In his first speech as a newly elected head of state, Bassirou Diomaye Faye did not stray from the beaten track. Having undoubtedly taken stock of the situation that he will inherit in ten days’ time, he said that for the Senegalese people, his election represented « the choice of a break with the past to give substance to the immense hope » raised by the social project put forward by the « Project » presented by the movement that brought him to power. In response to the hopes he has nurtured, the new Head of State says he wants to « govern with humility and transparency, and fight corruption at all levels ». He also wants to devote himself « fully to rebuilding our institutions and strengthening the foundations of our community life ».

No doubt unaccustomed to speaking in front of a large number of media microphones and cameras, the President-elect was rather borrowed in his speech and body language. This did not prevent him from clearly expressing his objectives, one of the most important of which was to « significantly reduce the cost of living ». To mention only that. The comments he made can be considered to be the same ones that were developed in his election campaign plan, and which led to his victory on 24 March.

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While we await a more detailed look at the broad outlines of Mr Faye’s « Project » in the near future, we can’t help but compare certain points with those developed by his predecessor, or at least those he sold us. For example, when he talks about rebuilding our institutions, it echoes the Alliance for the Republic’s slogan, « The Fatherland before the Party », which we have seen how Macky Sall put it into practice. On a positive note, however, Diomaye Faye is reported yesterday to have resigned « from all Pastef bodies ». Although he has never been the party’s leader, he has nevertheless been its Secretary General. His stepping aside from the decision-making bodies augurs well for the separation of the party’s decision-making bodies from the machinery of the State. Let him keep his word and empty the financial registers of all political party activists, and even political trade unionists. This would be beneficial for the working atmosphere in these institutions. And it would strengthen « the foundations of our community life ».

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One of the points on which the new President is most eagerly awaited by the majority of the population is reducing the cost of living. For this objective, the « Project » for taking power had shown the following indicators: « We will develop our production capacities and our local products to better meet domestic demand, taking into account the requirements linked to environmental protection;

We will develop, professionalise and modernise local commerce;

We will develop road, rail and maritime infrastructures to facilitate the transport of raw materials and agricultural products, and access to agricultural areas;

We will strengthen the promotion of local consumption and local products by:- Enhancing our culinary identity by revisiting Senegalese recipes and innovating or reinventing our local or African dishes;

– Labelling and producing our local products and protecting them (e.g. Aoc) »…

And to ensure that there will be no tax evasion and to avoid a very large imbalance in the balance of trade, the « Project » provides: « We will develop the industrialisation and local processing of our products for greater export competitiveness by : – Increasing the financial resources allocated to R&D to improve quality and strengthen our competitiveness;

– Implementing a sector-specific industrialisation and support policy for businesses and farms;

– Reinforcing quality and traceability requirements for local products, in particular compliance with international standards.

We are waiting to see how these objectives will move beyond wishful thinking and embrace reality. Since 2007, Senegal has undergone major programmes to combat food insecurity and achieve agricultural self-sufficiency. More than Abdoulaye Wade, who wanted to react to the global food crisis, Macky Sall set himself the goal of achieving self-sufficiency in rice as soon as he came to power.

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He recruited one of the world’s leading specialists in the sector, Dr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, and made him his Minister of Agriculture. He wanted to implement an agricultural programme from the ground up, by providing the Isra with resources and equipping farmers with agricultural equipment. He wanted to combine these ambitions with his leader’s short-term political imperatives. He ended up failing, and the country continues to import even more rice, even though production levels have increased.

This speculation is not the only one to suffer from the vagaries of politics, despite the resources devoted to it. Food horticulture is not faring much better, and housewives who go to the market know best the price fluctuations of carrots, onions and potatoes, not to mention other vegetables. And let’s not forget sugar and tomatoes, which Senegal can produce and export to neighbouring countries, but which are plagued by bad political decisions encouraged by the mercantile interests of some.

If Diomaye Faye wants to reverse the trend that leads to astronomical expenditure and waste of public money, he knows what he has to do. And he knows that he will be up against a large coterie of businessmen, importers and brokers who are well introduced to the world of commerce. His determination to fight corruption must be asserted from the very first moment he takes office, and not be subject to the desire to strengthen his political camp politically and financially.  Macky Sall could tell him some good news. The country has had more than enough of the desire of certain leaders to satisfy the people’s desire for accountability, in order to serve their own interests. So much so that one of the causes of the rejection of Macky Sall’s public policies has been, for many people, his unwillingness to fight corruption and the impunity from which certain people close to his regime seem to have benefited. Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s declaration of reconciliation should not be a sorting-out exercise that will spare some and hit others hard. It should not be a sword of Damocles hanging over certain heads to encourage them to serve the interests of the new leaders.

An effective fight against corruption is essential for a country that wants to start addressing the issue of youth employment. Especially in a context where the State is the main creator of jobs, instead of the private sector.
He is also the main customer for private companies. He cannot play his role by promoting favouritism and nepotism, other forms of corruption. On all these points, the new leader will have a lot to learn from his predecessor, so as not to imitate him. In any case, BDF knows full well that he will not enjoy a period of grace. The exchanges he will have with his predecessor, even during the handover, will teach him even more. It will be up to him to see which of the many promises he has made to the crowds following his caravan are achievable in the very short term, and which will give him enough breathing space to tackle the most important ones.

By Mohamed GUEYE / mgueye@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH