Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has firmly rejected any prospect of restructuring the country’s public debt, a position that risks further complicating ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has repeatedly raised concerns about Senegal’s rapidly deteriorating debt profile.
Speaking on Thursday at a joint press conference with Mauritania’s Prime Minister, who is on a 48-hour working visit to Dakar, Sonko described Senegal’s debt, estimated by the government at 119 percent of GDP, as “sustainable,” despite IMF projections placing the figure closer to 132 percent of GDP.
“We cannot understand why they want to impose a restructuring on us under these conditions,” Sonko said, dismissing recommendations made by the IMF during its last mission to Senegal in November, as well as calls from some local economists. “This is not Ousmane Sonko’s position; it is the official position of Senegal.”
The Prime Minister stressed that the government remains united on the issue, underscoring that the stance against restructuring is shared by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economy.
“Nothing has changed in the meantime,” Sonko said, warning that external pressure or domestic commentary would not alter the government’s position.
His remarks come at a delicate moment in Senegal’s engagement with the IMF, as negotiations continue over a possible financial support program. In recent assessments, the Fund has highlighted Senegal’s widening fiscal deficit—nearing 13 percent of GDP—and rising debt servicing costs as major vulnerabilities, often arguing that debt restructuring may be unavoidable to restore fiscal sustainability.
Sonko, however, maintained that alternative solutions are already being pursued. He said the government has so far managed to refinance its debt primarily through the regional financial market, without additional external financing.
He also pointed to the Economic and Social Recovery Plan and a broad budget rationalization effort aimed at boosting revenues and curbing expenditure.
“For this budget alone, we expect to generate an additional 960 billion CFA francs,” Sonko said, adding that revenue gains are projected to increase further from 2027 onward. According to him, these projections are “reasonable” and offer a credible pathway out of the current crisis without resorting to restructuring.
The Prime Minister further argued that the IMF should be supporting Senegal’s efforts rather than pushing for structural measures that Dakar considers unnecessary. He cited Egypt as an example of a country that received IMF intervention under less stringent domestic reform conditions than those currently being implemented by Senegal.
Analysts note that Sonko’s categorical rejection of debt restructuring could harden positions in negotiations with the IMF, which typically conditions its support on measures it deems necessary to ensure debt sustainability.
As discussions continue, the gap between the government’s confidence in its recovery strategy and the Fund’s more cautious assessment may prove increasingly difficult to bridge.
