Context
Togo’s first and, so far, only municipal elections were held in 1987. In 2001, the government charged special delegations with the task of governing the municipalities in the place of legitimate, elected citizen representatives. Since then, local elections have been announced but subsequently postponed on a regular basis.
The decentralisation legislation of 2007 provides for a territorial structure: 5 regions, 35 prefectures and both rural and urban municipalities, the exact number of which is yet to be decided. 21 urban municipalities have been established to date. The mandatory responsibilities currently required of these urban municipalities include provision of basic services for the population and managing the internal budget and tax administration. These responsibilities are not yet being adequately met. Taxes and charges are levied arbitrarily, in line with the financial needs of the municipalities rather than based on actual performance. Waste disposal, particularly at markets, is currently unsatisfactory. The actors responsible for urban municipalities lack the knowledge and resources to carry out mandatory duties in an efficient, citizen-oriented and transparent manner.
Objective
Municipalities are capable of carrying out mandatory duties in an efficient, citizen-oriented and transparent manner.
Approach
GIZ provides advisory services to the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Decentralisation and Local Authorities and employees of Togo’s Union of Municipalities (Union des Communes du Togo, UCT), with its 21 member municipalities. GIZ also advises the three urban municipalities of Kpalimé, Sokodé and Tsévié and provides further training for municipal employees in their key functions. In addition, it assists civil society organisations in these three medium-sized towns, as well as local media representatives in developing their relationship with their respective municipalities. With support from the consulting firm Eco-Consult, partners are advised on issues of local finance.
In addition, KfW Development Bank is funding the development of municipal markets in the three towns, as well as citizen monitoring of municipal activities. This monitoring process is supported by communication technology (SMS).
Results
In the urban municipalities of Tsévié, Kpalimé and Sokodé, a sound foundation has been established for improving good governance at local level. National standards have been set in the field of participatory development planning, a handbook has been created, and one prefectoral and two municipal development plans have been drawn up. These take into account the needs of women, young people and people with disabilities.
The three towns of Kpalimé, Sokodé and Tsévié each set up their first tax registers in 2014, thus increasing the tax potential of their respective towns. This has established a basis for doubling or even tripling tax revenues. The first evidence of increased revenues was noted in Sokodé in August 2014. In addition, GIZ collaborated with Togo’s Ministry of Finance in December 2014 to publish a taxpayer’s handbook, which is now available to citizens in the three municipalities. The handbook contains basic information on tax issues and the benefits available to citizens as taxpayers.
Major progress has been achieved in particular in transparency, accountability and the political participation of the population in local development processes. For example, notices showing budget decisions taken by the municipal council are now displayed in public. The first public meetings of the municipal council to discuss budgetary matters were held in 2013; these meetings were stepped up the following year. In total, around 1,200 events were organised to provide training for and raise awareness among over 40,000 municipal employees, representatives of the private sector, members of civil society organisations and citizens.