Budget Transparency: More Efforts Needed in Togo
The Open Budget Survey (OBS), 2025 edition, published by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), which covers 33 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, reveals that, despite budgetary and governance challenges, the African region has made modest progress in terms of accountability—progress that can be strengthened to bolster public trust.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, rising debt and fiscal pressures are reshaping budget priorities. Only slightly more than one-third of countries provide all key figures on net new borrowing, total outstanding debt, and interest payments in their draft budgets.
Regional participation has shown steady improvement since 2023, rising by 2 percentage points. Citizen budgets are now published online in 82% of countries, although only 58% of them do so within the required timeframe.
55% of countries provide information on policies targeting underserved populations, reflecting growing but uneven efforts to make budgets more inclusive.
Transparency has stagnated, even as disparities in countries’ scores persist. In the 2025 OBS, scores for transparency and oversight were average, while the score for participation improved slightly but remained the lowest.
Although nearly all legislative committees review the budget, most of them do not publish reports on their work.
Although Togo’s score improved slightly in the 2025 Edition, the government must step up efforts to improve budget transparency, a true pillar of sustainable development. Indeed, in the Transparency Pillar of the 2025 OBS, Togo scored 36/100 compared to 17/100 in 2023; this score remains at 6/100 in 2025 in the Public Participation Pillar, just as it was in 2023; in budget oversight (legislature + Court of Auditors), this score has declined to 30/100 compared to 37/100 in 2023.
Recommendations
Togo's Assemblée Nationale provides limited oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and no oversight during the implementation stage. To improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:
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The legislature should restore the practice of debating budget policy before the Executive's Budget Proposal is tabled and approving recommendations for the upcoming budget.
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The Executive’s Budget Proposal should be submitted to legislators at least two months before the start of the budget year.
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Legislative committees should examine the Executive’s Budget Proposal and publish reports with their analysis online.
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A legislative committee should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.
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In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds specified in the Enacted Budget between administrative units; spends any unanticipated revenue; or reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls during the budget year.
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A legislative committee should examine the Audit Report and publish a report with their findings online.
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To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by the Togo Cour des Comptes, the following actions are recommended:
a) To further strengthen the Togolese checks and balances system, legislative or judicial approval should be required to appoint and remove the head of the Cour des Comptes.
b) Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency, such as a peer SAI or an international organization, on an annual basis, and that the results of these reviews are publicly disclosed online in a timely manner.