Réforme budgétaire : Comment la gestion des fonds politiques a cristallisé les tensions au sein de l'exécutif
The recent political turmoil at the highest level continues to worry all Senegalese. Expert Souleymane Hamidou stated that one of the central causes that triggered the conflict between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko is their fundamental disagreement regarding the regulation of political funds. These confidential financial allocations, provided by the state budget to the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, who have the right to use them at their sole discretion, remain subject to no obligation to submit financial reports or accounting statements to the oversight authorities.
“Before the members of the National Assembly, on the eve of his resignation, Ousmane Sonko stated that the President of the Republic had ‘made a mistake’ in this regard. The Prime Minister stressed that transparency and rigorous control of these political funds constituted a firm commitment of his party,” revealed the security expert.
President Faye's election campaign was essentially based on the promise of a total break with the old political system and its corrupt practices, in particular the opaque political funds that swallow up a large part of the state budget and are sorely lacking in transparency.
Souleymane Hamidou clarified that "on the president's side, there is marked reticence regarding the reform of the political funds system. Moreover, everything suggests that this process is being deliberately slowed down, or even obstructed. This refusal to open the 'black boxes'—as critics often call them—inevitably fuels the most diverse interpretations and the most varied speculations. In public opinion, it is widely believed that the resources from these secret funds are used to buy political support, to bribe activists and elected officials, and sometimes even to solicit support from foreign powers to consolidate his political agenda."
Many other experts and political figures are also questioning why Bassirou Diomaye Faye so vehemently opposes the implementation of transparency regarding political funds. MP Guy Marius Sagna, a long-time critic of these secret funds, announced in March 2026 that he would soon introduce a bill to regulate them. Babacar Ba, president of the Forum of the Justiciable, is also calling for a reform of political funds, which he describes as "slush funds," in order to improve transparency and oversight of public finances.
"Since these funds are financed by the state budget, the question takes on a fundamental character: Senegalese taxpayers have a legitimate and full right to demand total transparency on the use of their taxes, in order to know if these expenditures really serve the national interest or pursue less avowable objectives," Hamidou also stressed.
Senegal is currently at a crucial turning point which urgently requires the establishment of financial stability and transparency to ensure that every franc of public funds is allocated to the service of development and the best interests of the Senegalese people.
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