Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s victory signals a new era of policy reform in Senegal

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Now let’s get into the details. This week, we look at the potential policy actions to be taken by the newly inaugurated Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

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Diomaye Faye’s victory signals a new era of policy reform in Senegal

In a landmark victory, Senegal’s new president has set the stage for major changes in the country’s policies. President Faye, an anti-establishment politician during campaign, is ready to overhaul the government’s structure and reduce French influence by moving away from use of the CFA franc.

Drawing directly from his manifesto that promised sweeping changes, Faye’s agenda focuses on economic revitalization, employment restructuring, universal health coverage, sustainable industrialization, effective governance and institutional reform. Here are key policy actions to expect from President Faye’s government:

Effective governance and institutional reform: This takes a front seat in the new administration’s policy reforms. The administration pledges to:

  • Decentralize presidential power by making the President accountable and revocable. The new administration plans to introduce a vice-president position to ensure a balanced distribution of executive powers.
  • Transition from a “Constitutional Council” to a “Constitutional Court” and reform the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the penal and criminal procedure codes, and enhance the independence of the public prosecutor’s office.
  • Establish a judge for freedoms and detention to oversee pre-trial procedures, introduce alternative sentences to imprisonment, and strengthen the electronic bracelet system to humanize criminal sanctions.
  • Increase the Justice Ministry’s budget for new infrastructure, reform prison policy to include work and training for prisoners and enhance citizens’ access to justice through digitalization and legal aid improvements.
  • Reform the electoral system by limiting the President’s powers in political party involvement. The administration plans to adopt a law that prohibits accumulation of elective mandates, introduce a major Charter of Freedoms and Democracy, and improve transparency in public management and whistleblower protection.

Universal Health Coverage Initiatives: To achieve its goal of achieving “Health for All”, Faye commits to the following actions:

  • Establish a Social Health department with toll-free access for vulnerable groups, universal health coverage (UHC) to include prevention, and improvements to health insurance through various funding methods.
  • Generalize health insurance for all disabled persons with an equal opportunities card, providing free care for them, and ensuring accessibility in healthcare buildings and equipment design.
  • Improve healthcare services through functional reception, integration of traditional medicine into the health system, and enhancement of emergency and patient care quality.
  • Develop the health information system with a Computerized Patient File and Health Data Warehouse to improve patient data management and support medical research.
  • Introduce innovative health financing strategies, increase in health budget allocation (at least 15% of the national budget), and launch of health programs targeting children, the elderly, and disabled individuals to promote inclusive and prosperous societal health outcomes.

Economic Development: Central to the president’s administration is to improve domestic production and consumption of local products. Plans are to:

  • Implement an endogenous economic model focusing on industrialization through import substitution, agriculture, industry, and finance.
  • Establish regional economic centers with focus on achieving decentralization
  • Restructure the  Senegalese  Export  Promotion  Agency (ASEPEX) to become the  Agency for the Promotion and Development of  Foreign Trade (APDEX). This is to enhance access to foreign markets, manage events and meetings, connect with foreign investors and partners, and support the promotion of Senegalese products and companies abroad.
  • Implement a monetary reform to establish a national currency and separate investment banks from deposit banks. The administration also aims to temporarily demonetize gold, resolve trade deficits, and establish a deposit insurance system.
  • Improve production capacities and local products to meet domestic demand
  • Revise small and medium enterprise (SME) law to include measures to ensure positive effect of tax guidelines on SMEs
  • Strengthen financial autonomy of local authorities, create a compensation fund, increase state transfers, and waive certain taxes for local authorities.
  • Encourage public-private partnerships by relying on local public expertise for the delivery of infrastructure and public service projects.
  • Set up the “Popular Economic Patriotism Savings Book” for financing small and medium-sized local or regional businesses.

Sustainable Industrialization: The Faye administration aims to drive structured industrialization and amplify the concept of “Consuming Senegalese” to boost the economy. The initiatives are to:

  • Implement an Industrial Acceleration Plan for Senegal (PAIS) 2024-2029 to reduce sectoral atomization in order to build a better-integrated industry.
  • Transform agriculture sector as a lever for promoting local consumption and supporting economic development.

Overall, having a young leader succeed former President Macky Sall offers a break from the typical governance style in Africa. This presents an opportunity to explore innovative approaches to governance that could significantly impact policy direction and implementation. There could be a stronger emphasis on technology and digital innovation across various sectors.

The president may also implement policies to drive private investments to create jobs for the country’s youth population. However, while his policies will be aimed at creating a favorable environment for both domestic and foreign investments, Faye promises to focus more on supporting the development of domestic businesses.

As Senegal begins this new era, the president’s policy proposals offer a glimpse into a future characterized by economic prosperity, improved public health, and inclusive governance. We’ll be watching closely to see how far off the ground Faye’s policy transformation gets.

Data Vault: Africa needs USD277 billion annually to implement its NDCs

Africa has the potential to attract significant climate-related investment opportunities from sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. However, the continent still faces challenges such as energy access, water scarcity, and food insecurity, which have all been compounded by geopolitical tensions, rising debt, and effects of climate change.

To meet its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, Africa requires USD$2.8 trillion between 2020-2030, with an estimated USD$277 billion annually. The annual climate finance flows stand at USD 30 billion, leaving a substantial shortfall of USD$247 billion.  Addressing this gap requires tailored strategies considering each country’s needs and the potential socio-economic benefits of climate finance investments.

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What we are tracking

We’re also tracking the latest current events in the news, and how they may affect the decisions of policymakers. Below are some of the latest developments.

Togo | Lawmakers adopt new Constitution to move the nation from presidential to parliamentary system

Last Monday, lawmakers in Togo approved a new constitution proposed by the ruling party, transitioning the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system.

Key changes include the shift to lawmakers electing the president for a single 6-year term and the introduction of the position of “president of the council of ministers” with significant governing authority. This position will be held by the leader of the majority party or coalition. The constitution was passed by outgoing lawmakers, and its implementation timeline remains unclear.

Nigeria | Central Bank has increased capital base for commercial banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria announced an upward review of minimum capital requirements for commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks in Nigeria.  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the minimum capital requirement for commercial banks with international authorization to N500 billion and national banks to N200 billion. This decision is aimed at ensuring adequate capital to enhance commercial banks’ resilience to the macroeconomic challenges caused by external and domestic shocks.

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