The World Bank approved on Thursday a US$15 million IDA* credit to help the Government of the Republic of Togo strengthen its capacity to manage the mineral resources in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable manner.
The new five-year Togo Mining Governance and Development project (2016-2020) will help the country streamline the institutional arrangements of key organizations in the extractive industries in order to strengthen their efficiency and accountability. Through its operations, the project will help achieve an effective management of the sector, by focusing on mining governance, transparency, oversight, and efficiency, and also on environmental, social and economic development.
“The Mining Governance Project is well aligned with the priorities set by the Togolese government –and also with the World Bank Group’s broader objectives— to promote economic growth through infrastructure development, and it supports the investment climate and ease of doing business. It has also been designed to help local communities benefit more from mining activities. I am pleased to oversee the approval of this project, which is the first new IDA credit to Togo since I took office on November 1st, 2015,” saysPierre Laporte, the new Country Director for Togo.
The mining sector is critical to the economic development of Togo, and as such is a priority area for policy support by the government. In 2014, government revenue from the sector was at 4% of total receipts and mining exports were 22% of total exports. The project will target key strategic challenges to the sustainable development of Togo’s mining sector. It will ensure that requisite human resources, training and institutional capacity to plan and monitor mining operations are in place and establish the conditions for mining sector activities to contribute to social and economic development.
According to Morten Larsen, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project, “Togo has a great mineral potential which has yet to be unlocked in order to contribute to the country’s economic growth. The project will allow the national and local authorities to attract sustainable and long-term investments to the industry, and it will support all stakeholders in assuring that government and communities in Togo receive their fair share of the benefits from mining.”
*The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives.
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