As part of the national policy to improve the business environment and economic competitiveness in Senegal, the National Order of Public Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance, in partnership with the European Union, continued its awareness campaign economic operators on the management of disputes and other disputes. The last stage of this initiative was held in Kaolack on Saturday June 29.
This meeting, the third of its kind after those in Ziguinchor and Saint-Louis, aimed to promote the dispute resolution structures put in place by the State. The main objective was to pacify the tense relations between economic actors. These campaigns raise awareness among economic operators of the advantages of specialized structures and alternative dispute resolution methods when they encounter disputes.
Structures such as the Observatory for the Quality of Financial Services (OQSF), the local justice centers, the commercial court, the national mediation committee and the Dakar arbitration framework today offer systems of arbitration, mediation and conciliation. Also initiated for the popularization and operationalization of the system, this public meeting aims to combat the reluctance of economic operators to use dispute resolution structures.
Senegal has a legal framework for the settlement of disputes, including commercial disputes. However, the National Order of Public Expenditure and the European Union are seeking to reverse this trend and encourage economic actors to regularly use existing structures.
In addition to traditional legal methods, other opportunities are offered to economic operators. These structures not only provide a free and fast local service, but also manage disputes in complete confidentiality. Over the last two years, the commercial court has ruled on 11,000 cases for a total amount of 269 billion francs, with a success rate of 85%.
The Financial Services Quality Observatory handled 4,500 cases in financial and insurance mediation, achieving a success rate of 80 to 85%. The justice centres, for their part, welcomed more than a million people, helping to recover 1.5 billion in small claims.
