The Head of State, His Excellency Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FAYE, presided over the weekly Council of Ministers meeting this Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at the Presidential Palace.
At the beginning of his address, the President of the Republic reflected on the inauguration ceremony held on Thursday, December 12, 2024, in Thiès, for the monument dedicated to the national hero Lat Dior Ngoné Latyr DIOP, on the occasion of the centenary of his passing. He expressed his gratitude to the people of Thiès, particularly the students, for their exceptional mobilization and warm welcome. He also extended his thanks to the local authorities, the Mayor of the city, the elected officials, and the religious and traditional leaders of Thiès who significantly contributed to the success of the event.
The presence of the Head of State in Thiès symbolizes his particular commitment to the valorization of our historical and cultural heritage, which is essential for preserving a national narrative that embraces our secular traditional values, based on a culture of memory and the celebration of our national heroes in all fields. Consequently, he requested the Prime Minister, the Minister of Local Government, the Minister of Culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture to work with local governments to align the naming of our streets, avenues, boulevards, and public buildings with historical events and national heroes who have unanimously marked the life of our country.
The President of the Republic also emphasized the importance of popularizing and teaching the general history of Senegal. In this regard, he asked the Prime Minister to evaluate and revive the project of scientifically rewriting the general history of Senegal, to rehabilitate and promote the historical heritage of our towns and cities. In this spirit, he instructed the Minister of Culture and the Secretary of State for Historical Heritage to work on the rehabilitation of the heritage of the islands, particularly Gorée and Carabane, in close collaboration with municipal authorities and local populations. Furthermore, he invited the Prime Minister to initiate discussions on the creation of a National Council for Memory and Historical Heritage Management to make the preservation of our history a major factor in the economic, social, and cultural development of Senegal.
Addressing the issue of urban planning, architecture, housing, and the promotion of housing, the Head of State indicated that the realization of Vision Senegal 2050 reveals the urgency of accelerating land development, the development of our regions, and the modernization of our municipalities and cities from the Poles. He asked the Minister of Urban Planning, Local Government, and Land Development to ensure the updating and/or generalization of master urban plans in all municipalities and cities of Senegal. This imperative planning exercise is fundamental to controlling urban development and accelerating the implementation of housing policy and the promotion of social housing in particular, with coherence and rigor.
In this context, he instructed the Minister of Urban Planning, Local Government, and Land Development to ensure the strict application of harmonized architectural rules in each municipality and city of Senegal. In this regard, he invited the Government to work with the Order of Architects to propose a new legal and regulatory framework for the implementation of the new architecture policy of Senegal.
With a view to a dynamic overhaul of urban planning, construction, and housing policy, the President of the Republic urged the Government to continue efforts to promote construction standards for housing, buildings, and structures with:
The rigorous application of urban planning, construction, sanitation, and environmental codes primarily;
The control of coastal developments and occupations;
The contribution of the National Reference Laboratory for Buildings and Public Works, which ensures the approval of materials and products used in the construction sector and guarantees the quality and compliance of constructions;
The integration of a requirement for landscaping and green spaces in neighborhoods and housing;
The initial and continuous professional training of building actors in specialized schools and institutes.
Furthermore, the Head of State indicated the urgency of accelerating the national deployment of social housing promotion programs. To this end, he asked the Prime Minister to relaunch social housing construction programs in suitable areas supported by subdivisions, development plans, and officially validated occupancy titles after ongoing land and property audits. The Government must also propose sustainable solutions to accelerate the promotion of decent housing through the design of consensual urban restructuring and renovation plans and work on modernizing rural housing. He invited the Prime Minister and the Government to make decent housing a national cause starting in 2025.
Given the rise of the tourism sector, the President of the Republic has asked the Prime Minister, the Minister in charge of Local Government, and the Minister in charge of Tourism to ensure the proper management of urban development in Senegal's tourist areas.
The Government will also work on reviving urban poles and concerted development zones to facilitate access to land and property ownership with the support of banks and financial institutions (particularly the CDC). In this momentum, priority will be given to the development of the Diamniadio and Lac Rose urban poles, which are beginning to host world-class hotel infrastructures.
In his communication, the Prime Minister informed the Council that, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, particularly Article 84, the President of the Republic has requested the National Assembly to hold his General Policy Declaration (DPG) on Friday, December 27, 2024, in accordance with the provisions of Article 55 of the Constitution.
Addressing the preparation of the legislative agenda for the year 2025, the Prime Minister indicated that the related draft texts must align with the new Public Policy Framework Vision Senegal 2050. He also emphasized the requirement for each ministry to develop and submit its legislative agenda for the first half of 2025 to the General Secretariat of the Government by mid-January 2025 at the latest. In this regard, he asked the Ministers to ensure, after a strict review of the draft texts developed before April 2024, to clearly identify strategic and operational texts to anticipate the complexity and drafting timelines as well as the order of priority. Furthermore, the major orientation of rationalizing public resources must be taken into account.
Additionally, the Prime Minister highlighted the particular attention to be given to the restructuring of public and semi-public enterprises in great difficulty to ensure the continuity of public service. He thus asked the Minister Secretary-General of the Government to resume the work of the Interministerial Committee for Monitoring and Restructuring of Public and Semi-Public Enterprises and instructed the Minister of Finance and Budget to take the necessary measures for the effective implementation of the Recovery Fund for the restructuring of said enterprises.
Finally, the Prime Minister informed the Council that he will co-chair with the Vice President of The Gambia, during a working and friendship visit to that country on December 19 and 20, 2024, the meeting of the Joint Consultative Commission responsible for monitoring cooperation between the two countries, which has not been held since 2011. The meeting will be dedicated to reviewing the implementation status of the decisions from the Presidential Council of August 1, 2023, and examining various files. The Prime Minister will also co-chair, with the Vice President of The Gambia, the opening ceremony of the 2nd edition of the Senegal-Gambia Economic, Trade, and Investment Forum.
UNDER THE MINISTERS' COMMUNICATIONS:
The Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture provided the monthly update on the preparations for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG);
The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock delivered a report on the 2024 groundnut marketing campaign, recession crops, and the horticultural campaign;
The Minister of Microfinance and the Social and Solidarity Economy gave a communication on the government synergy around the implementation of a National Strategy for Targeted Financing (SNFC) in service of the social and solidarity economy.
UNDER LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY TEXTS, The Council examined and adopted:
The draft decree on the organization of the Ministry of African Integration and Foreign Affairs.
The Minister of Vocational and Technical Training, Government Spokesperson Amadou Moustapha Njekk SARRE.