Al Amine Government: A straightforward roadmap

Through a direct speech, sometimes bluntly, the head of government addressed the national representation, within the framework of his General Policy Declaration (DPG). His intervention exuded both the rigor of the technician, the lucidity of the economist and the mastery of a man experienced in the mechanisms of public finance and the realities of the markets.

Rationalization of public spending, reform of subsidies, treatment of the debt, strengthening of economic and energy sovereignty: the Prime Minister, Al Aminou Lo, who presented on Tuesday, the common thread of his government, before the national representation, did not do so in the language of wood.

Facing the deputies, the head of government outlined, point by point, the main mechanisms on which his team intends to rely to give substance to the vision of the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. “The course is maintained,” he immediately insisted, referring to the orientations of the program which brought the Head of State to power, buoyed by the confidence of voters.

Current events require, the former secretary general of the government, now Prime Minister, also worked to clarify the scope of the program concluded with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to him, the main orientations adopted are an extension of the State’s previous commitments.

Referring to the need for Senegal to open up more and adapt to current realities, Al Aminou Lo insisted on the obvious: no state can now live in self-sufficiency. “This era is over,” he said in substance, recalling that the interdependence of economies now constitutes an essential fact of public governance.

The Prime Minister also wanted to reassure Senegal about the support of Senegal by the IMF and other multilateral partners. This, he maintained, cannot call into question the preservation of the interests of the populations, particularly those of the most vulnerable groups. Realignment, from this perspective, should therefore not result in an abandonment of social protection.

Another sensitive subject discussed before the deputies: the deterioration of Senegal’s financial rating. Al Aminou Lo believes that it reflects above all a certain prudence of the markets, with regard to the national financial situation. However, the Prime Minister wants to be reassuring: there would be no danger in the matter. Rather, according to him, the time has come for the gradual restoration of confidence.

A way, for Al Aminou Lo, to pose the debate bluntly: the financial constraint is real, but it cannot, in his eyes, call into question the political course set by the Head of State.

O.BA