Togo commits itself to efficient management of mineral resources

Togolese Prime Minister, Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, on Monday expressed the Togolese government's determination to efficiently manage its mineral resources.



Thanks to the World Bank support, Togo is about to become a member of the Initia tive for the Transparency of Extractive Industries (ITIE), which is aimed at better management of the subsoil's resources.



"By expressing its intention to be a member of the Worldwide Initiative, Togo reasserts its determination to work so that the riches created by its mining industries contribute efficiently to economic growth and poverty reduction," the Togolese Prime minister declared at the opening on Monday in Lome of a works hop on the ITIE.



He urged civil society, the media, academics, technical and financial partners t o make inputs into the efficient runing of the industry.

Joseph Baah-Dwomoh, resident representative of the World Bank in Lome, Togo, sai d the West African country, will have a deadline of two years to carry out the different activities defined in its plan of action before it is granted the status of "abiding country".



During this period, the country must designate a national coordinator, establish an institutional and legal mechanism and formulate a detailed and budgeted ITIE plan of action.



The ITIE launched in 2002 in South Africa, and supported by the World Bank, is a imed at improving transparency in the management of mineral resources in countri e s where they are exploited.