The Head of State, His Excellency Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FAYE, presided over the weekly Council of Ministers meeting this Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at the Presidential Palace.
In his opening remarks, the President of the Republic reflected on Human Rights Day, which the international community celebrated yesterday, December 10, 2024, and then addressed the issue of strengthening the rule of law in Senegal and the national policy for the promotion and protection of human rights.
He reiterated Senegal's particular commitment to the rule of law and the permanent respect and protection of human rights. This is the essence of the organization of the Justice Assizes on May 28, 2024, whose recommendations are being implemented according to a controlled schedule.
He also highlighted the significant and qualitative progress noted this year in the implementation of the human rights promotion policy with the strengthening of the institutional framework through the promulgation, on September 18, 2024, of Law No. 2024-14 establishing the National Human Rights Commission, whose members will be appointed after a call for applications. To this end, he instructed the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, to take all necessary measures to finalize the recruitment and appointment process of the new members of the National Human Rights Commission by January 31, 2025.
He also indicated to the Minister of Finance and Budget the need to strengthen the budgetary resources of the new Commission, which must now develop a five-year strategic development plan in line with the vision of a sovereign, just, and prosperous Senegal. He asked the Prime Minister to ensure the monitoring and supervision of all government actions aimed at continuously improving Senegal's status in the international ranking of human rights organizations and to ensure the mandatory teaching of modules on the promotion and protection of human rights in school and university systems, as well as in various national training schools.
The Head of State addressed the urgent need to reform the youth employment promotion policy, which remains a national priority given the extreme youthfulness of Senegal's population and the very high unemployment rate among young people. He invited the Prime Minister to finalize the evaluation of all initiatives, programs, projects, and public mechanisms for promoting youth employability and employment (ANPEJ, DER/FJ, 3 FPT, XEYU NDAW NI, Community Agricultural Domains (DAC), School-Enterprise Training (F2E), AGETIP, FERA...). He also asked the Prime Minister to engage with the relevant Ministers and State structures, the national private sector, and trade unions in the consensual development and pragmatic implementation of an innovative national strategy for youth professional integration and employment.
The President of the Republic reaffirmed his deep commitment to strengthening the territorialization of vocational and technical training policies in coherence with the university map and Higher Institutes of Professional Education (ISEP), the establishment of eight (8) development poles, and the definition and deployment of priority sectors of the economic and social policy framework. He emphasized the imperative of strengthening vocational and technical training through the diversification, updating, and adaptation of training offers and by insisting, from middle school, on preparing students for professional orientation. It is also and above all a matter of accelerating the projects for the realization of departmental vocational training centers and the operationalization of apprenticeship mechanisms adapted to the integration of young people who have prematurely left the education system.
The Head of State also indicated to the Prime Minister the imperative to redirect policies and mechanisms for the supervision, financing, promotion of entrepreneurship, and self-employment of young people, supported by a reliable information system and effective monitoring. In the same vein, he stressed the urgency of redefining the objectives and rules for establishing assisted contracts within the framework of the National State-Employers Convention (CNEE), an instrument that must increasingly target sectors that are strong job creators. He also reminded the Minister in charge of Labor and Employment of his directive regarding the proper preparation for the holding, before the end of April 2025, of the third Social Conference on the theme of "Youth Employability and Employment."
Addressing the issue of strategic management of human capital in the education system, the President of the Republic noted that several public schools, colleges, and high schools in Senegal are experiencing a severe shortage of teachers. This situation, which worsens year by year, is strongly linked to the exceptional growth of the school population and poor forward management of student flows, jobs, and skills in the education sector. Consequently, he asked the Minister of National Education, the Minister of Vocational and Technical Training, and the Minister of Finance and Budget to finalize as soon as possible, under the supervision of the Prime Minister, a special teacher recruitment program over three years (2025, 2026, 2027), according to targeted specialties and priority subjects. He also invited the Prime Minister to accelerate the implementation of the emergency program to eliminate temporary shelters with the contribution of the Armed Forces, particularly the military engineering corps, in the diligent execution of the works.
In the chapter of his diplomatic agenda, the Head of State reflected on his working visits to Abu Dhabi and Qatar, where he participated in the Doha Forum. For Abu Dhabi and Doha, it was agreed to work towards elevating cooperation to a higher level. The President of the Republic also reflected on his visit to Nouakchott, in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, to participate in the African Conference on Education, Youth, and Youth Employability.
In his communication, the Prime Minister highlighted the crucial importance of evaluating the availability of quality human resources in the public administration for the implementation of the Senegal 2050 National Transformation Agenda. In this regard, he invited the Ministers to combine capacity building for agents through a standardized framework of training plans and the identification of skill gaps that can be filled through mobility within the civil service.
Addressing the upcoming budget debates in the National Assembly, the Prime Minister recalled the guiding principles that governed the preparation of the 2025 Finance Bill, focused on rationalizing investment and current expenditures as well as efforts to increase revenues, given the reference situation of public finances revealed by audits.
He asked the Ministers to fully embrace this philosophy of the new public finance governance, which required trade-offs on budgetary requests. It was decided to include in the budget only mature projects and programs with a strong economic and social impact.
Furthermore, in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Republic, he asked the Minister of Finance and Budget and all other Ministers, particularly those in charge of structures attached to their respective ministries, to take appropriate measures through their competent services to strictly ensure the timely payment of salaries, scholarships, and various allowances owed by the State.
Finally, the Prime Minister mentioned, in application of presidential directives, the priority to be given in 2025 to the start of the emergency plan to address the deficit in teaching staff, by allocating budget savings from the dissolution of institutions and agencies to the strengthening of said staff through recruitments. In this context, priority should be given to existing contractual staff.
MINISTERS' COMMUNICATIONS:
The Minister of Energy, Petroleum, and Mines made a communication on the audit of mining titles conducted by his department;
The Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition provided an update on the Conferences of the Parties (COP) on biodiversity (COP16), climate change (COP29), and desertification (COP16);
The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock made a communication on the situation of the 2024 peanut marketing campaign, peanut yields, and the horticultural campaign.
LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY TEXTS: The Council examined and adopted:
The bill repealing Organic Law No. 2012-28 of December 28, 2012, on the organization and functioning of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council and Organic Law No. 2016-24 of July 14, 2016, on the organization and functioning of the High Council of Territorial Collectivities;
The bill revising the Constitution.
INDIVIDUAL MEASURES: The President of the Republic made the following decisions:
Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs:
Mr. Mame Baba CISSE, Principal Advisor of Exceptional Class Foreign Affairs, payroll number 516 903/B, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Senegal to His Majesty Philippe I, King of the Belgians, replacing Mr. Baye Moctar DIOP, called to other functions;
Mrs. Fatou Isidora MARA NIANG, Principal Advisor of Exceptional Class Foreign Affairs, payroll number 602 565/D, previously Ambassador, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is appointed Ambassador, Personal Representative of the Head of State for La Francophonie;
Mr. Ibrahima Al Khalil SECK, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 604 448/B, previously Ambassador of Senegal to Kuwait, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Senegal to His Majesty Felipe VI, King of Spain, replacing Mrs. Mariame SY, called to other functions;
Mr. Coly SECK, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 604 134/H, previously Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations Office in Geneva, is appointed Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations in New York, replacing Mr. Cheikh NIANG, called to retire;
Mr. Aboubacar Sadikh BARRY, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 604 133/I, previously Ambassador of Senegal to Ghana, is appointed Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations Office in Geneva, replacing Mr. Coly SECK, called to other functions;
Mr. Birame Mbagnick DIAGNE, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 604 446/D, previously Ambassador of Senegal to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to His Majesty Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-SAUD, King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, replacing Mr. Mamadou Mamoudou SALL, called to other functions;
Mr. Cheikh Tidiane SALL, payroll number 604 131/K, previously Ambassador of Senegal to the Federal Republic of Germany, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, replacing Mr. Mouhamed Abibou DIALLO, called to other functions;
Mrs. Geneviève FAYE MANEL, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 606 892/K, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to His Excellency Mr. Cyril RAMAPHOSA, President of the Republic of South Africa, replacing Mrs. Safiétou NDIAYE, called to other functions;
Mrs. Marie Gnama BASSENE, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 611 459/B, previously Minister-Counselor at the Embassy of Senegal in Italy, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to His Excellency Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, replacing Mrs. Aminata FALL CISSE, called to other functions;
Mr. Assane SOUGOU, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 603 336/C, previously Minister-Counselor at the Embassy of Senegal in Paris, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to His Highness Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, replacing Mr. Ibrahim Al Khalil SECK, called to other functions;
Mr. Isidor Marcel SENE, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 624 526/A, previously Minister-Counselor at the Embassy of Senegal in Washington, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to His Holiness Pope Francis, replacing Mr. Martin Pascal TINE, called to other functions;
Mr. Moustapha Sokhna DIOP, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 616 223/H, previously Ambassador, Technical Advisor at the Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, is appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to His Excellency Mr. Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN, President of the Republic of Turkey, replacing General Cheikh GUEYE, called to other functions;
Mr. Pierre Maad FAYE, Principal Advisor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 624 511/C, Ambassador, Director of International Organizations and Globalization, is appointed Ambassador, Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), replacing Mr. Souleymane Jules DIOP, called to other functions;
Mr. Arona CISSE, Chancellor of Exceptional Class Foreign Affairs, payroll number 506 348/D, is appointed Consul General of Senegal in Jeddah, replacing Mr. Cheikhouna MBACKE, called to other functions;
Mr. Salifou DIADHIOU, Principal Chancellor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 602 521/D, is appointed Consul of Senegal in Naples, replacing Mr. Idrissa Ben SENE, called to other functions;
Mr. Momar Anta CISSE, Principal Chancellor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 616 051/O, is appointed Consul General of Senegal in Casablanca, replacing Mr. Youssou DIOP, called to other functions;
Mr. Mamadou LO, Principal Chancellor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 616 055/K, is appointed Consul General of Senegal in Madrid, replacing Mr. Mamadou Moustapha LOUM, called to other functions;
Mr. Lamine KA MBAYE, Principal Chancellor of Foreign Affairs, payroll number 620 657/D, is appointed Consul General of Senegal in Barcelona, replacing Mr. Aliou DIAO, called to other functions.
Minister of Vocational and Technical Training, Government Spokesperson Amadou Moustapha Njekk SARRE