GOT PROPOSES 2009 BUDGET

UNCLAS LOME 000680 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV TO SUBJECT: GOT PROPOSES 2009 BUDGET ¶1. Summary. The GOT Council of Ministers adopted a draft of the 2009 budget bill during its weekly meeting on November 5. The budget focuses on priority sectors recommended by the country's interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, completed in April. The proposed budget was sent to the National Assembly for consideration on November 27, giving the parliamentarians almost a month to study its provisions before its mandatory December 31 completion. End Summary. ¶2. The 2009 budget is estimated at 302.9 billion CFA ($605 million) of receipts and 344.7 billion CFA ($689 million) in expenditures, which equals a 41.8 billion CFA ($83 million) deficit. The extra funding is to come from international partners. The 2009 budget shows a 12% increase over last year's proposal, which was for 307.62 billion CFA ($615 million). ¶3. The budget is meant to address poverty reduction goals by targeting social sectors, the promotion of employment, reinforcing the rule of law, assisting development actors and clearing the national debt. The GOT has decided to recruit new employees in the sectors of education, health, and other fields within the civil service. Other measures are meant to fight poverty, corruption, and fraud (although specific measures have not been released). The GOT hopes to address the infrastructure problems in the country, integrate more teachers into the education system, set up a fund to combat youth unemployment, reinforce security and the national tax system, and reduce the tax burden on companies. ¶4. Comment. The GOT has shown itself to be more dedicated to producing a transparent budget this year. In 2008, the National Assembly was given the proposed budget just a few days before the December 31 deadline, giving its members almost no time to consider it. The government's recommendations are in line with widely-publicized goals concerning poverty reduction. As the members of the National Assembly, specifically the opposition, continue to study the GOT's plan, it will be interesting to see if there is any give-and-take on certain provisions, or if the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) decides to use its majority in the parliament (50 seats vs. 31 for the two opposition parties) to adopt the budget exactly as is. End Comment. HAWKINS