Sonko has embarked on a form of generalized audit of Macky’s last quinquennium. After freezing construction on the coast for two months, the Prime Minister announced a review of mining, oil and fisheries agreements, and above all a review of public finances from January 2019 to March 2024. A new exercise for the Faye regime, caught up in the urgency of its electoral promises. 

Is Ousmane Sonko’s plan to overhaul everything? At the Council of Ministers meeting, the Prime Minister referred to “the diligence required to review certain agreements, notably in the mining, oil and fisheries sectors”. But the most important thing is obviously the review of public finances over the period from January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2024. Is this an audit of Macky Sall’s management? Of course, because the period in question corresponds exactly to the second term of office of the former President, who handed over the reins to Bassirou Diomaye Faye on April 2, 2024. It should be noted that the National Assembly has adopted the law of regulations for previous years and given its discharge to the government. As did the Court of Audits, which also approved the various fiscal years.

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Sonko, who has decided to go back a long way to delve into the management of public finances, would appear to be looking for a needle in a haystack. By way of illustration, the State budget rose from 4071.8 billion in 2019 to 7003.6 billion in 2024. There are the major State projects financed to the tune of… billions as part of the Senegal Emerging Plan, which continues to be the new regime’s frame of reference until the drafting of the Project is completed by the end of August.

Since their installation, the Faye-Sonko tandem has been engaged in a search for the alleged profligacy of the former regime. From the onset, the new authorities have been attempting to update the general map of the State, particularly in the land sector. In his communication to the Council, the Prime Minister “returned to government priorities: in this respect, he gave the ministers concerned guidelines for reducing the State’s cost of living, including the steps to be taken to recover its land and buildings assets sold to private individuals under irregular conditions, while administrative departments resort to leasing”.

In its Tuesday edition, Le Quotidien revealed that the Prime Minister, in the same vein as the two-month freezing construction on the public maritime domain, also asked the former director of the National Company for the Management and Operations of the built heritage of the State (Sogepa Sn) to draw up an inventory of the State’s real estate assets in the city of Dakar. Yaya Abdoul Kane, who was replaced last week by Elimane Pouye, drew up a memorandum detailing the justification for the “program to develop the State’s built heritage”, as well as the legal basis used to grant leases, the architectural consistency of the development projects and details of the projects for each building covered by the leases. Sogepa showed that it has signed leases with private companies, none of which would exceed 99 years, and some of which are no longer than 50 years. Whereas, according to Yaya Abdoul Kane, the law allows for leases of up to 150 years.

It “has granted, on behalf of and in the name of the State, twenty (20) leases approved by decree between December 18, 2019 and March 18, 2024, of which nineteen (19) constitute development projects involving the demolition of existing buildings and the construction or renovation of new buildings”.  And, 15 of the projects with a total investment of over 200 billion francs, will add around 70,000 m2 of new, modern office spaces, corresponding to a rental potential of 8.4 billion francs a year.

By Bocar SAKHO / bsakho@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH