Togolese Prime Minister, Komi Seloum Klassou, resigned together with his government on Friday, seven months after the re-election of the country’s leader.
Klassou submitted his resignation to President Faure Gnassingbe, who congratulated the cabinet for producing “encouraging results” despite the difficult situation marked by the global pandemic, the presidency said in an emailed statement.
Managing the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak delayed the appointment of a new cabinet, which is now expected to happen within a few weeks at most, a government spokeswoman said in response to questions.
Klassou had been prime minister since June 2015.
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He kept his role after Gnassingbe started a fourth term in office on May 3.
The incumbent’s election victory two months earlier extended his family’s half century-long rule of the West African nation.
The International Monetary Fund expects Togo’s economy to grow by 1% this year, compared with 4.9% in 2019.
The country, which has since rebased its economic data, is forecasting 2020 output of 4.4 trillion CFA francs ($7.8 billion).
Togo has recorded 1,722 virus cases, including 44 deaths, according to data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.