Wandering for years within the region and even in neighboring countries because of the conflict in Casamance, the displaced populations who have initiated the return process can count on the support of the new regime which has set in motion the Support Program for Displaced Returnees in Casamance (PADC). With its launch in Ziguinchor on Saturday, this project which aims to relieve the suffering of displaced populations is taking off in Ziguinchor.
As a few years ago with the Casamance Development Center Project (PPDC), it was instead Aline Sitoe Diatta that the Return Travel Support Project in Casamance was officially launched, on Saturday, at Ziguinchor. Construction materials, an ambulance visible on site; the concrete phase of this project took off in Ziguinchor in the presence of the governors of the regions of Kolda, Sédhiou Ziguinchor, local elected officials and administrative structures.
The Minister of Family and Solidarity, Ms. Maimouna Dièye, who carried out the launch, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to consolidating peace and restoring prosperity in Casamance. “Together, let us make this return of the displaced a real renewal,” she declared before adding: “This project essentially aims to facilitate the resettlement of our compatriots from Casamance who were forced by the armed conflict to leave their lands, their homes, and often a part of themselves to preserve their families,” the Minister suggested.
The pilot phase of this project planned for the period 2024-2025 estimated at 4.698 billion CFA francs is executed by the Emergency Program for the Modernization of Border Axes and Territories (PUMA) whose Coordinator Doctor Ndeye Mareme Samb estimates that the PADC integrates an ambitious component dedicated to the economic empowerment of women and young people through agricultural projects and the processing of local products. “We intend to carry out this project with partners such as ANRAC, the regional steering committee which brings together all the territorial administrations of the three regions Ziguinchor, Kolda, Sédhiou, NGOs, the municipalities concerned, all territorial stakeholders, etc. », Specified Dr Ndèye Mareme Samb who indicated that this project is part of the Humanitarian and relief actions section of PUMA.
For the year 2025, a total of 992 households from the three natural regions of Casamance were targeted, underlines Minister Maimouna Dieye who received housing construction materials for 113 displaced households returning to their localities and the delivery of three medical ambulances. This PADC project is part of the “Diomaye Plan for Casamance” adopted in 2024 with an overall budget of more than 53 billion CFA francs.
