Audit shows Senegal debt and deficit is higher than reported
The Senegal's Economy Minister said that the IMF is currently in discussions with Senegal to discuss corrective measures. An audit showed that the debt and deficit of the country were far greater than what the previous administration reported.
Abdourahmane Sarr stated that the audit of Senegal’s finances, ordered by the newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye showed a deficit of over 10% at the end 2023 compared to the 5% reported by the previous government.
Ousmane sonko, Senegal’s Prime Minister, stated at a government press conference held on Thursday that "the authorities we replaced lied both to the country and to our partners by falsifying numbers."
Faye was elected in April with a massive victory amid public outrage against the former administration of Macky Sall.
promised audits
Investigate the handling of affairs by the previous government.
Sarr said at the press conference, that due to the false figures that had been reported by the previous authorities, Faye’s government decided that it would not submit Senegal’s request for a disbursement from the IMF in July after the fund’s June review.
The fund had
A three-year $1.8billion loan was approved
The West African nation received a credit facility review in June of last year, and was expecting to receive a disbursement after the review.
Sarr said at the press conference that an examination of Senegal’s dossier based upon false numbers could have led to "misreporting" to the IMF. He added that any IMF payment based on incorrect reporting would need to be refunded and corrective actions taken.
He added that the IMF had been informed, and Senegal was in discussions with it about corrective measures. These could be on the current IMF program or a separate program to be negotiated as soon as possible with the IMF.
The IMF didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. (Reporting and writing by Ngouda Done, Anait Miridzhanian, Bate Felix, editing by Chizu Nomiyama.)
(source: Reuters)
