Senegal prohibits opposition demonstration over covid funds

The Senegalese government has prohibited an opposition demonstration scheduled for Friday in Dakar to protest flaws in the handling of an anti-covid fund that were detailed in a report by the Court of Auditors, according to an official source.

A directive issued by the prefect of Dakar, “the area chosen (for the demonstration) is the subject of considerable works” related to a project enabling buses to go on designated lanes and the setup for the Fourth of April holiday.

The Place de la Nation, the place planned for the demonstration, “is marked by a continuous presence of machinery and workers which now makes it impossible to hold gatherings, due to the risk of accidents” and delays in the work, the text said.

The prefect therefore said he was “unable to give a favourable response” to the opposition’s request.

The Place de la Nation, near downtown Dakar, usually hosts demonstrations, such as the one on 30th December called by civil society organisations against irregularities in the management of the anti-covid fund.

The main opposition coalition Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW, Libérons le peuple in Wolof) had called for a demonstration on Friday to “contest the way this government is managing our public funds” and against “the democratic backsliding and impunity of the men in power”.

An audit report by the Court of Auditors of Senegal, published in mid-December, concerns the expenditure made in 2020 and 2021 on the “Fund to fight against the effects of Covid-19”.

This fund, financed by the Senegalese state and donors, is worth 1,000 billion CFA francs (1.5 billion euros), of which more than 740 billion CFA francs (more than 1.1 billion euros) have been officially spent, according to the report.
The document pointed to “shortcomings”, “over-billing”, “lack of rationale” for expenses, some of which, moreover, are “not linked to covid”.

The government defended itself by emphasizing that the alleged failures amount to less than 1% of the overall value of the fund, and it vowed to follow the recommendations of the Court of Auditors, which has sought the opening of judicial information against personnel in the ministries.