Three ratification bills were adopted unanimously by the deputies on May 8, 2023. The first regulates the pharmaceutical sector, the second concerns the status of the Mono River and the creation of the Mono Basin Authority and the third relates to the development of the mining sector.
It was during the fourth plenary session of the first ordinary session of the year under the chairmanship of Mrs. Yawa Djigbodi Tsègan, President of the National Assembly in the presence of Christian Eninam Trimua, Minister of Human Rights, training in citizenship and relations with the institutions of the Republic, Professor Moustafa Mijiyawa, Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Access to Care, Bolidja Tiem, Minister of Water and village hydraulics and Mawunyo Mila Aziable, minister delegated to the President of the Republic in charge of energy and mines.
The first bill passed by MPs authorizes the ratification of the treaty establishing the African Medicines Agency, adopted in Addis Ababa on February 11, 2019. The firm will to guarantee good health to the African population depends on accessible, safe, effective and quality medical products. But the finding is the circulation of substandard and falsified medical products in many member states of the African Union, including Togo.
This situation mainly due to weak regulatory systems poses a major risk to public health and undermines trust in health care delivery systems. Aware of this fact, the Member States of the African Union decide to ensure efficient and effective protection of public health against the risks associated with the use of questionable drugs by proceeding with the creation of the African medication.
A myriad of noble objectives are attached to it, among others, the creation of an effective and efficient regulatory framework to increase the resilience of health systems, the realization of economies of scale for continental production and the facilitation of a continental scale against urgent and major crises. Ratification of this treaty by the National Assembly will strengthen Togo’s pharmaceutical policy and will undeniably help combat drugs of dubious quality.
Regarding the second bill, it authorizes the ratification of the Convention on the status of the Mono River and the creation of the Mono Basin Authority, “ABM” signed on December 30, 2014 in Cotonou.
The continuous degradation of the natural resources of the Mono basin, in particular its water resources, its negative consequences on the populations, the ecosystems and the environment, likely to compromise the sustainable management of the basin has enabled the Heads of State of Togo and Benin to use a convention called the “ABM Convention”, a sizeable response that reaffirms the right to water.
This convention aims to be a legal and institutional framework for the transboundary management of enormous water resources. For Togo and Benin, it is a question of setting up a real common management of the water resources of the Mono River basin, which are essential for agro-pastoral activities, drinking water supply, industry, hydroelectricity as well as for the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.
The ratification of the “ABM Convention” will allow Togo to further reaffirm its commitment to the promotion of the sustainable management of water resources in the Mono basin. In addition, it contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the field of water. It will then facilitate the development of rational and concerted solutions to the problems related to the management of the natural resources of the Mono basin between the communities on the one hand, and the two States on the other hand. Also, it will contribute to the prevention or reduction of conflicts between the two neighboring countries.
The third project authorizes the ratification of the statutes of the African Center for Mineral Development, adopted on January 31, 2016, in Addis Ababa.
Very rich in mineral resources, African countries hardly benefit from the benefits of the development of these resources.
To do this, African leaders have taken it upon themselves to address this weakness, through the adoption of the African Mining Vision and the establishment of the African Minerals Development Centre.
One of the main objectives of this Center is to ensure that Africa’s interests and concerns in this lucrative sector are properly defined and internalized across the continent for the benefit and prosperity of all.
This Center also aims to contribute to the promotion of a highly skilled mining sector that offers more economic and social benefits due to high levels of productivity.
The ratification of the statutes of the African Center for Mining Development will enable Togo to benefit from the assistance of the Center in the implementation of mining reforms, as well as qualified human resources for the deepening of mining research.
The ministers and government representatives appreciated the quality of the report and the relevance of the questions from the deputies which were the subject of discussions. For the ministers, this demonstrates beyond measure that the National Representation, sensitive to the major and thorny issues of the day, is determined to play its part alongside a responsible government concerned with the future of its populations.
The President of the National Assembly, Mrs. Yawa Djigbodi Tsègan, expressed her gratitude to her fellow deputies and noted with a great note of hope the positive effects of the vote on these three laws on socio-economic development, particularly in the sector of health, water and mines.