The main building of Anié’s Grand Market went up in flames overnight, burning to the ground while traders could only watch helplessly. No lives were lost, but the material toll is staggering: hundreds of families lost everything in a matter of hours — their goods, their stock, their savings, all reduced to ash. This is not just another tragedy. It is the turning point that exposes, in the starkest terms yet, a state that has run out of excuses.
A market left defenceless when it mattered most
How is it possible that in 2026, a market of such strategic importance still has no modern fire-safety system, no working water points, and no clear access routes for emergency crews? The answer lies in the political record of those in power.
Since taking office in 2005, Faure Gnassingbé’s government has failed to sustainably modernise Togo’s local infrastructure. More than sixty years after his father, the late Gnassingbé Eyadéma, seized power, the current executive is still operating on structures built in the last century, without any serious investment to bring them in line with today’s demographic and economic realities.
When the ’emerging Togo’ slogan meets the ground reality
Official speeches endlessly praise major construction projects, digital transformation, and foreign investment. Yet on the ground, the situation remains painfully outdated:
- No prevention: Most of the country’s major markets — from Lomé to Kara, and now Anié — are veritable logistical powder kegs, lacking compliant electrical standards and risk-prevention plans.
- Under-equipped emergency services: Firefighters, often alerted too late or held back by a lack of suitable equipment in the regions, can do little more than assess the damage.
- Living on past glories: The current leadership coasts on the security reputation and political foundations of the previous regime, without building a modern public policy to protect citizens and their property.
A decisive break with the status quo is now unavoidable
After the historic fires that destroyed major markets in Lomé and Kara a few years ago, the Anié disaster proves that no lessons were learned. The Togolese state cannot limit itself to sending ministerial delegations to hand out food or promise symbolic aid after every catastrophe.
A government’s true responsibility is to protect its citizens before disaster strikes. By leaving informal-sector workers to operate in vulnerable, outdated infrastructure, the regime reveals the limits of a worn-out political model — one more focused on its own survival than on the safety and well-being of the Togolese people.