Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye directed his prime minister on Tuesday to develop an immediate “action plan” to boost the country’s struggling economy and finances, according to a statement from his office.
The 44-year-old won an election last month on a platform of radical transformation, becoming the country’s youngest president despite never having held political office.
On Tuesday, he ordered his prime minister and erstwhile mentor Ousmane Sonko until the end of the month to develop a “action plan,” according to a statement issued during Faye’s first cabinet meeting.
He directed Sonko to conduct a “general review of programmes and plans” and report on “the general situation of the public finances,” as well as international collaboration and public-private partnerships, according to the statement.
He directed the administration to complete the plan by the end of the month and to adopt “without delay, with the (Senegalese) private sector, a bold policy to relaunch the national economy”.
He informed ministers that he was chosen to oversee a “profound breakaway” and a “transformation at all levels of economic and social life” in the country.
One out of every three Senegalese lives in poverty, while the unemployment rate hovers around 20%.
Its economy has also suffered as a result of the Covid epidemic and the Ukraine conflict.
Debt and inflation are high, and the previous three years of social and political stress have hampered investment.
Sonko unveiled his cabinet on Friday, stating that the government’s priority will be to create jobs for young people, cut living costs, and preserve human rights.
cc: Vanguard Ng
