Togo has approved a new 10-year decentralisation roadmap aimed at strengthening local governance, boosting the capacity of municipalities and improving the delivery of public services, the government said.
The policy framework, covering the period from 2025 to 2034, was adopted by the Council of Ministers this week and is intended to consolidate reforms launched in recent years to devolve power and resources from central government to local authorities.
According to an official statement, the national decentralisation policy will serve as a strategic guide to reinforce local governance, enhance the skills and institutional capacity of elected officials, and promote citizen participation in local development.
The roadmap builds on Togo’s existing decentralisation framework and incorporates recommendations made during the fifth meeting of the National Decentralisation Council held in November 2022.
Togo formally launched its decentralisation process in 2019 with the country’s first municipal elections in more than three decades, which led to the election of local councillors and the creation of new communes.
Since then, decentralisation has been presented by authorities as a key response to development, governance and democratisation challenges, particularly at the local level.
However, the government acknowledged that the initial phase exposed shortcomings, especially in the transfer of powers, financial resources and technical capacity to local authorities.
The newly adopted roadmap is designed to address those gaps by strengthening the ability of communes to plan and implement large-scale projects, particularly in areas such as local public services, land-use planning and mobilisation of local revenues.
Officials say the policy will also improve coordination between central government and local administrations, while ensuring more predictable and sustainable financing for municipalities.
Togo currently has 117 communes, grouped into 39 prefectures across five administrative regions.
The decentralisation process is being closely followed by several technical and financial partners, alongside central and local authorities, as it is seen as critical to inclusive development, territorial balance and the effectiveness of public policies.
The government said implementation of the new roadmap would be gradual and closely monitored, with the aim of ensuring that decentralisation contributes to sustainable local development and stronger democratic governance across the country.
