Ousmane Sonko: “President Macky Sall’s regime lied to the people”

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko spoke to the press on Thursday to take stock of the governance of the Macky Sall regime.

“The regime of President Macky Sall lied to the people and partners by falsifying the figures to give an economic image that has nothing to do with reality,” pointed out Ousmane Sonko.

After almost six months in power, the new Senegalese regime, through Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, took stock of Macky Sall’s governance, from 2012 to 2024.

After a minute of silence in tribute to the victims of the Le Joola boat tragedy, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, dressed all in white, with a serious face, and surrounded by the Ministers of the Economy, the Minister of Justice and the Minister Secretary General of the Government, among others, presented the intensity of the financial “carnage” that they inherited.

“We have the obligation to take stock of the situation that our regime has inherited,” indicated Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko who recalled that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye had promised, when taking the oath of office on April 2, 2024, to be part of a logic of “transparency, accountability and truth towards the sovereign people”.

Referring to the report established on the basis of “audits which have been carried out”, the Senegalese Prime Minister announced the two elements, the subject of today’s press briefing, in this case the reference situation of public finances and the reporting of accounts relating to the budgetary management of Macky Sall’s regime.

It is in this perspective that he left the field to the Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Abdourahmane Sarr.

“This exercise of transparency and accountability is also a need for transparency to draw objective consequences, particularly for the framework of public policies currently being finalized to operationalize the project,” underlines Mr. Sarr who shares the observation.

“The report on the situation of public finances revealed that Senegal’s public debt and budget deficit were higher than published by the outgoing authorities and communicated to our partners during the period 2019-2023,” he said.

“The budget deficit was announced at an average of 5.5% of GDP over the period 2019-2023. But in reality, it was on average 10.4%, or almost double,” explains the Minister of Finance. ‘Economy.

On this aspect, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko stressed that “the regime of President Macky Sall lied to the people, lied to partners, fiddled with the figures to give an economic, financial and budgetary image which had nothing to do with reality.”

“Public debt was announced on average at 65.9% of GDP during the period 2019-2023. But in reality, it was on average 76.3% of GDP due to public deficits higher than published,” continues the Minister of the Economy.

“Thus, at the end of 2023 for example, the debt of the central State, excluding the parapublic sector, is at 15,664 billion, or 83.7% of GDP, whereas it was advanced to 13,772 billion or 73.6%. of GDP,” he says.

“It is therefore an additional contracted and unpublished debt of nearly 1,892 billion, or 10% more of GDP,” reveals Mr. Sarr.

“This additional debt is mainly due to drawings on project loans from external financing and loans contracted from local banks in a non-transparent manner,” he explains.

“Over the period 2019-2023, drawings on external resources not included in the deficits were on average 593 billion annually, and bank loans not included in the deficits were on average 179 billion annually,” he underlines .

On overfinancing, Ousmane Sonko believes that “the partners had accepted that Senegal could go beyond what was annually authorized in terms of raising funds…”

“As we speak, we cannot find any trace of the use of these funds,” said Ousmane Sonko.

For the moment, officials of the APR, the party of former President Macky Sall, have not yet reacted. All our attempts to contact them were unsuccessful.

Ousmane Sonko subsequently introduced the Minister of Justice Ousmane Diagne who announced prosecutions.

“The report that the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Cooperation has just given us is in the light of what you have heard. These facts are of certain seriousness and seem to have a criminal classification that the authorities competent judicial authorities will have to determine the means of investigation that they deem appropriate,” he said.

“It is true that we are in a state of law. Public funds, within the framework of the legal organization of the country, have a privileged status. And from this point of view, it is not up to me a priori to judge of the effectiveness of the facts”, announces the Minister of Justice.

“It will therefore be up to the judicial and police authorities to determine it. It is their job. But what I can say is that it will be done with the maximum rigor, transparency and subject to the rule and principle of the presumption of innocence,” he explains.

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko promised that the Government, through all its dismemberments, will return to the details of the financial “carnage” orchestrated by the former regime on public funds.