The Secretary of State to the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ibrahima Thiam, warns of the weakness of the local economic fabric.

Casamance, despite its strong agricultural, fishing, forestry, artisanal, and tourism potential, remains one of the least dynamic economic centers in the country. This was the conclusion reached at the end of regional consultations held in Ziguinchor, bringing together economic stakeholders from the three regions of natural Casamance: Ziguinchor, Kolda, and Sédhiou.

Ibrahima Thiam, Secretary of State to the Minister of Industry and Trade, stressed that despite the diversity and wealth of local resources, this region is struggling to transform its assets into real levers for development. "Despite all this potential, the economic rate of the South Pole remains generally low," he lamented.

Data from the latest general business census confirm this weakness: of the 407,882 economic units recorded at the national level, Sédhiou, Ziguinchor and Kolda only have 3.44%, 3.46% and 5.19% respectively, or less than 20% for the whole of Casamance.

For Mr. Thiam, this situation does not reflect the "strong ambitions of the Head of State and the Prime Minister" for this region with its immense potential. He indicated that these consultations aim to identify obstacles to the development of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industries (SMIs), with a view to developing a strategy to promote and strengthen the economic fabric of the South.