The presence of the Head of State in Thiès symbolizes his particular attachment to the promotion of our historical and cultural heritage so necessary for the preservation of an assumed national narrative which takes into account our centuries-old traditional values, based on a culture of memory and the celebration of our national heroes in all areas. Therefore, he asked the Prime Minister, the Minister of Local Authorities, the Minister of Culture and the Secretary of State in charge of Culture, to work with the Local Authorities with a view to bringing the naming of our streets into line , avenues, boulevards and public buildings with historical facts and national heroes who have unanimously marked the life of our country.
The President of the Republic also stressed the importance of popularizing and teaching the general history of Senegal. In this regard, he asked the Prime Minister to evaluate and relaunch the project of scientific rewriting of the general history of Senegal, to rehabilitate and promote the historical heritage of our communes and cities. In this spirit, he indicated to the Minister in charge of Culture and the Secretary of State in charge of historical heritage, the need to work on the rehabilitation of the heritage of the islands, in particular Gorée and Carabane in close collaboration with the municipal authorities and the populations. He also invited the Prime Minister to initiate reflection on the creation of a National Council for the Memory and Management of Historical Heritage in order to make the preservation of our history a major factor in economic development, social and cultural of Senegal.
Addressing the issue of urban planning, architecture, housing and housing promotion policy, the Head of State indicated that the materialization of Vision Senegal 2050 reveals the urgency of accelerating development of the territory, the development of our regions as well as the modernization of our municipalities and cities from the Poles. He asked the Minister of Urban Planning, Territorial Communities and Territorial Planning to ensure the updating and/or generalization of urban master plans in all municipalities and cities in Senegal. This imperative planning exercise is fundamental for controlling urban development and accelerating the coherence and rigor of the developments in the implementation of the housing policy and the promotion of social housing in particular. In this wake, he instructed the Minister of Urban Planning, Territorial Communities and Territorial Planning to ensure the strict application of harmonized architectural rules in each commune and city in Senegal. In this regard, he invited the Government to work with the Order of Architects to propose a new legal and regulatory framework for the implementation of Senegal’s new architecture policy. With a view to a dynamic overhaul of town planning, construction and housing policy, the President of the Republic has urged the Government to continue its efforts to promote construction to standards for housing, buildings and buildings with:
– the rigorous application of town planning, construction, sanitation and environmental codes mainly;
– control of coastal developments and occupations;
– the contribution of the National Reference Laboratory for Buildings and Public Works which ensures the approval of materials and products used in the construction sector and guarantees the quality and conformity of constructions. ;
– the integration of a requirement for landscaping and green spaces in neighborhoods and homes;
– initial and continuing professional training for construction workers in specialized schools and institutes.
Furthermore, the Head of State indicated the urgency of accelerating the national deployment of programs to promote social housing. To this end, he asked the Prime Minister to relaunch social housing construction programs in suitable areas supported by subdivisions, development plans and occupancy titles officially validated after ongoing land and real estate audits. The Government will also have to propose sustainable solutions to accelerate the promotion of decent housing through the design of consensual restructuring and urban renovation plans and work to modernize housing in rural areas. He invited the Prime Minister and the Government to make decent housing a national cause from the year 2025. The Minister of Urban Planning and the Secretary of State for Housing will provide a monthly update in the Council of Ministers on the implementation implementation of housing policy.
In this spirit, he asked the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Urban Planning to set, for the next three (3) years, the mission letter and the intervention framework of the Land Development and Restructuring Company urban (SAFRU), entity which must have land and financial resources adapted to a viable economic model. Furthermore, it is appropriate to evaluate the Guarantee Fund for Housing Access (FOCALOG) and the application of the orientation law n° 2016-31 of November 8, 2016 on social housing with the system of the Fund for Social Housing (FHS).
The Government will also work to revive urban centers and concerted development zones to facilitate access to land and real estate ownership with the assistance of banks and financial institutions (CDC in particular, etc.). In this momentum, paramount importance will be given to the priority development of the urban center of Diamniadio and Lac Rose which are beginning to host world-class hotel infrastructure.
In view of the rise in power of the tourism sector, the President of the Republic asked the Prime Minister, the Minister in charge of Local Authorities and the Minister in charge of Tourism to ensure the control of urban development in tourist areas of Senegal .
In his communication, the Prime Minister informed the Council that by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution, in particular its article 84, the President of the Republic has referred the matter to the National Assembly for the holding of his General Policy Declaration (DPG ), on Friday December 27, 2024, in accordance with the provisions of Article 55 of the Constitution.
Addressing the preparation of the legislative agenda for the year 2025, the Prime Minister indicated that the related draft texts must be in line with the new Public Policy Framework Vision Senegal 2050. He also underlined the requirement for each ministry to develop and transmit to the General Secretariat of the Government its legislative agenda for the first half of 2025, no later than mid-January 2025. In this regard, he asked the Ministers to ensure, after a strict review of the draft texts developed before April 2024, to clearly identify the texts with a strategic vocation and those with an operational vocation, in order to anticipate the complexity and development deadlines as well as the order of priority. In addition, the major direction of rationalization of public resources must be taken into account.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister noted the particular attention to be paid to the restructuring of public and parapublic companies in serious difficulty to guarantee the continuity of public service. He thus asked the Minister Secretary General of the Government to resume the work of the Interministerial Committee for Monitoring and Restructuring of public and parapublic enterprises and instructed the Minister of Finance and Budget to take the necessary measures for the effective implementation of the Recovery Fund for the restructuring of the said companies.
Finally, the Prime Minister informed the Council that he will co-chair with the Vice-President of the Gambia, on the occasion of a working and friendship visit to this country on December 19 and 20, 2024, the meeting of the Joint Consultative Commission responsible for monitoring cooperation between the two countries which has not been held since 2011. The meeting will be devoted to reviewing the state of implementation of the decisions taken by the Presidential Council of 1is August 2023 and the examination of various files. The Prime Minister will also co-chair, with the Vice-President of The Gambia, the opening ceremony of the 2th edition of the Senegalese-Gambian economic, commercial and investment forum.
UNDER COMMUNICATIONS FROM MINISTERS:
• The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture provided a monthly update on the preparations for the organization of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026;
• The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock made a presentation on the situation of the 2024 peanut marketing campaign, flood recession crops and the horticultural campaign;
• The Minister of Microfinance and the Social and Solidarity Economy made a presentation on government synergy around the implementation of a National Targeted Financing Strategy (SNFC) in the service of the social and solidarity economy.
UNDER THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY TEXTS,
The Council considered and adopted:
• The Draft decree organizing the Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs.
