Latest news with #Bassirou Diomaye Faye
France 24
01-08-2025
- Business
- France 24
Senegal PM unveils economic recovery plan based on domestic resources
The west African country faces a deteriorating economy, marked by a 14-percent budget deficit and outstanding public debt that represents 119 percent of GDP, said Senegal Economy Minister Abdourahmane Sarr. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko declared that under the new economic plan "90 percent of resources are expected to come from the mobilisation of internal resources and without external debt". The declaration received strong applause at the Grand Theatre de Dakar, where it was revealed in a ceremony before members of the government, including President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Faye took power more than a year ago promising economic and political sovereignty, including putting an end to economic dependence on foreign countries, notably former colonial ruler France. Sonko, a political mentor to Faye, was ineligible to run in the March 2024 election, pushing his mentee to the forefront instead. Together, the pair have presented themselves as left-wing pan-Africanists. Faye and Sonko claim to have inherited a heavy burden from their predecessor, president Macky Sall, whom they accuse of having presided over widespread financial mismanagement since he assumed power in 2012. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team that visited Senegal in March confirmed that officials had made false statements regarding budget deficits and public debt for the period 2019–2023. It said the 2023 budget deficit was 12.3 percent of GDP, when the last government said it was 4.9 percent. Sonko said that the new economic plan "reflects the strong commitment of reinforcing our country's sovereignty". The plan includes a reduction in government expenditures and increased taxation in the digital, land and mining sectors. It will focus on three main areas: reduction of public debt, mobilisation of domestic resources and additional internal financing that does not create debt. The proposal comes as the unemployment rate is estimated at 20 percent, while poverty affects 36 percent of the population, according to Sarr, the economy minister. The new economic plan was unveiled ahead of an IMF mission to Senegal expected later this month. The fund suspended planned disbursements to Senegal as it waits on the current government to take corrective measures following the previous misrepresentations. In unveiling the new plan, Sonko said it was based on principles including "respect for Senegal's international commitments", particularly debt repayment. But "we want to reverse this legacy situation without worsening public debt and without selling off our natural and land resources", he said. He added that the plan would be implemented "without imposing excessive additional taxes on investors, to the detriment of our country's attractiveness".
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senegal PM unveils economic recovery plan based on domestic resources
Senegal's prime minster unveiled an economic recovery plan for the highly indebted nation on Friday, focused on reviving its economy with a shift towards greater domestic funding. The west African country faces a deteriorating economy, marked by a 14-percent budget deficit and outstanding public debt that represents 119 percent of GDP, said Senegal Economy Minister Abdourahmane Sarr. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko declared that under the new economic plan "90 percent of resources are expected to come from the mobilisation of internal resources and without external debt". The declaration received strong applause at the Grand Theatre de Dakar, where it was revealed in a ceremony before members of the government, including President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Faye took power more than a year ago promising economic and political sovereignty, including putting an end to economic dependence on foreign countries, notably former colonial ruler France. Sonko, a political mentor to Faye, was ineligible to run in the March 2024 election, pushing his mentee to the forefront instead. Together, the pair have presented themselves as left-wing pan-Africanists. Faye and Sonko claim to have inherited a heavy burden from their predecessor, president Macky Sall, whom they accuse of having presided over widespread financial mismanagement since he assumed power in 2012. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team that visited Senegal in March confirmed that officials had made false statements regarding budget deficits and public debt for the period 2019–2023. It said the 2023 budget deficit was 12.3 percent of GDP, when the last government said it was 4.9 percent. Sonko said that the new economic plan "reflects the strong commitment of reinforcing our country's sovereignty". The plan includes a reduction in government expenditures and increased taxation in the digital, land and mining sectors. It will focus on three main areas: reduction of public debt, mobilisation of domestic resources and additional internal financing that does not create debt. The proposal comes as the unemployment rate is estimated at 20 percent, while poverty affects 36 percent of the population, according to Sarr, the economy minister. The new economic plan was unveiled ahead of an IMF mission to Senegal expected later this month. The fund suspended planned disbursements to Senegal as it waits on the current government to take corrective measures following the previous misrepresentations. In unveiling the new plan, Sonko said it was based on principles including "respect for Senegal's international commitments", particularly debt repayment. But "we want to reverse this legacy situation without worsening public debt and without selling off our natural and land resources", he said. He added that the plan would be implemented "without imposing excessive additional taxes on investors, to the detriment of our country's attractiveness". mrb-lp/bfm/kjm Sign in to access your portfolio
Malay Mail
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
‘Too good': Senegal's mystics draw crowds with eerie prophecies at annual Xooy ritual
SENEGAL, July 31 — The crowd sat rapt as Senegalese master fortune-teller Adama Gackou entered a trance to predict what the future holds for the west African country. Dead silence reigned as Gackou, his face dimly lit up in the late-night shadows, foretold a tumultuous year of violent protest while swaying back and forth. Then the tension lifted as the young mystic proclaimed a bumper harvest season to come, prompting a jubilant audience to break out into frenetic dance. Bedecked in talismans, a large ox horn hanging from his chest, Gackou was just one of around 20 traditional fortune-tellers, known as 'Saltigues' in Senegal, delivering their predictions during the annual ritual. Several delegations from across the country had travelled to the Fatick region for the weekend's 'Xooy' ceremony, a tradition rooted in ancient African spirituality held ahead of the country's rainy season. From traffic accidents and natural disasters to celebrity deaths and even society gossip, no subject is off-limits for the Saltigues' incantations. His voice booming, Gackou warned of tensions at the top between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected in 2024, and his Prime Minister and former mentor Ousmane Sonko. 'If they do not make the necessary sacrifices, they each risk going their separate ways by the 2029 presidential election,' the mystic thundered. Besides their predictions of the future, the Saltigues can likewise recommend what sacrifice must be made to avoid those catastrophes. The High Priest, known as Saltigue in Serer, Adama Gackou gets ready ahead of a Xooy (call) divination ceremony in Fatick, on July 26, 2025. — AFP pic Confidants of kings The Xooy is primarily practised by the Serer ethnic group, though the Lebous people of the capital Dakar are also known to take part. As an ancestral tradition transcending faiths, the ceremony is a keenly awaited event in Senegal. According to the Saltigues, when the kings of the pre-colonisation Kingdom of Sine prepared for war, they would always consult the soothsayers before committing themselves to battle. Though society may have changed, many Senegalese continue to believe in the supernatural and the Saltigues' prophesies. While admitting that many others do not, clairvoyant Abdoulaye Ndiaye insisted the Saltigues had warned the authorities to make offerings to prevent the sinking of the Le Joola ferry in 2002, which killed nearly 1,900 people. A scarlet bonnet embellished with sea snail shells on his head, Ndiaye even insisted that his fellow mystics had predicted the Covid-19 pandemic. As the tom-tom drums pounded, the mystics within the circle put on a show, each clad in distinctive charms decorated with mirrors, mummified bird heads or small white seashells. Some stomped their chests to the beat, while others faced off against their fellow Saltigues in a magic-measuring contest. A high priestess, known as Saltigue in Serer, delivers her predictions during a Xooy (call) divination ceremony in Fatick, on July 27, 2025. — AFP pic 'Too good' As Saturday turned into Sunday the Xooy dragged on, with the vigil lasting until the afternoon. Gackou appeared to be the hot ticket of the 2025 edition, the audience's eyes firmly fixed on him as he made offhand quips and snide remarks about his fellow mystics. He told AFP he drew his predictive prowess from 'djinns', genies who read the future for him. 'He's too good. Everything he foresees comes to pass,' said Amath Ndiaye, a young spectator from a village a few kilometres away. Amath's mystic namesake, Abdoulaye Ndiaye, explained that there were many ways to join the soothsayers' ranks. Some claim they were born clairvoyant or inherited the know-how from their parents. For others, Ndiaye said, it took years of hard toil before the elders passed on the secret of reading the water, the wind, fires and seashells for clues as to what will come. Many Saltigues also practise traditional African medicine. El Hadji Malick Ngom, chief of the Saltigues of Dakar's Lebous people, claimed the spirits helped the mystics diagnose diseases and prepare plant-based potions to cure them. Yet he lamented that this native know-how was 'very endangered' as the younger generations increasingly turn their backs on the tradition. — AFP
