Togo: a bill passed to create a Deposit and Consignment Fund

The bill was examined and adopted under the presidency of Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of the Council. Its aim is to establish a Deposit and Consignment Fund, which is expected to serve as a tool for mobilizing and managing financial resources for national development.

According to the minutes of the Council of Ministers, the future CDC will be tasked with acting as a trusted third party for the collection and custody of public and private funds made available to it. It will also be responsible for receiving administrative and judicial deposits and consignment, guarantees, and managing these resources through secure and profitable investments.

The government’s stated objective is to direct the resources mobilized toward long-term financing of structural projects. These financings should align with the national development priorities, especially in a global context marked by the scarcity of external funding and tensions in capital markets.

A New Tool for Financing Strategic Investments

With this reform, Togo aims to strengthen its internal mechanisms for resource mobilization. The CDC should facilitate better channeling of a portion of savings and available funds toward investments deemed priorities by the state.

The official portal of the Togolese Republic presents this future institution as a “hybrid tool,” designed to support the structuring of the country’s fiscal, legal, and financial environment. The government believes that the creation of this entity is part of the continuity of reforms undertaken in recent years to consolidate economic governance and enhance the country’s attractiveness.

Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé has placed this decision within the broader framework of economic reforms. “We are determined to continue the reforms underway to consolidate governance, enhance the attractiveness of our economy, and sustainably improve and preserve the living conditions of our citizens,” he stated after the government meeting, according to the official Togolese portal.

However, the bill adopted by the Council of Ministers does not take effect immediately. It will need to follow the parliamentary process, with an expected examination in front of the National Assembly and the Senate. Only after this step will the Deposit and Consignment Fund be legally established.

With this initiative, Lomé joins the trend observed in several West African countries already equipped with similar institutions. Senegal, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mauritania already have comparable funds, used as instruments for fund management and long-term project financing.

During the same Council of Ministers meeting, the Togolese government also adopted another bill concerning commercial jurisdictions. This text aims to modernize commercial justice, allow decisions on electronic support, authorize hearings via videoconference, and adapt the rules applicable to small disputes.