Senegal: A Hundred Days Of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye

By Prince Kurupati

On 2 April 2024, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in as Senegal’s new president. In doing so, he became one of the youngest democratically elected African presidents. His ascension to power was widely welcomed both in Senegal and beyond as it was viewed as a move that ushered in a refreshingly new political wave. His criticism of former colonial master France was the cornerstone of his electoral victory as the youthful population of Senegal which contributed much of the voting population has a disdain for French influence in their country’s internal affairs.

Soon after his inauguration, the first action that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye took was to appoint his friend and firebrand politician Ousmane Sonko as prime minister. President Faye said the appointment of Sonko was a matter of urgency as he needed helping hands to execute his duties effectively. Responding to this, Sonko happily welcomed the appointment and said, “There will be no question of leaving him (Faye) alone to assume this heavy responsibility.”

President Faye, however, cautioned the citizens saying the quick appointment of Sonko was by no means an indication of how quickly he will implement new policies, programs and projects. Rather, he pledged gradual “systematic changes” in his quest to deal with the mess of years of deadly turmoil the country experienced under the leadership of his predecessor, Macky Sall. True to his words, the first 100 days of President Faye are characterized by systematic gradual change.

Notably, many eyes, when President Faye came into office centred on how he would deal with France. During his rather short election campaign, President Faye pledged to sever with France citing a non-reciprocal relationship, which benefited only one party France to the detriment of Senegal. The citizens who voted for him based on this message and the international community that was eagerly waiting to see how President Faye aimed at severing ties with France all watched with keen eyes.

To the surprise of many, once in office, President Faye toned down on his anti-French rhetoric choosing to focus on internal matters. Conspicuously, President Faye actually travelled to France on his first trip outside of Africa albeit responding to an invitation to attend the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation hosted by France. During the trip, President Faye met with French President Emmanuel Macron over lunch at the Elysee Palace where the two discussed trade agreements, the CFA franc, and French military presence in the country.

In the lead-up to the meeting, many looked forward to gauging President Faye’s tone during his one-on-one with President Macron considering that his lieutenant Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko had berated France just a few weeks before. Speaking at a joint conference with the French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon in Dakar, Senegal, Prime Minister Sonko said, “More than 60 years after our independence… we must question the reasons why the French army for example still benefits from several military bases in our country and the impact of this presence on our national sovereignty and our strategic autonomy… I reiterate here the desire of Senegal to have its own control, which is incompatible with the lasting presence of foreign military bases in Senegal.”

Also, to the surprise of many, President Faye in the meeting seemed not to share the same fiery stance towards France as Prime Minister Sonko. He also seemed to have backed off from his stance to abandon the CFA franc. Essentially, the meeting proved that he had deviated from the anti-establishment stance that he preached during his election campaign.

The one area where President Faye has stuck to his guns when his election message is juxtaposed with his actions once elected is his desire to bring back the trio of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to the ECOWAS grouping. President Faye in his first 100 days has already visited Mali and Burkina Faso in a drive to persuade the junta to return to the ECOWAS grouping. His efforts, however, seem to have hit a brick wall as recently, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso all entered into a pact that effectively officialised their divorce from ECOWAS. In addition to pursuing his mission, President Faye had also been appointed as a special envoy by ECOWAS to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Domestically, President Faye is systematically effecting changes but moving at a snail’s pace. Perhaps, the Faye administration is afraid of rocking the boat too early hence failing to grasp full control of matters. Suffice it to say, the changes that have been effected have been welcomed by many in the country as most of them seek to bring transparency in government dealings. Chief among these is the annulment of a water desalinization deal with Saudi firm ACWA Power.

The water desalinization deal had been signed just a few weeks before President Faye came into office as that was the last deal to be signed by Macky Sall. Initially touted as a landmark deal by the Sall administration, the water deal was viewed by the Faye administration as a huge strain on the country’s resources. Valued at $800 million, the project was said to be the largest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa with the plant’s production capacity of 400,000 cubic meters per day ascertained to alleviate shortages of clean water.

In President Faye’s first 100 days, Senegal also commissioned its first offshore oil project. The project is a partnership between the Senegalese government and the Australian group Woodside Energy. A statement from Woodside Energy said that the vessel extracting the oil is moored about 100 kilometres (60 miles) offshore at the Sangomar oil fields. The project aims to produce 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

Having taken the reigns of a country whose economy has been on the rebound, growing by 4.3% in 2023 as reported by the World Bank, the general citizens will want nothing more than a continuation of the trend. Well, gauging the sentiments of the populace, President Faye is on the right track. The move that has been praised the most by the general citizens, in the process, earning President Faye massive support is the tax suspension policy. The President has indefinitely suspended tax on basic commodities such as rice, oil, and bread, as well as, customs duties on importers. A week before, the President had issued a $750 million Eurobond to meet government financing needs ahead of the start of the oil and gas production this year. 

Commenting on the snail’s pace at which changes are happening domestically, Jeanne Ramier, an Africa associate at the Eurasia Group consultancy said President Faye is “taking time to take stock of state affairs, refine policy plans, and learn the ropes of governance… the administration is still drafting the ‘Project’ document, which will replace (former president) Macky Sall’s Emerging Senegal Plan and has been slow to come up with and rollout concrete policies.”

Ramier also adds saying another obstacle in President Faye’s path is the lack of a parliamentary majority. Because of this, enacting any drastic measures is quite tough. Ramier did say that President Faye may be waiting until mid-September, when it would be two years since the current crop of legislators took office, to dissolve parliament and call for new elections, which may give his party a parliamentary majority and hence enable him to push for drastic measures.

*Culled from July Issue of PAV Magazine