Senegal Celebrates 62nd Anniversary of Independence: Full Speech by President Macky Sall

On the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Senegal’s independence, President Macky Sall addressed his compatriots.

As is customary on the eve of the Independence Day, the President of the Republic, Macky, addressed himself in a radio-televised speech to the Senegalese people. We offer you his entire speech.

My dear compatriots,
Tomorrow, April 4, 2022, we are united in celebrating the 62nd anniversary of our country’s independence.
To all, dear compatriots here and in the Diaspora, I extend my warm congratulations.
I pay tribute to our valiant Lions, who gave us the first CAN in our history, and our country’s second consecutive World Cup football qualification.
Thank you, dear Lions, to your coach and your support for having carried so high the national colors.
Our prayers and best wishes for success accompany you on your journey to the 2022 World Cup. As always, the State will be at your side to give you all the necessary support.
On behalf of the African Union, which our country has the honour of presiding over this year, I greet our brothers and sisters in Africa and express to them my unwavering commitment to serve the interests of our continent.
By the grace of God, our national holiday is held in times of intense spiritual fervour, with Ramadan and Lent.
May the spirit of faith and harmony that this blessed time brings strengthen our living together in national peace, stability and harmony.
Due to the work on the BRT site, the parade marking this edition will take place in the Place de l’Indépendance, in a reduced format; but with all the solemnity that exalts our common desire for common life and the symbiosis Armée-Nation.

On your behalf and on my own, I wish to express to our dear veterans our sentiments of respect, affection and gratitude.
The enduring memory of their sacrifices in defence of freedom will always be etched in our hearts and minds.

To you, officers, non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned members, I reiterate my confidence and the pride of the nation.

I salute the memory of our fallen soldiers. I wish the injured a speedy recovery.
I renew my support for those of you who are deployed in the service of world peace, and in operations for the defence of territorial integrity, and the fight against cross-border crime and the looting of our natural resources.
I have instructed our Defence and Security Forces to continue these operations without respite until all assigned objectives are achieved.
The men and women who have chosen the profession of arms to defend the vital interests of the nation, at the risk of their lives, deserve our support and our gratitude.
That is why I want our soldiers’ living conditions to be constantly improved, their missions to be operationally effective and their families to be safe.

This year’s theme for Independence Day is Defence and Security Forces and National Resilience.
In a turbulent and uncertain global context, compounded by the profound health and economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, this theme invites us to persevere in our individual and collective efforts in the face of the challenges of our time.
Our Defence and Security Forces, standing shoulder to shoulder with the nation, have made a remarkable contribution to the implementation of our health and socio-economic response strategy, in addition to the execution of sovereign measures.

In the same spirit, in the face of increasing perils and the complexity of threats, the program of strengthening the operational capacities of our army continues, so that our Defence and Security Forces are ready, at all times and in all places, to ensure their mission of defending the national territory.
In addition, 12 new gendarmerie squadrons, 11 public security stations and 3 advanced border posts have been created, in addition to the acquisition of new means of combating major delinquency and organized crime.
These efforts, among others, will be maintained and strengthened.

My dear compatriots,
In my message to the nation on the occasion of the New Year, I spoke to you about our economic and social development policies, including the implementation of infrastructure projects essential to the goal of emergence.
Since then, we have:
– inaugurated Diamniadio’s Abdoulaye Wade Stadium and Foundiougne’s Nelson Mandela Bridge;
-commissioned the Camberen Autopont;
– launched the work on the second phase of the TER, while the implementation of the BRT and the Mbour-Fatick-Kaolack motorway projects is progressing at a satisfactory pace.

At the same time, vocational training, employment and the socio-economic integration of young people remain at the heart of my priorities.

The implementation of the Xëyu ndaw ñi Emergency Programme, funded to the tune of CFAF 450 billion over three years, continues within the Employment and Entrepreneurship Clusters for Youth and Women, DER/FJ, ANPEJ, ADPME, FONGIP, FERA, PROMOVILLES, AGETIP, 3FPT and the National State-Private Employers Convention.
In total, in various sectors such as the environment and living environment, health, tourism, security, national civic service and socio-educational animation, the Emergency Programme generated 46,334 jobs, 12,200 training vouchers and funded 86,023 beneficiaries.

Training centres in the horticultural, poultry, hotel and restaurant sectors were received in Diama, Thiepp, Diamniadio, Gandon and Ziguinchor; and 12 local centres were opened in various localities in the regions of Saint-LaurentLouis, Matam, Louga, Diourbel and Fatick.
This evening, my dear compatriots, considering the high risk of shortages and soaring prices due to the global crisis, I call for a general mobilization to increase and enhance our agricultural, livestock and fishing products.
In order to provide relief to households, I lowered the prices of basic necessities, including rice, sugar and oil; and increased the subsidy of local rice.
But to be safe from the vagaries of the international economy, we must, through an individual and collective effort on our own, show resilience by quickly winning the battle for food sovereignty.
Indeed, independence is not an isolated act of a day, but a permanent struggle, which is also being won on the front of food security. This is what adds to national sovereignty an additional freedom.
We have to produce what we consume and consume what we produce.
This is the sense of massive investments that the State continues to devote to the modernization and diversification of the sectors of livestock, fisheries and agriculture.
In addition, for the second time in a row, the budget for the crop year has been increased from CFAF 60 billion to CFAF 70 billion this year.
In this quest for food self-sufficiency, I urge the vital forces of the nation, especially young people, women and the private sector, to invest more in the value chains of livestock, fisheries and agriculture.

The experience of the Community Agricultural Estates (CARs) shows that we can meet this challenge, just like the beautiful harvests of Keur Momar Sarr’s CARs, only seven months after its launch last July.
The same is true of the Mboro Incubator pilot project, launched by the Senegalese Youth Entrepreneurship Programme in partnership with the private sector as part of the Xëyu ndaw ñi initiative.
In less than a year, this modern multifunctional complex, funded to more than CFAF 5 billion, has achieved excellent performance by putting quality products on the market.
In addition, the incubator has trained 1,053 young people, more than 22,000 GIE members, and assisted 500 young entrepreneurs in completing the necessary paperwork for their activities.
Meeting the challenge of food self-sufficiency also means facilitating trade between production areas and markets.
This is the purpose of the Special Road Opening Programme, covering more than 2500 km of roads currently in operation.
In addition, the Northern and Central Agricultural Connectivity Improvement Program, funded by the State and supported by the World Bank, will soon be launched.
At an overall cost of CFAF 130 billion, this new programme will provide road infrastructure and capacity building for training and production.
Among other things, it will facilitate access to areas of agricultural production, fisheries and livestock farming, in order to improve transport conditions and strengthen internal trade and with neighbouring countries.

In addition, the rural component of the Programme d’Appui aux Communes et Agglomérations du Sénégal (PACASEN-rural), funded to the tune of CFAF 352 billion, will start this year to improve access to basic social services in 435 municipalities.
I would remind you that the urban component of PACASEN is already in operation.

The policies of territorial equity and social justice will always remain at the centre of my concerns; for from the bottom of my heart, I want every Senegalese and every Senegalese to have his share of well-being, dignity and decency as a nation that wants to show solidarity, united and indivisible can offer to all its citizens.
This is the vocation of the Senegalese nation. That is the legacy of the elders, and that is the legacy we owe to future generations.
For my part, I will remain tirelessly the vigilant guardian of this national heritage and the demands attached to our values of culture and civilization.
Together, my dear compatriots, on the path marked out by our elders, let us continue to build this nation rich in its diversity; this warm and welcoming nation, which embraces us and makes our hearts beat at every moment of our lives, to give life and strength to our common destiny.
Long live Senegal!
Good evening and happy Independence Day.