Three topics have beeped on the dashboard in recent days, the last of which was only a few hours ago. The President of the Republic announced yesterday, at Diamniadio, the launch of a technological “new deal” intended to build “a modern, agile and forward-looking public service”, via the digital transformation of the Administration, the dematerialization of its formalities and their simplified accessibility. New deal? Initiated in the USA by President Roosevelt between 1933 and 1938, it was a vast economic recovery program aimed at countering the effects of the “Great Depression” caused by the stock market crash of 1929.
It included financial reforms, welfare programs, and major public works to reduce unemployment and revitalize the American economy. A “new deal” would indeed be welcome in the service to users of the Senegalese administration. Let’s move on from the reception (the acrimonious or good-natured tone, the chewing of gum, the cell phone, the disdain), the unoccupied workstations, the lack of orientation and all the rest, and let’s focus on the idea founder of public service: the principle of the general interest.
This means that public services are designed to meet the needs of society as a whole, rather than those of specific individuals or groups. The objective is to guarantee equal access to essential services, such as education, health, security and infrastructure, in order to promote collective well-being and strengthen social cohesion. This reinforces the feeling of belonging to the community; and the Senegalese, whatever their social rank, feels less alone after the satisfaction of their request to the Administration.
It is true that a “great depression” awaits the (many) “status quo engineers”, those who would like the Administration to remain in “print” format (ideal for maintaining steps in administrative procedures like so many opportunities to “tax” outside of taxes), because change is inevitable at this level. IT removes barriers, removes bottlenecks, ensures traceability, saves money and, above all, shortens the time between user request and satisfaction. It’s no longer a question of whether we should do it or not. But how much does each day of delay cost us…. – “You have a superb ministry!” » It was a former president of a Ps parliamentary group who thus encouraged in the 1990s a minister who was heckled in the hemicycle by the opposition (then the Pds). Pattern ?
-Abdou Diouf had just appointed him Minister of… the City and deputies considered that his presence in the Council of Ministers could only be explained by “the regional dosage”, you know this old practice consisting of ensuring that each region has at least least one representative in the government, an old rule which did not engage Ousmane Sonko during the formation of his government. Another time, other customs. This memorial echoes the creation of the Secretary of State for Cooperatives and Peasant Supervision. “A superb State Secretariat” we might be tempted to repeat!
I think that agricultural cooperatives could be relevant in the conduct of a food sovereignty policy for a country like Senegal. A Dac (Community Agricultural Domain) in each department, how many tonnes of corn? Fewer imported cereals, and chicken would cost less… – As expected, Africa is left behind in the debate on the new masters of the world down here: the digital industrialists. Donald Trump has finally decided that Tik-Tok will not be banned in the United States. And us then? A law in this world governed by algorithms: when it’s free, you’re the merchandise. These people, Zuckerberg, Bezos and Musk, it’s the same pipe, the same tobacco, the religion of money. In 2050, Africa will be one of the world’s demographic powers. With which social network?
