At the Regional Stock Exchange, this Friday, May 17, euphoria can be seen on all faces, the Société National des Télécommunications du Senegal: the historic operator of our country’s networks will distribute 160 billion in dividends on net profit of more than 330 billion in securities for the 2023 financial year.
This is the first market capitalization of the BRVM with a consolidated turnover of more than 1,600 billion FCFA in the five countries where the Senegalese operator carries out its activities, it is the most active stock in Abidjan. Senegal is the second largest economy in UEMOA with 30 billion US dollars in GDP behind Ivory Coast which is approaching 80 billion dollars, but our country bears the flagship title of the economy of our sub-region with the operator telecoms.
Unfortunately, it is just the tree that hides the forest, our presence on the Abidjan stock exchange has not evolved since the IPO of Sonatel in 1998, in the meantime it is true BOA Senegal, the Senegalese subsidiary of banking group is also present at the BRVM.
This is the sad decor of the under-capitalized, unproductive Senegalese productive sector, with finicky management – both public and private – almost marginal compared to the Ivory Coast and even Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso has more companies present at the BRVM than Senegal, fortunately BICIS was bought at the last minute by the Franco-Senegalese group SUNU in the face of the aggressive desire of a Burkinabé tycoon. A last stand to the former President’s credit, no bank, no insurance company, no credit company, even Senelec, SAR, PETROSEN have dared to cross the rubicond, as our companies operate with software from another era, and there is reason to think that it will be like this with the first waves of appointments in public companies or even the choices of certain general directors.
It’s true, we are very afraid of the transparency and rigor imposed by the stock market and financial markets. And yet all the savings in the sub-region are available to enable businesses to finance their development and expansion.
Senegal unfortunately remains a democratic benchmark which continues to incubate poverty with more than 54% of the population living below the social minimum threshold according to World Bank criteria. Our economy creates neither wealth nor added value although we know how to hold elections and alternations. The state remains the major employer with more than 170,000 civil servants, and then you don’t count any Senegalese company with more than 5,000 permanent jobs, even the telecoms operator with its staggering level of turnover.
Our productive structure is structurally poor in human capital and financial capital, combined with the lack of innovation and effective management, this is the bed of poverty which prevents the emergence of a middle class, it is the squaring of the circle.
The Caisse des Dépôts et des Consignations and the Sovereign Fund for Strategic Investment, two public entities for acquiring stakes in Senegalese companies, are so far slow in bringing out true national champions of African stature such as SIFCA or SMB of Ivory Coast.
Petrosen must be recapitalized to the tune of more than 500 billion, SONACOS to the tune of 100 billion, the SAR to the tune of 250 billion, etc. without forgetting our SMEs and SMIs whose annual financing needs amount to more than 700 billion, unfortunately the CDC and FONSIS are fleeing their mission and responsibilities as technical and financial arms of the state for the restructuring and recapitalization of all its public companies, instead these two super – entities prefer the construction of hospitals for the one and the habitat programs for the other in a trial and error and total opacity. It’s a total confusion, it’s the entire economic order of this country that the former regime has distorted and which unfortunately risks continuing or even continuing while 300,000 young people join the job market each year in a country that refuses reforms, or who always postpones them until later if necessary. Our economy has produced neither jobs nor wealth for two or three decades, if you add strong demographic growth, the poverty factory is accelerating.
Where are we with the relaunch of the only MEDIS drug manufacturing unit …………?
Even correct financing of local content in hydrocarbons is problematic when our oil and gas resources in particular can absorb 60,000 workers annually in the exploitation phase, or even more during production peaks in three to five years.
While waiting to know the content and contours of the new promised endogenization of the economy plan, let us at least use the CDC and FONSIS as the spearheads for the benefit of private and public sector companies in Senegal, in Côte d’ Ivory ivory private companies generate 70% of GDP, here at home it is the state and public spending which generate 60% with the major works carried out by foreign companies, at the same time the cause of our over-indebtedness. Imports of everything replace the Senegalese productive fabric, even sugar is partly imported.
If you play with work, poverty will play with you dixit Tchitembo Tchissafou, here is the real debate that is worth…
