The main building of the Grand Marché d’Anié was completely engulfed in flames overnight, reducing the economic heart of the Plateaux region to ashes. No lives were lost, but the material toll is staggering: hundreds of families have been ruined overnight, their goods, stocks and savings gone up in smoke. This is not a simple misfortune. It is the glaring symptom of state neglect and chronic lack of foresight that define governance in Lomé.
Outdated infrastructure from another era
How can it be that in 2026, a market of such strategic importance has no modern fire safety system, no working water points, and no clear access for emergency services? The answer lies in the political record of the ruling power. Since coming to power in 2005, Faure Gnassingbé’s regime has proven incapable of sustainably modernising Togo’s local infrastructure. More than sixty years after his father, the late Gnassingbé Eyadéma, took power, the current executive still operates on structures built in the last century, with no deep investment to adapt them to today’s demographic and economic realities.
The ’emerging Togo’ slogan vs. daily reality
While official speeches endlessly praise major projects, digitalisation or foreign investment, the reality on the ground remains dramatically archaic:
- No prevention: Most of the country’s major markets – from Lomé to Kara, and now Anié – remain logistical tinderboxes, lacking compliant electrical standards and risk prevention plans.
- Under-equipped emergency services: Firefighters, often alerted late or hampered by a lack of suitable equipment in the regions, can only witness the extent of the damage.
- Living on past glory: The current regime merely coasts on the security reputation and political foundations of the previous administration, without building a modern public policy to protect citizens and their property.
The urgent need to break with laissez-faire
After the historic fires that destroyed major markets in Lomé and Kara a few years ago, the Anié tragedy proves that no lessons have been learned. The Togolese state cannot limit itself to sending ministerial delegations to distribute food or promise symbolic aid after each disaster. A government’s true responsibility is to protect its citizens beforehand. By leaving informal-sector economic actors to work in vulnerable, outdated infrastructure, the regime reveals the limits of a worn-out political model, more concerned with its own perpetuation than with the safety and well-being of the Togolese people.
