How to sort out the truth from falsehood? The Minister for Water and Sanitation, who is facing terrible accusations of alleged corruption, is still keeping silent while Cheikh Dieng continues to make revelations about the management of Onas contracts. Should Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, who has built his reputation on respect for the principles of good governance and accountability, resign?

Cheikh Tidiane Dièye is caught up in a nauseating controversy that resembles the stench of the gutters. Accused of corruption by Cheikh Dieng, the former director of the National Sanitation Office, who was sacked after three months in office, the Minister for Water and Sanitation finds himself in a controversy that should bring him back to his former principles. What will he do? For the President of the Senegaal bu niou beug platform, who is committed to reforming the way things are done in order to give them an ethical content, this is a time for questioning.

ONAS – Accusations and counter accusations: A debate in the sewers

In the solitude of his office, he has to ask himself a simple question: ‘Should I resign?’ A simple question, but one that could not be more pertinent. For a man whose career has been one of promoting good governance and professional ethics, these infamous accusations are a serious challenge to his image, built on a foundation of rigour and transparency within civil society before he entered the political arena.  In recent days, calls for his resignation have multiplied following the announcements made by Cheikh Dieng, who has decided to restore his image through this battle against his former minister. For the time being, Mr Dièye has remained silent, leaving it to Onas to establish the ‘truth’ about the acquisition of a company vehicle by its former Director General. However, this vehicle affair is of secondary importance, as it can no longer conceal the more serious matter of direct agreement contracts, with a whiff of alleged corruption.

Cheikh Tidiane Dièye faces himself

At the highest level of government, President Faye and Prime Minister Sonko, who dismissed Cheikh Dieng, no doubt thought that there would be no controversy surrounding this affair. In the end, it has become a hot topic for the new authorities, who have theorised Jub, Jubal, Jubanti to restore a ‘country in ruins’, as Ousmane Sonko trivially argued on Arbor Day. Will they cut to the quick? Will they continue to place their trust in their ally, who withdrew his candidacy for the presidency just a few days before the ballot to ensure Diomaye’s triumph? In coalition with Sonko for several years, Cheikh Tidiane Dièye is a heavyweight in the Diomaye Président coalition, a staunch defender of the former mayor of Ziguinchor at the time of his legal troubles, and a fierce opponent of the Sall regime.

Termination of Acwa Power contract: Scramble on the Dakar-Riyadh line

Despite these internal political considerations within the coalition, the current situation is rapidly becoming untenable for a regime called upon to clear up this affair as best it can. A pebble in the shoe of the Head of State who is trying to resolve the crisis with Riyadh after the unilateral breach of contract with Acwa Power, in which Cheikh Tidiane Dièye was one of the protagonists.

The Mamadou Seck lesson

So far, Mamadou Seck is the only person to have resigned from a ministerial post following revelations of alleged misappropriation of public funds. Appointed Minister of Finance and Economy by Abdoulaye Wade, the former mayor of Mbao threw in the towel to put the government at ease and take time to restore his reputation. He was cleared by the courts before returning to government with an unblemished reputation, refusing to allow his career to be tainted by such accusations. He ended his political career as President of the National Assembly. Will he inspire Cheikh Tidiane Dièye? It is rather ironic, given Dièye’s career, that he should be asked to perform an act that should be commonplace at his level.

The problem is that the accumulation of accusations and revelations has not forced him to break his silence. For someone whom the Senegalese have known to be more prolix and dynamic, this is already revealing. If he feels uncomfortable about this affair, why doesn’t he put his comrades and allies Sonko and Diomaye at ease by calling for a judicial enquiry into the matter?

If he doesn’t know how to proceed, he could ask Ousmane Sonko, an expert in his time in judicial matters.

By Bocar SAKHO / bsakho@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH