The President of the Republic of Senegal announced, Tuesday evening, December 31, 2024, during his message to the Nation, a significant reform concerning the Strategic Orientation Committee for Oil and Gas (COS-PETROGAZ), as part of his New Year’s speech 2025. By a new decree, he decided to increase the representation of the opposition, civil society, unions and the National Order of Experts within this crucial committee for resource management natural of the country. This decision aims to ensure greater transparency and more inclusive management of oil and gas resources, with the aim of maximizing benefits for the entire Senegalese population.
Objectives of the COS-PETROGAZ reform: transparency and governance
COS-PETROGAZ plays a strategic role in advising the President of the Republic on the directions for the exploitation of oil and gas resources, in order to guarantee that the benefits of this exploitation benefit all Senegalese people. The reform aims to strengthen this process by integrating more external voices, notably those of opposition political actors, representatives of civil society, unions, as well as technical experts, with the aim of promoting more balanced and more transparent.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye stressed that this reform aims to guarantee “optimal and transparent exploitation of oil and gas resources”, so that they contribute sustainably to the national economy and benefit all generations, both current and future. .
Fight against corruption and institutional reforms
In his speech, President Faye also stressed the importance of tackling endemic corruption which could hamper the country’s development goals. He affirmed that “no change, no rupture is possible in an environment of corruption”, and emphasized the need for internal reform of behavior at all levels of society. To do this, he calls for a review of practices and a reform of mentalities to better serve the public interest.
Four laws for transparency and good governance
In order to strengthen transparency and good governance, the President of the Republic announced that four new laws will be proposed to the National Assembly. These laws will aim to protect whistleblowers, reform the anti-corruption body, ensure better access to information and establish strict rules on asset declaration. These measures aim to improve public management and ensure that natural resources are exploited within a rigorous framework of responsibility and ethics.
Among these reforms, the declaration of assets will be generalized to all public sector agents, without exception, as well as to all people occupying elective or nominative positions involving budgetary management. This declaration process will be subject to strict regulation, with methods of publishing and updating information defined by law, in order to ensure true transparency in the management of public finances.
Towards a change of mentality for the common good
In conclusion, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye stressed that for Senegal to progress on the path to transparency and good governance, a profound review of behavior towards the public good is necessary. He called for collective change, not only at the institutional level, but also in the way each citizen approaches the management of public resources and their own role in society.
These announcements mark an important turning point in Senegal’s energy policy and governance of natural resources. They show a clear desire to make the exploitation of oil and gas resources more inclusive, more transparent and more beneficial for the sustainable development of the country.
Moctar FICUU / VivAfrik
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