Senegal experienced a slight dip in 2025 regarding the implementation of UEMOA’s community reforms, policies, programs, and projects. This decline occurred despite the authorities’ overall assessment that results were generally satisfactory for the West African nation.

During the political phase of the 11th Annual Review of UEMOA community reforms, held in Senegal, an average implementation rate of 76.45% was officially reported for 2025. This marks a decrease of 2.14 percentage points compared to the 78.59% recorded in 2024. This year’s assessment encompassed 145 reforms, an increase from the 132 evaluated in the preceding period.

These findings were presented at the conclusion of a high-level meeting that brought together Senegalese state authorities and the UEMOA Commission. The proceedings were chaired by Cheikh Diba, the Minister of Finance and Budget, alongside Abdoulaye Diop, President of the UEMOA Commission.

Minister Diba attributed this decline primarily to observed setbacks in the execution of reforms related to economic governance and convergence, which saw a decrease of 1.3 percentage points. Sectoral reforms also registered a significant drop of 6.03 points. However, this overall underperformance was somewhat mitigated by advancements within the common market, which improved by 0.91 points.

The minister further clarified that the challenges in economic governance and convergence stemmed mainly from the delayed submission of the 2024 report from the Single Window for Financial Statement Deposits (GUDEF) to the UEMOA Commission during the technical review phase.

Despite this general downturn, several key sectors demonstrated positive performance. Notable progress was achieved in the harmonization of public finance legal, accounting, and statistical frameworks, showing an increase of 1.83 percentage points. The customs union advanced by 4.55 points, while the agriculture, livestock, fishing, and environment sectors collectively saw a rise of 2.12 points. Human and social development recorded a substantial gain of 6.58 points, and the energy and mining sectors progressed by 3.33 points.

Cheikh Diba highlighted that the most significant achievements among structural reforms were observed in areas such as culture, tourism, crafts, quality standards, and the overall business climate.

commitments to realign the trajectory

For the Minister of Finance and Budget, these results necessitate focused attention and immediate corrective actions. The Senegalese government has pledged to implement the necessary measures to consolidate existing achievements, enhance performance, and progressively address the identified deficiencies in its African governance efforts.

According to Diba, substantial work remains, particularly in finalizing document validation processes, providing supporting documentation, and ensuring the effective execution and monitoring of community programs and projects.

The political phase of this review successfully validated the outcomes from the technical phase and reinforced the commitment of the Senegalese administration and its highest authorities to the application of community reforms.

Cheikh Diba believes that, despite existing room for improvement, these results align with a broader dynamic observed across UEMOA member states, where significant strides in reform implementation have also been recorded.

The minister reiterated that for Senegal, strengthening regional integration remains a paramount priority for African current affairs. In this context, the conclusions of this political phase will be presented to Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko during an upcoming meeting with the President of the UEMOA Commission.