Members of the Thiès Citizens' Assembly collective, through an open letter to the mayor of the city of Thiès, Dr. Babacar Diop, demanded "clarifications" regarding the "procedures for awarding a number of public contracts".

They cite, among others, the "road sign installation work published on the public procurement portal (Gestion 2025) under number T_THIES_015; road and public thoroughfare development and asphalt surfacing work published on the public procurement portal (Gestion 2025) under number T_THIES_030; tree trimming and coppicing work published on the public procurement portal (Gestion 2025) under number T_THIES_006; development of the public garden on Place de France published on the public procurement portal (Gestion 2024) under number T_THIES_001; development work (redevelopment of the Thiessois promenade) published on the public procurement portal (Gestion 2024) under number T_THIES_002".

The collective, in accordance with the principles of transparency, equal treatment of candidates and freedom of access to public procurement, is seeking clarification on "information relating to advertising methods (for calls for tenders) or invitations for DRPRs".

Ameth Mbaye and his colleagues also question the municipal authorities on "the selection criteria that led to the choice of the companies selected", the "final amount committed for each contract by the city and whether there are any amendments".

They also ask whether "the execution schedule for each contract (has been) respected and, if not, why? What measures have been taken to ensure that these investments best meet the needs of the residents without placing an excessive burden on the city's budget?"

Furthermore, the collective of the Citizens' Assembly of Thiès says it also noticed on the public procurement portal that Mayor Babacar Diop had included in his "PPM, for the 2025 management, two restricted requests for information and prices with the same subject under two distinct numbers. This concerns the contract relating to the clearing and removal works referenced under numbers T_THIES_029 and T_THIES_032".

Thus, Ameth Mbaye and his colleagues would like to have "relevant answers regarding this dual nomenclature".

In the process, they ask the mayor to enlighten them on "the restricted request for information and price relating to the organization of a city medal presentation ceremony published under number S_THIES_066 (Management 2026) whose launch was planned for 13/03/2026 and the awarding, on 19/03/2026, while the city medal presentation ceremony took place on Saturday 07/03/2026, that is to say practically one week before the launch of said contract".

Regarding the creation of the Lat Dior monument, the group would like to understand the "procedure for acquiring such a work." "Is it an open tender, a direct agreement, or a restricted tender?"

"In each case, if you could please detail all the steps that have been taken in accordance with the regulations in force," they ask the mayor.

The members of the group also requested specific information regarding "contracts relating to paving and public lighting".

Ameth Mbaye and his colleagues say they noted that "the members of the municipal council were summoned in an extraordinary session on Monday, March 23, 2026, for examination and vote on the draft resolution concerning the first transfer of funds. For this purpose, an amount of 150,000,000 CFA francs was added to the budget allocated to the paving market and 74,000,000 CFA francs for the provision of public lighting on Ousmane Ngom and El Hadji Malick Sy avenues."

For an "exercise in transparency that will be shared with our fellow citizens," they invite the mayor to "make a detailed communication to provide the necessary supporting documents on the procedures for awarding these contracts, the criteria for selecting candidates, the award criteria, as well as the final total amount that has been committed for each contract."

They intend to publish this letter so that, they say, every citizen can follow the progress of these questions of general interest.

The group says, however, that it recognizes the mayor's commitment to pursuing an exemplary management policy.