Togo - Trade and Logistics Services Competitiveness Project (English)

Ratings for the Trade and Logistics Services Competitiveness Project for Togo were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also substantial. Some lessons learned included: Maintaining a constant and consistent country dialogue over the years is critical for ramping up investment and strengthening the partnership with client countries. The Project's accomplishment of comprehensive sector reform underscores the benefits of an inclusive participatory process and a strong emphasis on capacity building. From the outset, it was known that the streamlining of road transport service providers sought by the Transport Orientation Law would entail winners and losers. However, the reform process benefited from early and ample consultation with stakeholders, from truck drivers' unions to carriers' associations, and was able to effectively communicate net benefits and build consensus. In addition, the comprehensive skilling program for transport and logistics workers established with project support contributed to a perception by beneficiaries that they were being looked after and will have their chances of replacement increased should they become redundant. Strategies to streamline procurement tasks are recommended in a context of complex activities and limited capacity. Project implementation delays added up due to long approval times for procurement documents and frequent staff turnover. These, however, can be mitigated by developing adequate capacity for all government units involved in procurement. Specific attention to the training of evaluation commissions and supervision engineers (for construction contracts) is recommended if such capacity gaps are identified. In addition, the bundling of several procurement items into one umbrella contract with UNOPS helped expedite the process in the case of the Project but was of limited consequence for building capacity at implementing agencies in the long term.