The Alliance for the Republic (APR) disagrees with announcements made ten days ago by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko regarding the country’s budgetary and financial situation. In a statement released yesterday, the APR wrote that « these insinuations, which evoke massive misappropriation of public resources, beyond their clearly unfounded nature, are harmful to the credibility of our institutions that a serious leader had to preserve. »

The party of former President Macky Sall thus speaks of a lack of elegance on the part of the Prime Minister and his collaborators, who « arbitrarily incriminate former ministers in charge of public finances on the basis of a simple provisional report that they have neither seen nor discussed. »

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Clearly distancing itself from the situation presented by the head of government and the ministers who spoke alongside him during their press briefing, « the Apr firmly wishes to contest these crude assertions which demonstrate the incompetence of their authors and their ignorance of the rules governing public finances. » It castigates the fact that the Prime Minister publicly spoke out on the results of a provisional audit report on public finances before the Court of Auditors had even given its opinion on the said report. It is therefore, in their eyes, « unacceptable that judgments are made without waiting for certification by the Court of Auditors, which has a period of three months to validate the conclusions of such a document. »

In its press release, the APR reports the validation by the Court of Auditors of the management covering the period from 2019 to 2021. A period for which there was the vote on the settlement laws by the National Assembly. The APR does not fail to add to this the validation of the 2022 settlement bill and its transmission to the Assembly where it is awaiting examination.

The Alliance for the Republic speaks of « flagrant lack of respect for the administration of the economy and public finances », to assess the latest statements by PM Sonko and company. Not without inviting them to have a posture of prudence, but also to exercise discretion when it comes to carrying out state missions. 

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And the former presidential party concluded: « By believing he was attacking ministers who have accomplished their exalting mission while respecting the integrity of our financial and budgetary system, which is essentially based on transparency and compliance with the standards in force, Mr. Ousmane Sonko has debased the image of Senegal and dishonoured the Republic. He is the one and only person responsible for the downgrade of Senegal’s rating and the dramatic consequences that will follow. »