Senegal’s government said it will on Thursday deliver its promised review of the hard-pressed country’s financial situation, six months after sweeping to power pledging radical change.President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko in March ran on a ticket of social justice, sovereignty and leftist pan-Africanism — raising hopes in the West African nation battling a high cost of living and widespread unemployment.After being sworn in in April, Faye requested that Sonko conduct a thorough review of the country’s financial situation.The government will share the conclusions of the stock-take on Thursday, Sonko’s office said in a statement on social media.The occasion, which is open to the press, will be a chance to discuss identified shortcomings “and the measures to mitigate this inherited situation”, it added.Government action had until recently been hampered by an opposition-dominated parliament.Faye in mid-September dissolved the national assembly and set new legislative elections for November 17, banking on the move to implement his policy agenda.He spoke then of a “serious deterioration” in public finances.- ‘Challenging’ economic prospects -In September, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that Senegal’s economic prospects “remain challenging for the remainder of the year”.After a visit to the West African nation by IMF staff, the fund said it expected the country’s budgetary situation “to deteriorate amid lower revenue collections and increased expenditure on energy subsidies and interest payments”.To lower public debt the IMF urged the Sonko government to implement measures “including streamlining tax exemptions and phasing out untargeted and costly energy subsidies”.Senegal’s national statistics agency in September reported an unemployment rate of 21.6 percent in the second quarter, up three percent on the same period in 2023.A source close to the government told AFP that the aim of Thursday’s review would be to “make Senegal’s baseline situation known” rather than to outline a strategy.The review of the country’s situation was carried out in parallel to the drafting of a new economic reference framework, the statement from Sonko’s office said.The government’s plan titled “Senegal 2050 – National Agenda for Transformation” was “designed to bring about a lasting transformation of the Senegalese economy and build a sovereign, fair and prosperous Senegal”, the statement said.It will be officially launched on October 7, it added.Details of a national development strategy for 2025-2029 also appeared in Wednesday’s newspapers, setting out the broad outlines of a new economic model less dependent on foreign aid.It sets targets for average growth of 6.5 percent over the period as well as to control Senegal’s debt — which has soared in recent years.
