Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – Senegal’s Prime Minister and Pastef party leader Ousmane Sonko has issued one of his strongest public warnings yet over the controversy surrounding what he describes as Senegal’s “hidden debt,” a financial burden he insists was accumulated under former President Macky Sall.
Speaking before party militants, Sonko declared that those who deny the existence of this debt should face prison while calling for the dissolution of Sall’s Alliance for the Republic (APR) party.
“There are things we should no longer accept in this country,” Sonko said. “Every day, people declare that hidden debt does not exist. Anyone who repeats this should be sent to prison.”
He argued that multiple authoritative bodies, including the Court of Auditors, the IMF, the World Bank, and the West African Central Bank (BCEAO), had already confirmed the existence of the controversial liabilities.
Sonko claimed the scale of the debt is so severe that it threatens Senegal’s economic stability. “The magnitude of the hidden debt that this party has left as a legacy jeopardizes the national economy,” he said, calling for APR to be dissolved and for those responsible to be held criminally accountable.
The Prime Minister disclosed that his government has been engaged in difficult negotiations with the International Monetary Fund regarding the matter. Senegal, he said, is being offered debt restructuring, a move that would label the country as being in default.
Such a designation, he warned, would carry severe consequences: “Senegal will be considered a bankrupt country. We will no longer have access to international financial markets. Public-private partnerships will be difficult, and the banks with which we have contracts will sue us to recover their money.”
Alleged Persistence of the System and Supreme Court Bias.
Ousmane Sonko has again criticized what he describes as the continued influence of “the system” within Senegal’s state institutions.
“We have always fought the system, but we have realized that it remains omnipresent. It infiltrates the justice system and the administration, and those who represent this system will continue to place obstacles in our path,” Sonko declared.
The Pastef leader specifically accused certain justices within the Supreme Court of obstructing key financial investigations.
“Some justices, particularly at the Supreme Court, are blocking cases originating from the Financial Judicial Pool (PJF),” he asserted. “They have no personal conflict with the current government, but they believe they have a score to settle with me, Ousmane Sonko.”
A strong Salvo of Threats to Former President Macky Sall.
Sonko’s remarks also served as a fierce response to former President Macky Sall, who now resides in Morocco.
Sall, in a speech read on his behalf during an APR leadership meeting last week, accused the current government of “hateful” and “vindictive” governance, saying it had “disappointed the majority” of Senegalese citizens.
Sonko fired back sharply: “The only person who has disappointed the Senegalese is in Morocco,” he said, challenging Sall to “have the courage to return to the country.”
He reiterated that those implicated in economic crimes or responsible for violence during recent political unrest would be held accountable. “If there is no justice, then no one should pay taxes,” he said. “It is too easy to embezzle taxpayer money and kill Senegalese people without being held accountable. Justice will be served.”
Veiled Threats Against Abdourahman Diouf and Mimi Touré.
The Prime Minister also issued a pointed criticism toward figures within the governing majority who have urged restraint in pursuing accountability, in what appeared to be a veiled message to Abdourahmane Diouf, a political ally of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye who was the Minister of Higher Education before his recent redeployment to Environment.
“Cases of overbilling have been discovered in a ministry. It is following these discoveries that I asked the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, to temporarily transfer the person concerned to another department, pending full clarification of this matter,” he revealed.
Another veiled threat was seemingly pointing to Mimi Touré, a special adviser to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Ousmane Sonko implied, without naming her, that she was involved in a report alleging that 2 billion CFA francs had been embezzled. This reference brings back accusations that were made against Aminata Touré while she was the head of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE).
Madame Touray, however, has made a declaration to “categorically deny” these accusations, which she claims are “totally false” and meant to harm her reputation.
Aminata Touré even suggested that the General State Inspectorate (IGE) hold a public hearing in front of the national and international media in order to put a stop to the rumors.
Sonko accused unnamed individuals of trying to “take advantage of our victory” and of attempting to sway public opinion by portraying accountability efforts as acts of revenge.
“We are not in a phase of revenge,” Sonko insisted. “We are in a phase of justice.”
Ousman Sonko’s remarks highlight growing internal tensions within the ruling coalition, even as the government attempts to navigate complicated economic negotiations and rising public expectations for accountability.
