - Strengthen civil society capacity.
  - Draw upon available non-income data (malnutrition rates, school enrollment, child mortality rates) to understand non-income dimensions of poverty given lack of income-related data.
  - Improve the results-based framework by focusing on a small and realistic number of key result indicators based on adequacy and availability of data.
  - Strengthen the national statistics systems to produce timely data to inform policy makers during PRSP implementation and preparation of PRSP2.
  - Fund capacity building for data collection, compilation, analysis and reporting to support effective monitoring.

### Conclusions, risks, and prioritized actions
- APR highlights many reforms achieved in the first year of the PRSP while recognizing weaknesses and implementation constraints.
- Notable progress reported in areas including:
  - Consolidation of macroeconomic stability and sound public finances.
  - Fiscal governance: establishment of the court of accounts; adoption of the procurement code.
  - Implementation of actions required to become an EITI candidate.
  - Completion of the HIPC triggers.
- Staff advice and prioritized actions:
  - Continue to accelerate the pace of implementation despite financial constraints from the global financial crisis and slowdown.
  - Prioritize reforms according to their impact on growth and poverty reduction and their catalytic role, including:
    - Moving swiftly with the decentralization agenda.
    - Pursuing vigorously reforms in the agriculture sector, including strengthening systems for sanitary and quality control and supporting restructuring of the rural economy.
    - Implementing plans aimed at reforming the health sector.
  - Strengthen tax administration and public finance management to increase fiscal space and improve effectiveness of spending.
  - Identify creative solutions for private sector financing.
- Risks to implementation:
  - Capacity and financing constraints remain significant.
  - Monitoring challenges: funding capacity building for required data operations will be challenging.

*Source: _cr1106*

### 1. This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) reviews progress in the

### _cr1106 - 1. This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) reviews progress in the

### Overview
- Reviews implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Togo over the period July 2009 to June 2010, as reported in the Annual Progress Report (APR).
- The PRSP was adopted by the Council of Ministers on July 6, 2009 and discussed by the Boards of the International Monetary Fund and International Development Association (IDA) in November and December 2009, respectively.
- PRSP strategic period: 2009–2011, based on four strategic pillars:
  - (i) strengthening of governance;
  - (ii) consolidation of the bases for strong and sustained growth;
  - (iii) development of human capital;
  - (iv) reduction of regional imbalances and promotion of community development.
- Cross-cutting themes integrated: environment, HIV/AIDS, gender and human rights.
- APR prepared by the government through a participatory process and discussed and disseminated at a workshop in September, 2010.

### Poverty trends and diagnostic
- Data limitations: no new income or expenditure poverty survey with country-wide coverage since the 2006 QUIBB.
- Key poverty statistics and trends:
  - Poverty incidence in 2006: 61.7 percent.
  - Rural share of the poor: 74 percent; urban share: 37 percent.
  - Food prices increased 20.4 percent between 2006 and 2008.
  - GDP per capita only grew by 0.7 percent in 2009.
  - Partial Lomé estimates (2008 Household Expenditure Survey): poverty in Lomé changed from 24.5 percent in 2006 to 25.1 percent in 2008.
  - GDP per capita actually fell by 1.4 and 0.3 percent in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
- Staff recommendations/findings:
  - Reiterate the need to improve monitoring of poverty and update information on recent poverty trends to inform the upcoming PRSP.
  - Commend government safety net measures: fertilizer subsidies, increase in the guaranteed inter-professional minimum wage, countercyclical fiscal policy to stimulate consumption and investment.
  - Recommend developing additional structured interventions to address endemic poverty and cushion shocks for the most vulnerable.
  - Highlight weaknesses in targeting of public subsidies (2006 QUIBB results):
    - Poorest 20 percent received CFAF 5,607 in education subsidies per capita; wealthiest 20 percent received CFAF 10,376 per capita.
    - Poorest 50 percent received only 20 percent of public health subsidies.
  - Note progress in monitoring poverty-related expenditures but call for better understanding of the impact of pro-poor policy actions.

### Macroeconomic policies and framework
- General assessment:
  - APR macroeconomic framework broadly consistent with the one agreed during the 5th ECF review mission.
  - Real GDP growth modestly accelerated but remains below potential due largely to exogenous shocks.
  - Government maintained a prudent fiscal stance anchored by targets on the domestic primary balance.
  - 5th ECF review mission concluded that all 2010 quantitative targets through June 2010 have been achieved.
  - Inflation has remained stable around 2 percent annually.
- Specific macroeconomic figures and observations:
  - Public investment rose to 5.5 percent of GDP in 2009 vs 2.8 percent average for the period 2005-2008.
  - APR projects a current account deficit of 9.5 percent of GDP for 2010; IMF staff projections are 7.7 percent of GDP for 2010.
  - APR projects a zero overall balance for Togo’s balance of payments in 2010; staff expects a negative balance.
  - Balance of payments pressures linked to stagnation in remittances and falls in foreign direct investment flows during 2009 and 2010.
- Public financial management and structural reforms:
  - Improvements noted in budget execution, particularly public investment execution.
  - Cash management, accounting, reporting, and procurement improvements: monthly treasury plan accompanied the 2010 budget; monthly Tableau de Bord published since January 2009.
  - Public procurement code in conformity with WAEMU Procurement Directives adopted in November 2009; Procurement Regulatory Authority and National Directorate for the Audit of Public Procurement established in December 2009.
  - Progress in clearance of audited domestic arrears to private suppliers: by August 2010 over 1,900 suppliers had been paid; progress slowed since early 2010.
  - Banking sector reforms to resume after enactment of the privatization law; National Assembly adopted new legal framework for privatization in early October 2010 enabling final call for bids for four state-owned banks targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2011.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Include an updated macroeconomic policy framework and explicit discussion of risks to the medium-term outlook in the next APR.
  - Elaborate on macroeconomic challenges and risks posed by the external environment.
  - Consider alternative macroeconomic scenarios reflecting different growth and export assumptions.
  - Accelerate arrears clearance to private suppliers, with assistance from the employers’ association to contact remaining creditors.

### PRSP Pillar A — Strengthening Governance
- Institutional and procedural advances:
  - Set up a committee to follow up implementation of the new WAEMU Directives adopted in 2009.
  - Introduction of the Integrated Budget Execution and Reporting System (SIGFIP) on a pilot basis at the central level and five regional Treasury offices.
  - Initiation of rationalization and simplification of the expenditure chain and significant reduction in exceptional expenditure execution procedures.
  - Operationalization of the Court of Accounts.
- Cash management, accounting, reporting, and procurement:
  - Monthly treasury plan included with the 2010 budget.
  - Regular monthly Tableau de Bord of fiscal operations published on the SP-PRPF website.
  - Procurement contracts, including sole source contracts, published monthly since June 2009 in the Chamber of Commerce newsletter and on the SP-PRPF website.
- Remaining weaknesses and Action Plan (2010–2012) priorities:
  - Persistent weaknesses in public finance management system.
  - Priority actions include:
    - (i) preparation by all line ministries of sectoral Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks as building blocks of the Medium Term Budget Framework;
    - (ii) further simplification and shortening of the expenditure chain while strengthening capacity for internal and external control;
    - (iii) full roll out of SIGFIP including its accounting module to all ministries, institutions, and regions to improve coordination and tracking of priority spending.
  - Staffs urge swift implementation of the Action Plan and adoption of WAEMU new public finance management directives in national legislation.
  - Authorities encouraged to continue close collaboration with development partners and utilize technical assistance to address capacity constraints.

### PRSP Pillar B — Promoting Strong and Sustained Growth
- Private sector and business climate reforms:
  - Key measures taken:
    - Approval of a new privatization law by the National Assembly in October 2010.
    - June 2010 Decree allowing CFE to become a real one stop shop for enterprise creation (with delegation of approval).
    - Preparation of a Doing Business Road Map.
    - Revision of the draft new investment code to align with international best practices.
    - Preparation of a new draft of the Free Zone law.
  - Critical pending measures: implementation of a national “one stop window” for clearing goods at the port of Lomé and timely follow-up on other reforms.
  - Staffs note need for significant political will, resources, time and effort across stakeholders to ensure successful implementation.
- Phosphate sector reforms and EITI:
  - Milestones achieved: strategic audit finalization, three-year business plan preparation, adoption in March 2010 of the phosphate sector strategy.
  - Transparency and governance improvements: Togo granted EITI Candidate Status on October 19, 2010 with two years to become compliant; audit exercise commenced with publication of 2008 and 2009 payments and revenues.
  - Staffs urge continuation of critical reforms including:
    - (i) updating the regulatory framework (modernizing the Mining Code and preparing regulations);
    - (ii) improving internal controls and corporate governance (financial management, inventory control, procurement of spare parts);
    - (iii) streamlining organizational structure and optimizing human resources;
    - (iv) introducing corporate social responsibility standards to address social and environmental concerns;
    - (v) preparing an action plan for implementation of Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Phosphates Sector Rehabilitation Strategy, including competitive search for a strategic partner.
- Agriculture and cotton sector:
  - Agriculture prioritized for strong and sustainable growth with significant poverty reduction potential.
  - Adoption of the National Agriculture Food Security Investment Plan in 2009 and donor mobilization to start implementation in early 2011.
  - Critical reforms needed in agriculture:
    - (a) strengthening sanitary and quality control systems in food;
    - (b) establishing improved information services and communication;
    - (c) supporting restructuring of the rural economy, professionalization of agricultural sectors, and emergence of rural entrepreneurship;
    - (d) reducing population vulnerability to natural disasters.
  - Cotton sector recommendations:
    - Modernize the accounting system of the new cotton company (NSCT) to improve transparency.
    - Ensure efficient mobilization of resources for timely provision of inputs to producers.
    - Intensify identification of a strategic private partner to advance rehabilitation.
  - Staffs recommend development of a multi-sectoral, outcome-focused strategy to better support agriculture’s contribution to poverty reduction.
- Infrastructure and energy:
  - Notable infrastructure investment: Contour Global thermal electricity plant with capacity to produce approximately 100 megawatts.
  - Electrification progress:
    - Seven new villages in the prefectures of Moyen Mono and Blitta received electrification in 2009.
    - In 2010, 27 villages across the country gained access to electricity.
    - Public lighting: 15 streets in Lomé, covering 55 km, now have public lighting, including one lit by solar energy.
  - Concerns and recommendations:
    - Power supply diversification not likely to reduce cost of electricity; ensuring energy security may require an increase in the price of electricity due to fixed costs in the power purchasing agreement.
    - CEET’s financial situation is fragile; staffs urge actions including tariff adjustments and reductions in technical and operational losses.
    - Recommend revising legal and institutional framework to create mechanisms promoting rural electrification.
    - Emphasize need for maintenance of rehabilitated and new bridges and roads in urban and rural settings to enable continuous flow and expansion of goods to market and social services.

*Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) on PRSP implementation for Togo, covering July 2009 to June 2010.*

### 17. Progress in the education sector has been consolidated during the APR

### 17. Progress in the education sector has been consolidated during the APR

### Education sector: reforms, outputs, and financing
- National Education Sector Plan (PSE) adopted and implemented; decision to eliminate tuition fees for pre-school and primary education in October 2008.
- Gross enrollment rate rose from 98 percent in 2007-2008 to 114 percent in 2009–2010.
- Secondary education measures:
  - Twelve secondary school classrooms built.
  - Training courses provided for 6,381 teachers.
- Pre-school and primary education quality measures:
  - Initial training provided to 511 new teachers.
  - Remedial training provided to 4,909 teachers.
- Adoption in March 2010 of the PSE, endorsed by development partners and EFA-FTI Partnership, led to approval of the Education and Institution-Building Project (PERI) in the amount of $45 million for the 2010–2013 period, to fund construction of classrooms, training, and institutional reinforcement.
  - The PERI will be executed under World Bank supervision.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Effective and swift implementation of the PSE; availability of funds is conditional on a strict disbursement schedule.
  - Ensure the sectoral committee of the PSRP for education is the same as the PSE Coordination Committee to achieve consistency in monitoring and evaluation.
  - Three Ministries in charge of the education sector should set up a structure to oversee coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the PSE and strengthen the project coordination unit.
  - Monitor school drop-out rates to better understand causes and design appropriate measures to minimize them.

### Health sector: measures, constraints, and recommendations
- Implemented measures during the APR period included construction, rehabilitation, expansion and equipping of various health units, including three university hospital centers, six regional hospital centers, district hospitals and peripheral health care units.
- Human resources constraints:
  - It is estimated that less than 8,000 health professionals exist in Togo for a population of 6.5 million habitants.
  - 80 percent of those professionals are in the main cities.
- Human Resources Development and Management Plan approved in 2009 to recruit new professionals and retain health professionals in rural areas.
  - First round of recruitment completed in 2009.
  - Second round planned for 2010 delayed due to lack of financial resources.
- National Health Development Plan prepared but facing financial constraints.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Emphasize measures to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of health expenditures.
  - Address continuity in financing to sustain reforms.

### Reducing regional imbalances and promoting community development
- APR acknowledges that significant measures to boost regional economic development are yet to be implemented despite government and partner efforts.
- Constraints and causes:
  - Need for reorganization of local structures, involvement of local stakeholders, and sufficient financial, material and human resources for local governments.
  - Limited progress due to delays in finalizing the institutional framework for decentralization and deconcentration of central administration functions.
  - Programming of investment projects needs to better reflect regional socioeconomic imbalances.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Finalize the institutional framework for decentralization and deconcentration.
  - Clarify government options for addressing regional imbalance.
  - Adopt a systematic approach for safety nets.
  - Capitalize on ongoing pilot projects in local development (financed by some development partners) as examples for future activities.

### Implementation, monitoring and evaluation: structure, challenges, and recommendations
- Institutional framework to monitor and evaluate the PRSP includes multiple levels with overlap and unclear division of labor:
  - National Council on Development Policy and Poverty Reduction (chaired by the Prime Minister).
  - Interministerial Committee on the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
  - Technical Steering Committee.
  - Permanent Technical Secretariat.
  - Sectoral Committees.
  - Regional and Local Committees.
- Preliminary lessons from the interim PRSP confirmed: redundancies, unclear division of labor, and limited capacity impeded implementation.
- Staff recommendations:
  - Streamline the oversight structure while ensuring adequate involvement of all stakeholders and clarification of responsibilities.
  - Strengthen civil society capacity.
  - Draw upon available non-income data (malnutrition rates, school enrollment, child mortality rates) to understand non-income dimensions of poverty given lack of income-related data.
  - Improve the results-based framework by focusing on a small and realistic number of key result indicators based on adequacy and availability of data.
  - Strengthen the national statistics systems to produce timely data to inform policy makers during PRSP implementation and preparation of PRSP2.
  - Fund capacity building for data collection, compilation, analysis and reporting to support effective monitoring.

### Conclusions, risks, and prioritized actions
- APR highlights many reforms achieved in the first year of the PRSP while recognizing weaknesses and implementation constraints.
- Notable progress reported in areas including:
  - Consolidation of macroeconomic stability and sound public finances.
  - Fiscal governance: establishment of the court of accounts; adoption of the procurement code.
  - Implementation of actions required to become an EITI candidate.
  - Completion of the HIPC triggers.
- Staff advice:
  - Continue to accelerate the pace of implementation despite financial constraints from the global financial crisis and slowdown.
  - Prioritize reforms according to their impact on growth and poverty reduction and their catalytic role, including:
    - Moving swiftly with the decentralization agenda.
    - Pursuing vigorously reforms in the agriculture sector, including strengthening systems for sanitary and quality control and supporting restructuring of the rural economy.
    - Implementing plans aimed at reforming the health sector.
  - Strengthen tax administration and public finance management to increase fiscal space and improve effectiveness of spending.
  - Identify creative solutions for private sector financing.
- Risks to implementation:
  - Capacity and financing constraints remain significant.
  - Monitoring challenges: funding capacity building for required data operations will be challenging.

*Source: _cr1106 - 17. Progress in the education sector has been consolidated during the APR*

---


_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/scr/2011/_cr1106.pdf_