Togo Plans 43.7% More Project Borrowing as Grants Fall CFA39.1bn

Togo plans to increase borrowing for investment projects by 43.7% while cutting its forecast for project grants by CFA39.1 billion in a revised 2026 budget that still requires parliamentary approval. A detailed breakdown published on 3 November by Togo First shows planned project borrowing rising from CFA220.5 billion to CFA316.9 billion, as grant-financed projects fall from CFA166.9 billion to CFA127.8 billion.

The Council of Ministers approved the draft supplementary finance bill on 22 October, according to the official government communiqué. It proposes reducing the overall 2026 budget from CFA2,751.5 billion to CFA2,744.2 billion, a CFA7.3 billion or 0.3% reduction. The projected deficit is CFA247.6 billion, equivalent to 3.4% of gross domestic product. Cabinet approval is not final enactment: the draft must go to parliament.

The more consequential shift is in how planned investments would be financed. According to Togo First's 3 November account of the budget breakdown, total budget revenue excluding financing operations and special accounts is forecast to decline CFA39.1 billion, from CFA1,615.4 billion to CFA1,576.3 billion. The reported reduction comes from project grants. Tax revenue is projected to remain at CFA1,338.9 billion and non-tax revenue at CFA109.6 billion.

Planned financing resources, a different budget category from ordinary revenue, increase CFA41.1 billion to CFA1,128.5 billion. The government also plans CFA67.4 billion less in securities issuance and CFA12.1 billion more in other borrowing. These changes should not be added together as if they were all fresh public spending: the budget separates revenue, financing, expenditure and debt repayments.

On the spending side, recurrent expenditure is projected to decline CFA11 billion to CFA1,209.2 billion, while capital spending would rise CFA12.9 billion to CFA614.6 billion. The government expects borrowing-funded disbursements for agricultural mechanisation and digital-development projects. It says the grant-funded reductions reflect disbursements deferred to 2027 as projects progress, not cancelled projects. That explanation remains a government account rather than independently verified project-level completion evidence.

The cabinet attributed the revision to higher hydrocarbon costs, international economic uncertainty, counterterrorism financing needs and the effort to sustain development programmes. Those stated purposes do not establish how much has actually been borrowed, disbursed or spent. The next public records to examine are the submitted bill and its annexes, the parliamentary amendments, grant agreements, loan terms and subsequent budget-execution statements. They would show whether the proposed financing shift became law and how it affected specific projects.