Local Government
6
Large Cities
0
Capital Cities
0
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Local Government
6
Large Cities
0
Capital Cities
0
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Community
Capital
Lome
Population
8 082 370
Language
French
Currency
CFA Franc
Indexes
Democracy
126
Authoritarian
Democracy
Democracy
126
Authoritarian
Democracy
Corruption Perception
130/180
High
Corruption Perception
Corruption Perception
130/180
High
Corruption Perception
Human Development
167
Low
Human Development
Human Development
167
Low
Human Development
World Happiness
135/153
High
World Happiness
World Happiness
135/153
High
World Happiness
Global Peace
108
Medium
Global Peace
Global Peace
108
Medium
Global Peace
Global Terrorism
138
No Impact
Global Terrorism
Global Terrorism
138
No Impact
Global Terrorism
Legislação sobre Orçamentos Participativos
Act No. 2019-006 amending the Decentralization and Local Freedoms Act provides for articles that encourage municipalities to manage public affairs in a participatory manner through the following articles:
- Article 16: “The municipality and the region constitute the institutional framework for citizen participation in the management of local public affairs;
- Article19“therightofcitizenstobeinformedofdecisions and to be consulted on matters that concern them by locally elected representatives contributes to the development of local democracy”.
The budget process is a public affair. As such, it also concerns citizens in its aspects of defining investments and paying taxes. Thus, the above articles implicitly take into account the participation of citizens also in the budgetary process. Since 2017, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Local Government in his letter of orientation for the elaboration of municipal budgets reminds all mayors of the need to involve development actors and citizens in the process.
The Union des Communes du Togo (UCT), the umbrella organization of communes in Togo, is committed in this regard to advocate that the legislator introduces the issue of Participatory Budgeting in the law on decentralization in its next review.
Outstanding Innovations
The main innovation in the Participatory Budgeting of municipalities in 2019 is that it goes beyond the investment part and also addresses the revenue mobilization and citizen control aspects of public action. The approach emphasizes methodologies that promote optimal mobilization of the communes’ own revenues and the monitoring of investments made by local governments.
Impacts of COVID-19 Disease on PB
- PB have been suspended: 80%
- PB continued to function normally: 15%
- PB have undergone changes/adaptations: 5%
Main Trends of PB in the Country During the Pandemic
The preparation of the 2019 and 2020 budgets has not been impacted by the pandemic. However, it is the implementation of the 2020 budget and the preparation of the 2021 budget and possibly subsequent budgets (the next budgets) that will be significantly impacted by the pandemic. The first effects are the weak coordination of the actors in the revenue mobilization chain, the drop-in tax and non-tax revenues and consequently the reduction of many investments planned for 2020.
For the 2021 budget, the Participatory Budgeting cycle will not be respected. Indeed, the limitation by national regulations of the number of people per group (50 people maximum) and the distancing measures recommended by the government make certain stages of the Participatory Budgeting inoperative. Therefore, for the preparation of the 2021 initial budget, emphasis will be placed on certain stages of the budget process to make them more participatory. In addition, the citizen’s offices (municipal citizen participation bodies) will be used to enhance participation in budget preparation.
Additional Information
The Decentralization and Local Governance Programme (ProDeGoL), implemented by the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), provides support to municipalities to operationalize mechanisms that promote citizen participation in municipal decision-making processes. These are:
- The Citizen’s Office. This office was provided for article 17 of Act No. 2019-006 amending the Act on Decentralization and Local Freedoms. The Citizens’ Office is a local institution for participation and monitoring of local public action by citizens; It is also a center for listening to and collecting the expectations, concerns and suggestions of citizens in the local community;
- The communal revenue monitoring committees (CCR). These are committees set up by communal decree open to other actors of the commune who participate in the mobilization of the communes’ own revenues;
- The Local Coordination Committee. It is a framework for dialogue and exchange between development actors grouped into four categories: The State (the deconcentrated services of the State), local authorities (the commune), service providers (providers of essential services) and users (citizens). It is a framework that reflects, plans and monitors the provision of essential services in the commune. It makes proposals to the city council, which takes them into account if the relevance is proven. It is both a political and technical governance tool at the mayor’s disposal to support him in the management of the municipality;
- The Neighborhood Development Committee. They are grassroots development actors in the neighborhoods, responsible for disseminating policies, implementing and monitoring the actions of the local executive. They are set up according to an order of the Ministry in charge of grassroots organizations. They are the real actors at the base of the Participatory Budgeting process insofar as the forums in the neighborhoods are organized and run by them with the support of the communal administration.
The various actors and consultation frameworks mentioned above, in addition to the communal administration, the decentralized technical services of the State, the private sector, the traditional chieftaincy, NGOs, associations and the population participate in the Participatory Budgeting process at specific phases so that the contribution of each actor is optimal.
The populations, the traditional chiefs, the private sector with the support of NGOs/associations and committees identify problems and investment needs and make an initial prioritization. This is done through diagnostics during neighborhood forums. The results of these diagnoses are transmitted to the municipal executive.
The consultation frameworks (Local Dialogue and Coordination Committees/Citizen’s Office), which bring together representatives of different stakeholders, make the decision after field surveys to select priority projects and investments. After the Annual Investment Plan, the following steps are ensured:
- The technical services of the State, each in its own right, make available to the municipal administration the necessary data it needs to draw up the budget;
- The municipal administration also gathers the necessary data at its disposal. All the data and information from the various actors are sent to the preparation commission organized by the mayor by decree for the preparation of the budget.
It should be noted that all these different actors are invited and participate in the budget session of the municipal council for the vote regarding the budget. The Prefect representing the State exercises his legality control after the vote of the budget.
