Senegalese authorities on Thursday banned a demonstration planned for Friday in Dakar by the opposition, to denounce irregularities in the management of an anti-Covid fund noted in a report by the Court of Auditors, an official source said.
A decree from the prefect of Dakar cites that "the chosen location (for the demonstration) is undergoing major works" related to a project for buses running on exclusive lanes and preparations for the independence celebration scheduled for April 4.
The Place de la Nation, the planned location for the demonstration, "is marked by a continuous presence of machinery and workers which now makes it impossible to hold gatherings, due to the risks of accidents" and delays in the work, according to the text.
The prefect therefore indicates that he "cannot give a favorable response" to the opposition's request.
Nation Square, near downtown Dakar, usually hosts demonstrations, such as the one on December 30 called by civil society organizations against irregularities in the management of the anti-covid fund.
The main opposition coalition Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW, Let's Free the People in Wolof) had called for demonstrations on Friday to "contest the way this government manages our public funds" and against "the democratic backsliding and the impunity of those in power".
An audit report by the Court of Auditors of Senegal, published in mid-December, focuses on expenditures made in 2020 and 2021 on the "Covid-19 Response Fund".
This fund, financed by the State of Senegal and donors, amounts to 1,000 billion FCFA (1.5 billion euros) of which more than 740 billion FCFA (more than 1.1 billion euros) have been officially spent according to the report.
The document pointed to "shortcomings", "overbilling", "lack of supporting documentation" for expenses, some of which, moreover, are "not related to Covid".
The government defended itself by stressing that the reported shortcomings amounted to less than one percent of the total amount of the fund and promised to follow the recommendations of the Court of Auditors, which called for judicial investigations against officials in ministries.
