In 2012, faced with the prospect of an electoral defeat that threatened him, Abdoulaye Wade had warned that if he lost power, he did not guarantee that salaries could be paid within the next two months. And in fact, as soon as he took office, Macky Sall urgently went to France. We learned, from a press release, that French President Sarkozy granted Senegal budgetary aid of nearly 180 million euros to allow, among other things, the payment of salaries.

Another flashback. End of 2023. A few months before the end of his second term, Macky Sall decided to increase salaries in public education, from elementary to higher education. This represents a large envelope of several billion per year.

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At this moment, if we are to believe the announcements made last week by the government, headed by the Prime Minister, the country was already on the verge of bankruptcy. Where did Macky Sall and his ministers find the money to pay all the civil servants each month?

Worse still, or better, these forgers found a way to leave more than 300 billion CFA francs in the state coffers when they left, as indicated in the press release of the Council of Ministers. Something that the BDF regime has not denied. And to show their strength, it is from this data and their balance sheet that the current regime was able to raise more than 450 billion CFA francs in Eurobonds, even if to this day, we do not yet know how it will be used, given that the National Assembly has not had time to vote on a supplementary finance law (Lfr) which should integrate this money into this year’s budget.  Speaking of the budget, we must believe that it will be the fault of this looter Macky Sall if Senegal does not yet know at this moment, what budget its State will have next year. A situation completely unprecedented since Senghor. The problem is that, because of this situation, the Senegalese do not yet know the political and economic orientations that the new regime wants to impose on the country. Until now, we are told about economic sovereignty, without giving us its content.

The most tangible action is the questioning of contracts with foreign companies operating in the mining sector. A minister said that this was to ensure that the country’s interests are better protected and that the people took full advantage of what was constitutionally theirs. We must take note of this desire, and hope that the actions do not turn into a Berezina for the country.

That was almost five years before Woodside announced the release of its first barrel, thus silencing the deadly rumours.

But it is time to go beyond the figures and the debates of public finance specialists. Now that the Prime Minister and his government have announced, before the Court of Auditors, that all the calculations on which the figures for our economic performance are based are falsified, we are impatient to know how they are going to put things right. However, we can estimate, before the announced publication of the famous « Project » next week, that there should not be many problems if they stick to their statements from before coming to power. Didn’t they base their postulate on a self-production economy? President Faye even declared that he wanted to revive an import substitution industry. This is probably why the downgrade of Senegal’s rating doesn’t bother them too much. Nor should they be particularly shocked to see foreign subsidiaries leaving the country. The problem is finding local champions who would take their place. Or even better, who will invest in sectors that are even more advanced than those occupied by foreign operators. A very good idea, but one that can only be judged when it is implemented.

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In this area too, one of the lessons to be learned is that a shoemaker cannot transform himself into a leather goods maker overnight. A linen merchant cannot become a car manufacturer in a fortnight. If we want to promote companies based on the political colouring of their leaders, we will lead the country towards a resounding failure. However, Senegal has no time to waste on trial and error. The promotion of national champions is something very important and cannot be based on the affinities that leaders have with certain so-called “industrial captains”. Everyone knows that in Senegal, there are not really many of them.

The government has had time, since taking office, to realize that pre-election statements do not preserve or nurture political popularity. Senegalese youth in particular are suffering from a malaise that is no longer satisfied with intentions. The army of unemployed people knocking on their doors will not watch for much longer as friends share the state cake with scoundrels whose merit is to have been among the noisiest during the crossing of the desert. The time has passed when one could with impunity blame all the faults on the former team and think one is exonerated of all fault.

The Prime Minister thought that it was enough for him to claim to have found manipulated data to gain months of patience and indulgence for his team. He only forgot that if he was elected, as well as his president, it was for having said that they had a « project already all tied up » and which was only waiting to be implemented. Comparison not being reason, we could nevertheless remind President Diomaye Faye that Macky Sall had to, almost as soon as he came to power, wade through the waters at Sicap Foire or Nord Foire, and in the Catchment Area, and resolve the problem. He did not shirk the responsibility by claiming that it was not “his wintering”. And even afterwards, he did not complain that saboteurs were attacking evacuation works, such as in Keur Massar, for political motives.

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The same is true for basic necessities, rent or electricity prices. Far from wanting to advocate for Macky Sall’s governance, we can say that the first measures of his governance, even if marked by populism, were very effective, and the entire population adhered to them, with the notable difference of building owners, which is completely understandable. Currently, one only has to take a tour of the country’s markets to wonder by what miracle some of our compatriots manage to survive. Similarly, with this return to school which is not that of Benno or Apr, how do parents of large families manage to meet the needs of their children?

Before trying to convince the Senegalese that they and their team hold the keys to the development of this country, the leaders of this country should first, and urgently, think about their fellow citizens. The promises they are preparing to make during this election campaign should be fulfilled as soon as possible.

By Mohamed GUEYE / mgueye@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH / Serigne S. DIAGNE