A mission from the institution is expected in Senegal, with a busy agenda.
At the heart of the discussions: the question of a possible restructuring of a public debt that has reached nearly 132% of GDP, in a context of deep budgetary crisis.
The country is far from speaking with one voice on the issue. On one hand, some analysts believe that restructuring is necessary to prevent any risk of default in the coming months. A new loan of over $700 million is also being considered to give the country more financial flexibility. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko is calling for a clear-eyed examination of the situation, insisting that any measures adopted must be in line with the realities and needs of the moment.
On the other side, voices are rising to reject any concessions to the demands of international creditors. The Front for an Anti-Imperialist, Popular and Pan-African Revolution, a civil society organization, has addressed the Prime Minister and the President of the National Assembly in an official statement, urging them not to give in to pressure from the IMF or foreign creditors.
"The current difficulties must be transformed into an opportunity to break with the neoliberal recipes that have led our country into this impasse ," the organization writes, calling for a radical change of course rather than submission to the usual conditionalities of international financial institutions.
The coming weeks will therefore be crucial for the economic future of Senegal and for the financial sovereignty that its new authorities have placed at the heart of their political project.
