The Head of State, His Excellency, Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FAYE chaired, this Wednesday, February 19, 2025, the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers, at the Palace of the Republic.

At the beginning of his communication, the President of the Republic addressed his most saddened condolences to the Khalif General of the Mourides and to the Muslim Community following the recall to God of the Khalif General of the Baye FALL, Serigne Amdy Modou Mbenda FALL and Serigne Moustapha Saliou MBACKE, son of the late Khalif General of the Mourides Serigne Saliou MBACKE.

Referring to the lessons and analyses from the audit of public finances carried out by the Court of Auditors, the Head of State called for the application of urgent cyclical and structural measures to strengthen the resilience and credibility of our economic, budgetary, financial and accounting system. He asked the Prime Minister to propose a timetable for implementing all the recommendations of the Court of Auditors' audit report and to send him, as soon as possible, a special program for controlling public spending, taking into account the short and medium term economic and social imperatives dictated by the deployment of the "Senegal 2050" vision.

The President of the Republic stressed the importance of good control of budgetary programs, financing and treasury plans of the State for the next three years, tax expenditures and public debt. On this last point, he asked the Minister of Finance and Budget and the Minister responsible for the Economy to propose, under the coordination of the Prime Minister, new regulations on the conditions and modalities of issuing State loans as well as a new organizational framework for steering and managing public debt. The Prime Minister will also ensure the rapid preparation by the Minister of Finance and Budget of a draft amending finance law, in preparation for the budget orientation debate.

Furthermore, the Head of State indicated to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and Budget and the Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, the urgency:

- to establish the integrity of financial information in terms of reliability, completeness, accuracy and sincerity;

- to accelerate the digitalization and interoperability of the State's economic, financial and accounting information systems;

- to strengthen supervision of the macroeconomic framework process;

- to improve the consensual three-year planning of public investments financed by external and internal resources and public-private partnerships. He indicated that the situation of assumed truth is an opportunity to initiate an objective and in-depth transformation of the economic, financial and accounting administrations of the State and their interrelations with partners and the financial system. He calls for a real paradigm shift in the administrative, economic, financial and accounting governance of the State.

In addition, the Head of State asked the Prime Minister to initiate consultations with all the vital forces of the Nation, the trade unions, the national private sector and employers in particular, in order to share precisely the consequences of the situation described and to find consensus adapted to the sustainable implementation of the new agenda for the transformation of public finance management, in solidarity and social protection of vulnerable groups.

Access to drinking water for populations, particularly in rural areas, must remain a priority for the Government. Thus, the President of the Republic invited the Prime Minister to continue the efforts made to improve access to drinking water for populations at controlled costs. He welcomed the recent holding of national consultations on the water sector and called for the acceleration of the implementation of a comprehensive action plan aimed at securing the resource but also the deployment of a national hydraulic plan that will eventually integrate all water supply systems in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. He therefore asked the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation to review the management framework for public service delegations in drinking water in rural areas and to strengthen the maintenance and renewal of boreholes and hydraulic infrastructure. The Minister in charge of Hydraulics will also ensure transparency regarding the pricing of services and the management of concessions.

In the dynamics of development and implementation of "water highways", the Government will have to anticipate the reflection on the economic model of the sector covering the sanitation component (wastewater and rainwater) and the rise in power of "desalination unit" projects. Above all, it is a question of strengthening the place of local authorities and populations in the inclusive governance of the sector. In this regard, the Head of State asked the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation to re-establish the urban hydraulics policy, to expand in a controlled manner the so-called "leased" perimeter in light of the accelerated urbanization of the national territory and the new climatic challenges that call for the revision of the strategic, technical and financial governance of sanitation. In this regard, he instructed the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation to initiate urgent actions to ensure the efficient operation of the services and networks under the National Sanitation Office of Senegal (ONAS).

Furthermore, the President of the Republic indicated to the Government the urgency of taking the necessary measures to strengthen flood prevention and control. He asked the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation to initiate, as soon as possible, pre-wintering operations and to define urgent measures for flood prevention and management, particularly in areas and sites identified as sensitive.

The Head of State also reminded the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation of the imperative to finalize the draft law on the Water Code. This prospective law will strengthen the preservation of our natural water resources and transparency in their inclusive governance. A Water Sector Regulatory Authority will also be set up. To close this chapter, the President of the Republic informed that he will proceed, on Friday, February 21, 2025 in Koungheul, to the launch of the Nianijia Bolong Watershed Water Resources Mobilization Project (PROMOREN).

Finally, the Head of State returned to his participation, in Ethiopia, in the 38th Summit of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) which was held on February 15 and 16, 2025 and in the celebrations of the independence of the sister Republic of Gambia, at the invitation of his counterpart Adama BARROW, to demonstrate our solidarity and our fraternity to the Gambian people whose destiny is linked to that of Senegal.

In his communication, the Prime Minister informed the Council of his visit to the National Assembly on Friday, February 21, 2025, under the heading of current affairs questions to the Government, in particular with a view to discussing with the deputies the lessons to be learned from the serious findings and recommendations arising from the final report of the Court of Auditors on the "audit of the Report on the situation of public finances, Management from 2019 to March 31, 2024", in particular the precautionary and corrective measures. The Prime Minister noted the indications contained in the Report, relating to the follow-up that the Court of Auditors plans to give to the facts presumed to constitute mismanagement, de facto management or criminal offenses.

In accordance with the directives of the Head of State, he instructed the Minister of Finance and Budget to take appropriate measures for the diligent implementation of the required corrective measures, without delay, in order to make the said recommendations operational. In this context, particular attention should be paid to the integrity and transparency of decision-making processes and functional relationships within financial authorities.

The Prime Minister noted that beyond improving the budgetary and financial governance of public funds, the Government intends to implement the corrective measures required in the short term, relating to the rationalization of public spending and the reduction of the State's standard of living. He stressed that in accordance with the guidelines of the President of the Republic, he will hold the first meeting between the Government and the social partners on Thursday, February 27, 2025, with a view to ensuring the mobilization of all the vital forces of the Nation in the work of economic and financial recovery of the country. This meeting, which will constitute the starting point for an inclusive, frank and patriotic dialogue, will bring together around the Government, trade unions, employers' and civil society organizations, the Institutions of the Republic, business leaders, national organizations, associations and friendly societies.

Returning to the deployment of the projects and programs of the Vision Senegal 2050 Framework, for the five-year period 2025-2029, the Prime Minister urged the Ministers to pay particular attention to the finalization of the roadmaps and the start, as soon as possible, of the projects to be initiated in 2025.

Finally, the Prime Minister reported to the Council on the continuation of the work of the Commemoration Committee in December 2024 of the 80th anniversary of the Massacre of Senegalese riflemen in Thiaroye. In this regard, he recalled that the President of the Republic, by decree dated January 13, 2025, elevated the Thiaroye military cemetery to a national cemetery and established the date of December 1 as "Senegalese Riflemen's Day". The Prime Minister also indicated that the relevant ministries had taken charge of the four (04) other measures taken by the Head of State to crystallize this tragic event in the collective memory. These are the Thiaroye 44 memorial, the documentation center, the designation of streets and public squares in the name of the victims of this event and the introduction of the teaching of this history into the curricula.

Regarding the manifestation of the whole truth about the number of victims, the Prime Minister informed the Council that the additional information required is still awaited. Given this constraint, archaeological excavations will be undertaken.

UNDER THE TITLE OF COMMUNICATIONS FROM MINISTERS:

1. The Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs made a statement on the exit of the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) from ECOWAS;

1. The Minister of Industry and Commerce made a statement on the supply of foodstuffs to the market;

1. The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock gave an update on the situation of the peanut marketing campaign, the monitoring of the horticultural campaign and the preparation of the national Livestock Day;

1. The Secretary of State for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises made a statement on the 4th edition of the SME Forum as part of the national strategy for the promotion and development of SMEs/SMIs.

UNDER THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY TEXTS,

The Council examined and adopted:

1. The draft decree authorizing the President of the Republic to ratify the convention governing the Banking Commission of the West African Monetary Union adopted on March 31, 2023 in Dakar;

1. The draft decree establishing and setting the rules for the organization and operation of the Digital Governance Committee “GouvNum”.

UNDER INDIVIDUAL MEASURES,

The President of the Republic has taken the following decisions:

Under the Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs

Mr. Mame Baba CISSE, Principal Foreign Affairs Advisor of exceptional class, salary number 516 903/B, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Senegal to the Commission of the European Union, replacing Mr. Baye Moctar DIOP, who has been called to other functions;

Mr. Malick DIOUF, Principal Foreign Affairs Advisor, payroll number 605 799/D, previously Ambassador, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal, to His Excellency Mr. Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon, replacing Mr. Khare DIOUF, who has been called to other functions.

Mr. Samba Dialigué BALDE, Chancellor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 620 663/A, previously Second Counselor at the Embassy of Senegal in Niger, is appointed Consul General of the Republic of Senegal in Pointe-Noire, replacing Mr. Issa WAGUE.

The Minister of Vocational and Technical Training,

Government Spokesperson

Amadou Moustapha Njekk SARRE