Togo made a donation of 1.5 million dollars (approximately 1 billion FCFA) to show its support and solidarity following the earthquakes that struck the country in early February 2023. It is the Turkish Embassy in Lomé that made the announcement on his Twitter account on March 30.
Many had even believed in an anticipated “April Fool’s Day”, but the information had turned out to be true and verified. The kingdom of Gnassingbé thus joins the chain of international solidarity that has formed around Turkey, the victim of violent earthquakes. This Togo envelope, according to the Turkish chancellery, is intended to heal the wounds of this country, which has recorded more than 50,000 deaths, following the series of earthquakes that the country has experienced.
The country of Pépé Ado was the first to break the bank to gift Turkey, mid-March, 618 million FCFA. Togo, less rich than Côte d’Ivoire, carried the envelope a little high, ie 900 million FCFA.
In this regard, the envelope offered by Togo, a poor country heavily indebted and underdeveloped to a rich country, divides opinion. Some think that this money might have been useful to the Togolese with the construction of photovoltaic boreholes in several localities of the country where the populations do not have access to drinking water.
“We can bring solidarity through logistical support, but taking 900 million FCFA from the fund when many compatriots have no drinking water or roads, even less health facilities, is heresy,” said another.
“This donation has no reason to exist while we lack everything in this country. What hurts more is that it is only a symbolic gesture on the part of Togo, since for Turkey, this amount is very insignificant”, another speaker embraced.
But these opinions are not shared by other compatriots who believe that it is the gesture that counts: “No one is too poor to give and no one is too rich to accept a donation. It’s the gesture that counts, ”wrote a user. “Beyond the amount which remains symbolic given the damage, it is the gesture within the framework of a dynamic diplomacy of Togo whose repercussions for Togo will go beyond this money”, added another.
Be that as it may, as this other speaker asserts, these 900 million, even if Togo did not give them to Turkey, they will never fall on the plates of the Togolese, So it is better to put on a good face outside…
Source: Liberté N°3803 of Monday April 03, 2023
Original title: Türkiye: Togo makes its heart speak
