The eruption of violence following the verdict against Ousmane Sonko found him abroad, where he was until yesterday. But the president of the main employers’ structure of the country nevertheless held, through an interview carried out on the telephone, to launch an appeal for appeasement, after having shown the consequences of the fever which gripped the country and affected its economy. We have not heard you speak following the difficult events that the country has experienced since June 1st. However, the loss of human lives aside we all see that companies have suffered greatly.

I would first like to offer my sincere condolences and join in prayer all those who lost a relative, friend or loved one.

I would then like to emphasize that the private sector has several times had to alert and make calls for the preservation of social peace in our country. These calls were intended for political and civil society actors as well as for the State. We had invited each other to talk to each other, to listen to each other and to give priority to the best interests of the Nation.

I recall that the message of the private sector has always been apolitical, non-partisan and particularly concerned about the serious economic consequences resulting from the expression of socio-political violence.

I do not know if Senegalese citizens have measured the gravity of what has happened with the particularly high number of deaths and the extent of the destruction of private and public property.

I must say that at the level of the Cnp, our companies have lost hundreds of billions of CFA francs in investments and turnover in one day.

The State decided for a moment to cut internet connections. Has this impacted on business?
Our businesses have been very strongly impacted. Those of the banking sector, oil and gas, telecommunications, distribution were burned and looted. It’s incomprehensible… Without the internet, digital professionals suffer serious harm. The construction sector too. So, let’s be very careful because there are real risks of layoffs, economic layoffs and loss of purchasing power for thousands of workers.

And I emphasize that there has also been the cessation of almost all economic activity, because business leaders had to preserve the safety of workers and their facilities. Our productive sector has been at a standstill for 3 days, even if you have had a timid recovery in a few companies since Monday, concern and uncertainty animates us all.

Do you think that in the long term, these events could tarnish Senegal’s image with investors?
I would first point out that if this violence continues, sectors such as tourism, air transport, as well as the supply chains of several products and services risk suffering a much deeper crisis than that of Covid-19.

In view of the seriousness of the situation, a meeting of the Cnp Executive Board will be held this week and an update will be made on the situation in each sub-sector of activity. In the current socio-political context, we must pay more attention to this sensitivity relating to the securing of private investments and the protection of investors, whether national or foreign.

When this new image of a damaged Senegal from the inside and which can also be disfigured from the outside is broadcast in Senegal, in Africa and around the world, this can only negatively impact the Senegal destination of flows investments and capital. And I remind you that this image is broadcast one month before the date of the Invest in Senegal Forum, and with the approach of the presidential election of 2024.

If we love our Senegal, it is up to us to consolidate our social peace and our political stability, as well as our national union and solidarity.

I also recall that everyone is aware that our Senegal has the advantage of being this exceptional Nation of social peace, political pluralism, socio-cultural diversity and economic performance that many others envy us.

Do we have the right to enter a new socio-political crisis when we are recovering with difficulty from this series of unprecedented exogenous crises: the Covid-19 health pandemic, the rise in world prices of basic necessities, the rising substantial freight costs, the security management of the sub-region, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the Sino-Taiwanese tensions?

What message can you send so that the spirits find serenity?

Everyone knows that we are entering a new era where the world is divided, rebuilt into new blocs, and invites nations to face up to issues of economic sovereignty and national defense, but also of intolerance, hatred of self, discrimination, violence and obscurantism.

And once again, the national private sector nourishes the hope that its call for the preservation of social peace and political stability will be heard, so it is important to mobilize our youth and all our national energies in their diversity around the general interest and to give a sustainable socio-economic future to our Nation. I specify that in this context, concerning the action of the national private sector, we have already taken initiatives to meet the Head of State, all political parties and civil society. Of course, we remain very optimistic.

By Mohamed GUEYE / mgueye@lequotidien.sn