Senegal’s new premier lays out roadmap

Addressing the National Assembly in an extraordinary session on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, Prime Minister Ahmadou Alhaminou Mohamed Lo delivered his General Policy Statement (DPG) as mandated by Article 55 of the Constitution. The address came just over three months after his appointment by President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye on 25 May 2026, with his government formed on 1 June.

A former Secretary-General of the Government and later Minister of State in charge of the Senegal 2050 Agenda, the Prime Minister immediately underscored continuity with his predecessor, Ousmane Sonko, who has since become President of the National Assembly. “Nothing changes, therefore, the course will be maintained,” he asserted, reaffirming the seven ruptures outlined in the previous DPG and the “Senegal 2050” framework as the sole compass. He clarified that only the method will evolve, built around six principles: prioritise, finance differently, execute, measure, engage in dialogue, and account for actions.

The Prime Minister offered an unflinching assessment of public finances. Consolidated public sector debt stood at approximately 132% of GDP at the end of 2024, exceeding 23,500 billion CFA francs, with a revised deficit of 13.7% of GDP. In 2025, growth outside the hydrocarbon sector was limited to 2.2%, and the budget deficit reached 6.4%. He noted that this situation was exacerbated by the outbreak of a war between Iran, the United States, and Israel in February 2026, which led to five successive downgrades of the country’s sovereign rating by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.

Ahmadou Alhaminou Lo confirmed that a technical agreement was reached on 1 September 2026 with the International Monetary Fund on a new programme centred on investment and transparency. He stressed that none of the conditions exceed commitments already made under the presidential programme “Diomaye Président”. He also detailed a Senegal Debt Treatment Plan (PTDS), announced on 1 September and “almost finalised”, aiming to extend maturities and reduce the average cost of debt, with support from the IMF, the World Bank, and official creditors. Clearing arrears owed to the private sector, estimated at 1,956 billion CFA francs as of end-March 2025, is also among immediate priorities.

The Prime Minister further announced a reform of energy subsidies, with the cost to be reduced to less than 1% of GDP by 2029, focusing on the most vulnerable households, and a goal of cutting electricity prices by 30% per kilowatt-hour by 2030. He set a target of covering one million poor and vulnerable households with a social safety net by 2027, with the budget allocation doubled to 140 billion CFA francs. In housing, the stated ambition is to deliver at least 30,000 units per year to address an estimated deficit of 500,000 homes.

The head of government also addressed several sensitive issues: ongoing investigations into events between February 2021 and February 2024, a review of mining and oil contracts, land audits along the coast and of state domains, and the Yakaar-Teranga dossier—a gas field whose contract expires in July 2026, with USD 55 million in compensation expected by the state. On the diplomatic and security front, he recalled the end of all foreign military presence on Senegalese soil since July 2025.

A series of so-called “catalytic” projects were presented as structuring for the decade: the Yakaar-Teranga gas development, a national gas network, modernisation of refining (SAR 2), the Kédougou mining hub, the Grand Water Transfer, a new Dakar–Tambacounda–Kidira railway line, four new regional hospitals, and the Dakar Millenium Center, a 500 billion CFA francs urban project in Ouakam.

Ahmadou Alhaminou Lo concluded by framing institutional, macroeconomic, and social stability as the “compass needle” of his action, while calling for a shared effort from Senegalese people based on fiscal civility, local consumption, and volunteerism. “This Government does not ask to be judged on its intentions, but on its effectiveness and results,” he declared, promising quarterly execution reviews that he will personally chair.