The new authorities seem to have fooled everyone. Sung about everywhere, the “Projet”, which was supposed to be the frame of reference for the ruling Pastef party’s public policies, had no existential content. The drafting phase has now begun, to be completed by October 2024.

The “Project” will be born in the third quarter of 2024. This is the main information contained in the communiqué of the third Council of Ministers of President Diomaye Faye’s era. The Prime Minister revealed this in his communication yesterday, at the weekly meeting of the Executive held at the Presidency. It reads in extenso: “With regard to the drafting of the reference document for economic and social policies, the Project, the Prime Minister affirmed that it will bear the exclusive stamp of Senegalese expertise and will be completed in the third quarter of 2024.” 

Until now, the Pastef party theorized and sold the “Project” as a miracle recipe for developing Senegal, but it was not backed by any economic structure. Yet they have always theorized the existence of a document “ready to be executed” as soon as they came to power. Since April 2, the day Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in, followed by the formation of Sonko’s government, players have been wondering about the content of the “Project” supposed to guide the political and public actions of the new authorities.

Changing the Frame for Public Policies: The « Project » Wipes Out the Pse

Today, it is plausible that the authorities are about to begin the drafting phase of their document, in order to turn it into a benchmark for governance. At the Council of Ministers meeting, Ousmane Sonko announced that a “restricted technical committee will be set up at the Prime Minister’s Office”. He noted that “this body will include the ministries in charge of Planning, Finance, Industry, Food Sovereignty, Employment, Public Sector Transformation and the Office of Organisation and Methods (Bom)”.

Towards the end of September or the beginning of October, we will see the first sketches of the “Project” for the “systemic transformation” of Senegal formulated by the Diomaye-Sonko tandem. The Prime Minister continued that, “At the end of the work the reference framework for the materialization of the vision of Mr. President of the Republic for a sovereign, just and prosperous Senegal through the design of systemic transformation programs and projects, will be submitted to the Head of State for validation before the end of the third quarter of 2024.” In addition, Sonko further continued that, the “first phase of the Project’s multi-year action plan will be included, in the initial 2025 Finance Bill, which will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval, at the beginning of next October.”

Continuity of the Pse ?
Pending the birth of the “Project”, which is now entering the conceptualization, if not to say design phase, the Emerging Senegal Plan (Pse) will continue to be the benchmark for public policy, despite the change of regime. However, on reading the first press release from Sonko’s government, the question no longer arose. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye had “asked the government to accelerate the intensive and coherent realization of the ‘Project’, working with precision, diligence, method and efficiency to the satisfaction of the people and in the best interests of Senegal”. He stressed the need to “define and implement a policy inspired by the ‘Systemic Transformation Project of Senegal’”.

Diomaye Launches the Machine for Audits

The “Project” will focus on youth, education, training, entrepreneurship and employment for young people and women; combating the high cost of living and increasing household purchasing power; modernizing the justice system, protecting human rights, good governance, transparency, accountability and improving our democratic and electoral system; Senegal’s economic sovereignty and prosperity, optimal exploitation of natural resources and sustainable endogenous development of the territories; consolidating national unity and solidarity to strengthen the country’s security, peace and stability.

 President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye had also instructed his Prime Minister to finalize, before the end of April 2024, the government’s action plan, with a precise timetable for achieving the objectives set.

By Bocar SAKHO / bsakho@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH