Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – The legal team of former Senegalese President Macky Sall has accused the current administration under President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko of using “hidden reports” to fuel allegations of a so-called hidden national debt.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Pierre-Olivier Sur, coordinator of Sall’s defense team, strongly denied the existence of any undisclosed liabilities and instead turned the spotlight on what he described as “a problem of hidden relationships and concealed reports.”
“There is no problem of hidden debts in Senegal. The real issue is the hidden reports that claim such debts exist,” Sur told journalists.
According to the French lawyer, three key documents being cited by the government as evidence of the alleged hidden debt are inaccessible even to Sall’s legal representatives, a fact he says raises serious transparency concerns.
The “Three Hidden Reports”
The first of these, Sur revealed, is a report from the General Inspectorate of Finance, which he said “was the first to ignite the fire” and give rise to the claim of a hidden debt. “This report is hidden. None of you have seen it. We asked for it, but we didn’t get it,” he emphasized.
The second, according to him, is a preliminary report by the Court of Auditors, also unavailable to Sall’s legal team despite formal requests. “I wrote to the President of the Court of Auditors and the Minister of Finance fifteen days ago; no response, no document,” Sur lamented.
The third is the Mazars audit report, which the lawyer described as “the most talked about but least seen. Everyone mentions the Mazars report, but no one has it in their hands. It is the third hidden report,” he said, accusing the government of manipulating information to sustain its narrative.
Mocking the Sonko-Diomaye government’s allegations, the former president of the Paris Bar dismissed the notion of hidden debt as “a problem of bad reading glasses rather than bad accounting.”
He explained that the debate over what constitutes public debt often hinges on differing accounting standards and whether temporary payment facilities or the debts of public enterprises are included. Citing the 2020 inclusion of France’s SNCF debt into the state budget, he argued that such changes do not amount to deception.
“When the state lives on credit for a few days, when banks offer it payment facilities, is that debt or not? Some aggregates count it; others don’t,” he said.
A Call for “Respect and Continuity”
In a symbolic message directed at the Sonko-Diomaye leadership, Sur called for respect toward the legacy of previous administrations. “What I want to say, on behalf of President Macky Sall, is that what is important is to respect the elders,” he said.
He likened the political transition to the construction of a building, warning that dismantling past achievements would destabilize the entire system. “When you add a floor, you shouldn’t demolish the foundation below. Otherwise, everything collapses,” he cautioned.
A “Virtuous Debt” That Fueled Growth
Defending the economic record of Macky Sall’s presidency, Sur described Senegal’s debt as “virtuous,” arguing that borrowing had helped double the country’s GDP.
“Debt is virtuous even when it reaches 120% of GDP if it supports growth,” he said. “Under Macky Sall, the GDP doubled. It would have been bad policy not to strengthen this growth potential through the debt multiplier.”
He compared Senegal’s debt levels to those of Japan (200% of GDP), the United States (500%), and France (120%), suggesting that debt alone does not signify mismanagement.
A Call for Respect and Continuity
In a symbolic message to the Sonko-Diomaye leadership, Sur urged respect for institutional continuity and warned against political score-settling.
“When you add a floor, you shouldn’t demolish the foundation below. Otherwise, everything collapses,” he said.
Sur concluded by calling for a debate grounded in “legal, factual, and accounting realities” rather than political rhetoric. “There is no hidden debt in Senegal,” he insisted. “Only hidden relationships and a lack of clear sight.”
Sur’s statements come amid a tense political climate in Senegal, where the Sonko-Diomaye administration has vowed to expose alleged financial mismanagement under Macky Sall’s rule. The claims of a “hidden debt,” said to be linked to off-budget state commitments and opaque contracts, have sparked intense debate over accountability and political vendettas.
However, with none of the supposed reports made public, Sall’s defense maintains that the government’s accusations rest on documents the public, and even the accused, have not been allowed to see.
