by Pascal Dotchevi, Togo, 5 May 1997
THEME = SOCIAL CONDIT.
Since the beginning of the year, basic food prices have kept on rising. It all started with the 1997 Budget, when the Prime Minister called for a uniform Valued Added Tax (VAT). Originally VAT was levied at 7% on basic foods and at 18% on other items. Since the 1997 budget, voted in by the National Assembly, there is only one VAT charged - levied at 18%.
Prices immediately shot up. For example, a small 5 kg bag of rice, which used to cost 2,800 CFA francs, now costs 5,000 CFA francs. Sugar, oil, etc have followed suit. Six days after the VAT rise, the Minister of Trade announced a rise in the price of oil products. Motorcycle petrol went from 220 CFA francs a litre to 330 CFA francs. The rise in VAT, forced the taxi drivers to increase their charges by 25%.
Workers were still digesting all this, when another price increase caught them off-balance. A joint announcement from the Minister of State-owned Companies, the Minister of Supplies and the Minister-of-State in charge of the Economy, announced the following increases in water rates: 1) The industrial sector; for consumption between 1 and 10 cubic meters per month, the rates have risen from 155 CFA per cubic metre to 165 CFA per cubic metre; 2) The intermediate sector; for consumption from 11 to 30 cubic metres per month, the rates have risen from 250 CFA to 310 CFA per cubic metre. And there's worse to come. In a few weeks, water at public fountains will no longer be free, but will have to be paid for.
Faced with this never-ending round of price-increases, the Congress of Independent Trade Unions (UNSIT) has reacted vigorously. The Congress issued a communique in which it: "urgently requests the government to revise salary scales, and to do something about decreasing its expenditure rate". UNSIT also appealed to the government, in the name of Togo's sovereignty, "to refuse to apply structural adjustment and other inflationary policies, which so often result in the deterioration of living standards and the population's misery".
For a long time, Togo was the only country not to readjust workers' salaries, in order to compensate for the January 1992 CFA devaluation. Togolese state employees, especially teachers, are reduced to virtual mendicancy. They are supposed to be paid at the end of each month, but these "ends of the month" are getting longer and longer, with "months" sometimes lasting up to 63 days, and never a salary in sight! It's always the same old story: "The State has no money"! Yet, at the same time, the State organises meetings costing millions.
Within the space of a few weeks, Togo stole the show from all other African countries when it came to holding major conferences and impressive displays. First of all, there were military exercises, held between France, Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo, ending up in a blaze of glory, with a gigantic march-pass in Atakpame, 180 kms north of Lome. According to the organisers, total expenses came to 700 million CFA francs with France contributing just 30% towards expenses.
Then came the Extraordinary OAU Summit on Zaire (26-27 March) held in Lome. This cost Togo nearly a billion CFA francs, with again, only a 30% contribution from France. A few days later, the International Council for military sports had its 52nd General Assembly in Lome (1-14 April). The Treasury had to fork out hundreds of millions of CFA francs to cover costs.
The ordinary citizen has great difficulty in reconciling the idea of the State having no money, yet at the same time indulging in activities which do not bring any profit to the citizens. Arrears in salaries plus drastic price-increases, foster anti-government feelings among workers. Prime Minister Kwassi Klutsi comes in for a great deal of stick. He is continually challenged to keep to his commitments for reviving the economy, commitments promised when the budget was voted in by the National Assembly last December.
A college teacher who said he had to wait three months before being paid, is especially bitter: "We don't trust politicians any longer. They make promises but fail to honour them". Prime Minister Klutsi has the doubtful honour of coming first in the number of official journey's made during a first year in office - with no significant benefits to the country. Carrying on like this, will he ever succeed in convincing workers that he really wants to improve their lot?
They're boiling with resentment! Already, secondary and tertiary level teachers have been on strike for some days. Trade Union representatives met with the Prime Minister on the eve of 1 May, and he promised to solve the country's problems "very shortly". A Member of Parliament has stated: "The present budget which is going to depend on support from the Bretton Wood Institutions, is completely unrealistic". Looking at the government's difficulties in making ends meet, we can echo: "Hear, hear"!
In any case, we've yet to see the colour of the money promised by the Bretton Woods Institutions.
END