DAKAR: Senegal\u2019s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has warned in his annual state of the nation speech that the country faces a challenging financial future that would need sacrifices.
\nFaye spoke after authorities and the International Monetary Fund said the previous government had underestimated the West African nation\u2019s debt levels.
\n\u201cThe state of our country\u2019s public finances, as revealed by the audit, means that we must count first of all on ourselves to redress the situation,\u201d said Faye, who took office one year ago.
\nHe said \u201ccollective sacrifices\u201d would be needed but added: \u201cWe are very capable, and we will succeed with the mobilization of everyone.\u201d
\nSocial tensions have risen in recent months, and the government\u2019s financial watchdog said in a report released in February that Senegal\u2019s debt was at more than 99 percent of its gross domestic product, higher than the figure given by the last government.
\nIt said the 2023 budget deficit was 12.3 percent of the GDP, when the last government said it was 4.9 percent.
\nThe IMF said in March that there were \u201csignificant\u201d errors in Senegal\u2019s public debt figures for 2019-23 and called for \u201ccorrective measures.\u201d
\nFaye called for \u201cactive solidarity\u201d to confront the \u201cnumerous challenges\u201d facing the country but said that \u201cbudget discipline is not negotiable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DAKAR: Senegal\u2019s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has warned in his annual state of the nation speech that the country faces a challenging financial future that would need sacrifices. Faye spoke after authorities and the International Monetary Fund said the previous government had underestimated the West African nation\u2019s debt levels. \u201cThe state of our country\u2019s public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-470670","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n