Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko presented an ambitious reform plan on Friday, December 27, during his first general policy statement to the National Assembly. This program, structured around “seven major ruptures”, aims to modernize the country’s economy, justice, and administration while providing solutions to the challenges of governance, decentralization and social dialogue.
In his first general policy statement before the National Assembly, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko first gave a harsh assessment of the previous management on Friday, revealing several scandals. “ Serious scandals have been detected in land management,” he declared, citing in particular “the occupation of the public maritime domain » et « land grabbing » by shell companies. A human resources audit revealed “ around 29,000 contract workers recruited outside the regulations in force. »
Then, Mr. Sonko unveiled an ambitious reform program, structured around “seven major ruptures” aimed at profoundly transforming the country.
The government plans to repeal the amnesty law in March 2024. “ A bill will be proposed to your august assembly repealing the amnesty law passed on March 6, 2024. “, clarified Sonko, emphasizing that it is not a question of ” witch hunt » but of “justice, the pillar without which no social peace can be guaranteed. »
The Prime Minister announced 25-year planning, operationalized via “ a ten-year Masterplan » et « a five-year action plan “. This approach breaks with “the political culture of short-sighted scattering that the Senegalese have resoundingly rejected. »
Sonko drew up an alarming observation of the national economy: “ 64 years after its independence, Senegal remained locked in the colonial economic model. » He underlined a “ huge trade balance deficit of around 5,300 billion in 2023, almost 30% of GDP » and an average growth of only 3.1% since 1960.
In the cultural field, the government has already taken concrete measures, notably “ the adoption in October 2024 of a decree on remuneration for private copying » and the repurchase of “ the library of former President Léopold Sedar Senghor which had been put up for auction. »
The program provides for a profound transformation of public administration: “Clientelism will be abolished,” said Sonko, promising “ an efficient and modern administration » based on “ the principles of probity and integrity. »
The Prime Minister announced the establishment of a “ reference situation of social demands » to be dealt with from the beginning of 2025 with the trade union organizations, promising “an exercise in truth and responsibility. »
The government is committed to “rolling back centralism in favor of local management” with “profound reforms in terms of decentralization, taxation and budgetary management. »
Concluding his intervention, Sonko recalled that “on April 2, 2024, Senegal entered fully… into a new era in its history, the era of a restored ambition that is both national and African. » He praised the resilience of the Senegalese people who knew how to preserve democracy: “Our precious democracy wavered, but it held on. Thank God. »
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