Abdoulaye Wilane, President of the Kaffrine Departmental Council, National Secretary and Spokesperson for the Socialist Party, delivered a personal reflection following the reading of Professor Joomay Ndongo Faye's text entitled "The Diseases of the Senegalese State."

 

In a note addressed to the academic, he confided that he was "struck by the depth of his analysis and the clarity with which he highlights the structural causes of our difficulties." According to him, this diagnosis "deserves to be taken up and shared, particularly by public actors and political activists," because it opens a useful debate on the major weaknesses of the Senegalese state.

 

Two major weaknesses of the State

Based on Professor Faye's text, Abdoulaye Wilane recalls that "our State suffers from two disabling diseases."

"Incomplete sovereignty": Senegal has the right to choose its policies, but not the means to implement them without the approval of major powers or international institutions. The professor speaks here of "negative sovereignty."

 

"A state apparatus inherited from colonialism: prefects, sub-prefects, governors... so many administrative levels that are costly, inefficient and, above all, disconnected from citizens", which results in a state that is "heavy, centralised, unloved and poorly appropriated by the population".

 

These ills, according to him, maintain "external dependence for currency, debt or diplomacy", but also "low confidence among citizens in the administration", "a feeling of exclusion, particularly among young people and the diaspora" and finally "an administrative system which hinders rather than supports development".

 

Proposed solutions

 

Professor Faye's text, taken up by Wilane, proposes several possible solutions. In the short term, "reorganize the state by eliminating the colonial levels, bring power closer to the citizens (starting at the village/neighborhood level), reduce the powers of the president, and enshrine these changes in the Constitution." In the long term, "work towards an African federal union, to build truly positive sovereignty."

 

The method: “Establish a large, independent Presidential Refoundation Commission, capable of proposing a transformation plan over several decades.”

 

Abdoulaye Wilane's critical opinion

 

Without questioning the relevance of the analysis, the Socialist Party spokesperson offered a critical opinion to enrich the debate. "This diagnosis has the merit of getting to the bottom of things: it doesn't stop at symptoms like corruption, but tackles the structural causes," he wrote. He acknowledges that "the criticism of the colonial influence on our administration is very relevant."

However, he qualifies certain assessments: "Saying that Senegal is not viable on its own is debatable: other small African countries are more successful thanks to rigorous governance. The African Union is a good idea, but it remains a distant horizon."

 

Regarding the reform proposals, Wilane applauds their boldness and originality. "Rehabilitating the village as a basic unit or reducing presidential powers are ideas suited to the Senegalese cultural context. But their implementation will encounter strong resistance, particularly from the political elite," he notes.

 

In conclusion, he considers that "his compatriot's text is visionary, pan-Africanist, and sometimes idealistic. It encourages reflection on the future of the Senegalese state. The real difficulty will be to reconcile this ambition for reconstruction with concrete, realistic reforms that can be implemented immediately."