The new president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, inaugurated at the beginning of April after his victory in the first round at the end of March against the candidate of power and Prime Minister Amadou Bâ, had promised during the campaign to fight against the high cost of living in the western country -African, which imports most of its consumption.
The new Senegalese government announced this Thursday, June 13, 2024, measures to lower the prices of everyday consumer products including rice, oil and bread, in response to the high cost of living in the country, during a press conference in Dakar.
These measures were widely expected by the population, regularly cited as being a priority by the media and in discussions on social networks.
With these measures, the price of a kilo of broken rice, the variety most consumed by households, has fallen by 40 FCFA (0.061 euros), that of a liter of imported refined oil by 100 FCFA (0.15 euros). Prices also reduced for a kilo of crystallized sugar by 50 FCFA (0.016 euros) and for a baguette by 15 FCFA (0.023 euros).
These price reductions, which also concern cement and fertilizer, will come into force in the coming days, Secretary General of the Government Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô said at a press conference, without setting a precise date.
Food expenditure represents “50% from the housewife’s basket » (the household budget) in Senegal, said Mr. Lô. He announced a strengthening of controls on traders to enforce the new prices
The new regime has, according to him, “inherited from a particularly stressed public finance situation” upon the departure of President Macky Sall (2012-2024), who did not run again after two terms.
Poverty affects at least one in three Senegalese, with unemployment officially around 20%, persistent inequalities and high inflation.
Vulnerable to external shocks due to structural weaknesses, Senegal has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the fallout from the war in Ukraine, but Bassirou Diomaye Faye wants to put things right.
To lower prices, the government renounces the collection of“ taxes and customs duties » owed by importers, explained the minister responsible for the budget Cheikh Diba.
The announcement of these reductions comes as Senegal has just entered the circle of oil producing countries, with the announcement on Tuesday by the Australian company Woodside Energy of the start of oil extraction on the Sangomar field off the coast of African coasts.
With AFP
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