POLITICS
SENEGAL – “I understand your concerns and concerns.” Macky Sall
The President of the Republic Macky Sall addressed the Senegalese nation on Monday, March 8, 2021 at 8 pm. A statement that intervenes in a tense context in the country marked by a series of demonstrations following the arrest of the opponent Ousmane Sonko on Thursday, March 5, 2021. After the Senegalese Interior Minister Antoine Félix Diome’s ill-appreciated exit on Friday, March 5, the President of the Republic recognized the daily difficulties of Senegalese in this context of health crisis that led to a deep economic crisis.Here is the message to the nation of the Senegalese head of state Macky Sall this Monday, March 8.
My dear fellow countrymen,
I wanted to speak to you this evening about the situation in our country.
We are all witnessing the manifestations of rare violence that have erupted in recent days in Dakar and other localities, causing loss of life and significant material damage.
This evening, my thoughts go first of all to the victims of these unfortunate events and to all the physical and moral persons affected by the demonstrations.
I salute the memory of the deceased and offer my condolences to their families. I wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.
We are one family, united by a history that assigns us a common destiny. Every life lost is a mourning for the nation. This is why the State will help bereaved families and facilitate access to care for the wounded.
In the face of such unprecedented violence, where children and women have been placed, in an organized way, on the front line in the scenes of robberies and looting, our Defence and Security Forces have, fortunately, shown professionalism, discernment and restraint.Otherwise, the balance sheet would have been heavier.
We have seen public buildings and state symbols attacked; shops and other private property looted and burned to the ground.Years of investment and hard work have been annihilated. Nothing and no cause can justify these regrettable acts.
Each one, with his choices and opinions, with respect for others, we can and must settle our differences differently than through destructive violence; because, whatever our political choices and ambitions, we are one family, and none of us can have a destiny separate from that of the Senegalese nation.
Time travelers, we are in a boat from which we will leave the place to others.
Our individual and collective salvation commands us to travel together by consolidating the foundations of the boat and not by destroying them. It is also about the future of our children and generations after them.
Nothing matters more to me than the preservation of what forms the soul of the Senegalese nation, its beating heart, its source of life and development: that is, the attachment to the values of living together in peace, security, freedom, democracy, tolerance and respect for our diversity.
That is why I invite calm and serenity. Let us all, together, hold our grudges and avoid the logic of the confrontation that leads to the worst.
In this spirit, over the past two days I have received the Envoys of Khalifes Generals, customary authorities, as well as people of goodwill, members of the political class, including the opposition, civil society, trade unions and employers.
I also spoke with members of the Catholic clergy.
I listened and heard their messages. I express my gratitude to them and thank them for their wise advice and constructive suggestions and recommendations.
All this positive synergy shows that in moments of doubt, worry and turbulence, our social regulators function, and the springs of our nation remain solid.
On the judicial aspect of this crisis, let justice run its course in complete independence.
As far as I am concerned, I will use all the powers that my office confers upon me to consolidate the return to calm and serenity, in the best interests of the nation, the security of persons and property, the defence of the Republic and the preservation of our democratic institutions.
On dialogue and consultation, my hand remains outstretched and my doors open.Moreover, after my election, going beyond the fact of the majority, I launched the national dialogue to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and our political system.
This dialogue is fruitful. To date, out of the 27 points in the dialogue, 25 have been agreed upon. I remain and remain committed to the dialogue for the implementation of the points of convergence already achieved.
I also understand, my fellow Canadians, that the anger that has been expressed in recent days is also linked to the impact of an economic crisis compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
No one can deny that the entire world, including our country, is going through a deep economic crisis, resulting in millions of job losses and income-generating activities.Whole families are plunged into poverty, anguish and frustration.
I understand the day-to-day challenges in our cities and rural areas. I know what it’s like to live in our neighbourhoods. I understand the anger of our suburbs.
With the Fund for Response and Solidarity against the Effects of COVID-19, the State has financed support for households, businesses, workers and various trades, including the arts and culture sector.
We have not forgotten our diaspora, which we supported for more than 12 billion fcfa. This support to the diaspora illustrates the extent of the crisis we are experiencing; because usually it is the diaspora that comes to the aid of the country, and not the other way around.
All this to show that solidarity, equity and social justice remain at the heart of my concerns, and long before the COVID-19 pandemic.
But I note that all the efforts made so far, in terms of training, employment and funding dedicated to young people, to the tune of 60 billion fcfa, for the General Delegation to the Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Young People, and 40 billion a year from the Fund for the Financing of Vocational and Technical Training, remain insufficient.
That is why I would like to say to you young people that I understand your concerns and concerns.
I have seen many of you go out on the streets to express the anger of your unhappiness; because you have no job;because you aspire to a better future;because over the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic19, your daily life remains marked by economic gloom, social restrictions and the limitation of leisure and relaxation spaces.
That a youth confronted with so many privations expresses its unhappiness seems quite understandable to me.
At the same time, let us not participate in anything that delays us in our quest for a better future. When we destroy a business, when we attack the good of others, we do not create jobs, we destroy them; we do not reduce poverty, we aggravate it.
I will commit as soon as possible to a reorientation of budget allocations to substantially and urgently improve responses to the needs of young people in terms of training, employment, project funding and support for entrepreneurship and the informal sector.
In the immediate term, with the ongoing vaccination campaign and the improvement of the COVID-19 situation, I have decided to reduce the curfew related to the state of health disaster in the Dakar and Thiès regions, which will now be set from midnight to five o’clock in the morning.
This measure will help to broaden the scope of productive activities and help the gradual return to normal life in these two regions which concentrate the bulk of the country’s economic activities.
However, let us continue to respect the health recommendations that the situation requires.
My dear fellow countrymen,
Everyday history and current events teach us that it is in trial that a nation makes its test of greatness.
And the greatness of a nation’s soul is measured above all by the values and strength of character that underlie its existence.
It is these values and this strength of character that cement all the components of the Senegalese nation, to make it a solid block without cracks that helps us to get through the trials by resorting to our own dynamics of regulation.
In doing so, we reaffirm together that the Senegalese nation is not a heterogeneous assembly of socio-cultural components without links with each other.
We are a nation of mixed blood; a nation made up of all these stirrings that gather us, of all these religions that coexist in peace, of all these eyes that intersect and fraternize, of all these forces that combine and harmonize to sustain our common momentum towards our common destiny.
On this day of March 8, I invite all the vital forces of the nation to come together to honour the Senegalese woman. Good evening.
POLITICS
SENEGAL Moussa Tine: “We launch a solemn appeal to the diaspora for the International Exhibition of Investment of the African Diaspora – SIDIA
Exclusive interview with Moussa Tine, the Director General of Urbanism and Habit. From September 26 to 28, 2025, at the Domaine de Choully, Africa – and particularly Senegal goes to meet its diaspora. For three days, the event will bring together several hundred entrepreneurs, including 30 from Senegal, investors, policy makers and artists. It is an unprecedented exhibition that brings together strategic sectors such as housing, agriculture, but also industry and commerce.
Why involve the diaspora and why organize this International Diaspora Investment Fair? Why this fair?
This exhibition today is a moment of exchange, an indispensable meeting point for government policy and particularly the policy of these three sectors, namely housing, construction, agriculture, industry and commerce. It is these three ministries that bring together their strategies, their strengths, to go out to meet the diaspora. The diaspora plays a decisive, extremely important role in the country’s economy and in its socio-economic stability. It is an important moment, a decisive moment, a moment that will also help us to financially complete a number of projects that are underway, but also to give the opportunity to the nationals of the diaspora to contribute to the development of their country. Each ministry today develops projects and this fair is an opportunity to give the diaspora the necessary information, either to integrate these projects or to collaborate with the State in the context of public-private partnerships or direct investments under the auspices of the State. Here is, in a global manner, the object of the exhibition. Today, this the exhibition is a decisive moment, an important one, with challenges defined across the three sectors I have just mentioned.
Thus, what is the economic weight of the diaspora?
The weight of the diaspora is well established. Today, it plays a decisive role in our economy. The diaspora is strong and economically involved, not only in a family way, but also through local and international initiatives. Therefore, involving the diaspora means redefining its role in a strategic way, which must no longer be limited to family support but contribute directly to the development of the country. This can be done through financial investment projects through programmes structured by the Ministry of Urban Planning, Local Authorities and Spatial Planning. I take the example of the PNALRU (National Program for Access to Housing), a project designed and led by the Ministry of Urbanism. We know that most of our fellow citizens in the diaspora have a house or housing project because they want to invest in their home. But often, they do not have the necessary information to do it in a secure way, nor quality support. Projects like the PNALRU offer a secure framework at the level of land, construction, but also marketing, in a transparent manner. These are projects that the State has implemented and which allow the diaspora to have easier access to land, and to participate directly in the national economy. The diaspora complains about not having enough information on state initiatives. This exhibition is a way to reach out to her, to provide as much information as possible about ongoing projects and integration modalities. We know that a part of the diaspora already has the initiative to return or to work in collaboration with the State. This show will therefore be a B2B meeting, a space where the diaspora and the State will be able to meet, establish collaborative relationships, and create what I often call a “return ticket”, that is to say an opportunity for many Senegalese to prepare for a secure and planned return.
Mr. Director, what is the direct message you send to the diaspora, especially to that of Geneva, because the exhibition will take place there?
Yes, the exhibition will be held in Geneva. This choice does not come by chance. Geneva is a financial capital and a business hub. Organizing it there highlights a decisive point in the outcome of projects: the financial dimension and the technical dimension. The objective is that from this exhibition, not only do we provide the necessary information to the diaspora, but also that we mobilize its capital to encourage it to invest in real estate, agriculture and industry. Each ministry will present development projects that the diaspora can appropriate, whether in housing, agriculture or industry. These sectors are linked: industry supports habitat, habitat needs building materials, and agriculture requires infrastructure. This sectoral transversality will allow for maximum opportunities to be created for the diaspora. In Geneva, for three days, we will have exchanges, panels, permanent exhibitions (more than 30 planned), and B2B meetings between the state, professionals, the diaspora, and the private sector. The aim is to mobilize investors, experts and promoters to implement joint projects.
Who are the partners of this project?
In Senegal, we have the Ministry of Urbanism, Territorial Collectivities and Spatial Planning, which leads, with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture as co-organizers. We also work in partnership with Me Events, a structure specialized in the organization of events, and with partners in Geneva, such as the African Village Association and Afrique Néon.
Mr. Director, to conclude, what message do you want to send to the Senegalese in the diaspora?
I take this opportunity to make a solemn appeal to all our fellow citizens of the diaspora. This exhibition is made for you. Its objective is clear: to mobilize the diaspora, not only for its expertise, but also for its investments. Invest in yourself. Invest in Senegal. Invest in Africa. This fair is yours, make it your own, and make it a channel for communication and development. The success of this exhibition will be the success of the national policy towards the diaspora. Senegal comes to you, your country comes to you, in order to discuss your projects and those we develop here. Come in large numbers, because together we can ensure inclusive development where every contribution counts. Thank you and I hope to see you very soon at the Geneva exhibition, from September 26 to 28.
Initially scheduled for Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the major march of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA), the main opposition party in Côte d’Ivoire, will finally take place on Saturday, June 14, 2025. This postponement was announced by the party’s Executive Secretary, who points out that the decision came after discussions between the PDCI leadership and the authorities of the Abidjan department. The details of these discussions have not been made public.
This demonstration, highly anticipated by the party’s activists and supporters, aims to support the candidacy of its president, Tidjane Thiam, in the presidential election of 2025, and to protest against his removal from the electoral list. A decision that the party qualifies as unfair and unacceptable, arguing for the right of all Ivorian citizens, including those with dual nationality, to participate in the political life of the country.
The route of the march remains unchanged: the protesters will leave from the SOCOCE space of the 2 Plateaux, in the municipality of Cocody, to head towards the headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI). The party calls for a strong peaceful mobilization in order to convey a clear message: demand inclusive, transparent and peaceful elections.
The removal of Tidjane Thiam and other opposition figures is mainly based on the issue of dual nationality, a legal provision that continues to be debated as the election approaches. The PDCI, which sees in Thiam a rally candidate capable of unifying the Ivorians, intends to make this march a highlight of its campaign and its democratic fight.
Photo credit: Tidiane Thiam page
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morissanda Kouyaté, received this Sunday, June 1, 2025 in Conakry a delegation from the African Union, on an official visit to Guinea. On this occasion, he reaffirmed the commitment of the transitional authorities to respect the deadlines set for the return to constitutional order, while stressing the historical and central role of Guinea in the construction of the Pan-African project.
« I am very happy. The African Union is at Guinea’s side to accompany and support the vision of the head of state, President Mamadi Doumbouya, in favor of Guinea and Africa, in the political, diplomatic, economic, and cultural fields, declared the head of Guinean diplomacy.
This meeting takes place in a context marked by the preparations for the constitutional referendum scheduled for next September 21.
Morissanda Kouyaté also recalled the founding involvement of Guinea in the creation of the Organization of African Unity, which became the African Union. “This visit materializes the commitment of the Peace and Security Council to accompany Guinea in a dynamic of ambitious political and diplomatic transformation,” he stressed.
The minister indicated that all actions related to the transition are currently funded by the national development budget, while calling for a broader mobilization of the international community. “We have requested a round table, called the Basketfront, to seek support to speed up the process. But this does not mean that we will give up,” he said, reiterating President Doumbouya’s willingness to scrupulously respect the scheduled deadlines.
He finally wanted to reassure on the efforts made to ensure an inclusive electoral process. “We are going through a difficult period, and that is why we want all Guineans to be registered in order to obtain a reliable electoral roll,” concluded Morissanda Kouyaté.
Source: guinee360 / Photo credit: Page Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guinea
