The Senegalese government intends to increase per capita income by 50% in five years and extend life expectancy by three years, while reducing the deficit and debt, under the terms of a vast plan presented on Monday with great fanfare six months later. its installation
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, inaugurated in April, chaired alongside his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko in Diamniadio, near Dakar, the launch of an ambitious program of transformation of the economy and the State running until 2050 and intended to break with underdevelopment, dependence and over-indebtedness.
The presentation of this plan, called “Senegal 2050: national transformation agenda”, comes a few weeks before the anticipated legislative elections of November 17.
A new economic model to be invented
By 2029, the end of Mr. Faye’s mandate, Senegal must lay the foundations of this new model and clean up the economic framework, said Souleymane Diallo, Director General of Planning at the Ministry of the Economy.
The government expects annual growth of between 6.5 and 7% over the period 2025-2029.
He intends to reduce the central state debt from 83.7% of GDP in 2023 to 70%, and the budget deficit to 3% “within a reasonable time frame”, detailed Mr. Diallo. The deficit reached 10.4% on average over the period 2019-2023, according to the government.
Mr. Diallo affirmed the need to increase tax revenue by broadening the base without increasing taxes, to control current expenditure and to better target energy subsidies, which according to him represent 4% of GDP, “without however impact the electricity price. »
Inflation “will be controlled around 2% for the next five years,” he assured.
Go from 1660 to 2468 dollars of income per capita in 5 years
With the other actions planned, “the average income of the Senegalese will have to increase from 1,660 dollars to 2,468 dollars, an increase of almost 50% in five years”, he said, in reference to the income per capita, that is to say say the annual gross national income compared to the number of inhabitants.
“Life expectancy at birth will increase by at least three years,” he said. It was almost 69 years old in 2023, according to the National Statistics Agency.
The government intends to achieve universal access to water and electricity.
Despite its natural wealth such as oil and gas, Senegal remains 169th country out of 192 on the UN Human Development Index. In five years, the country should move from countries with low human development to medium development, according to Mr. Diallo.
Par The editorial staffEditorial Committee – Casablanca
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