Senegal: President Macky Sall receives the directors of the African Development Bank on a consultative mission in the country

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

24-Feb-2020

The President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall, received on Friday February 21 in Dakar, the administrators of the African Development Bank on the last day of their consultation mission in the country.

In the presence of the Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Amadou Hott, Governor of the Bank for Senegal, President Sall hailed the excellent relations between the Bank and Senegal, which began in 1972. "The support of the African Development Bank, our Bank, was decisive in phase 1 of the emerging Senegal Plan," he said. The most emblematic are the AIBD international airport, the regional express train, the city modernization program and the toll highway. "

President Sall said his government is spending $ 50 million a year on youth entrepreneurship to help tackle unemployment that affects this age group. He suggested assistance from the Bank for the establishment of an investment bank for youth employment across the continent. Job creation will also go through the agropoles, which will reduce post-harvest losses and losses of fruit production through storage and processing, he added.

Speaking of regional integration, "the connectivity infrastructure, especially the railways, will help give meaning to the continental free trade area (Zleca)," said President Sall. The African Development Bank is the bank of Africa. It is not just any bank: it is our bank! It must support the continent in its real problems and its real challenges. He also spoke of the "Sénégambie" bridge over the Gambia river and the Rosso bridge between Mauritania and Senegal, which will strengthen integration in the sub-region.  

In addition, the President of Senegal returned to the challenges of energy, in particular the energy transition, the objective being to reach 30% clean energy by 2021. He emphasized the optimism aroused by the “Desert to power” project led by the Bank.

Regarding the recapitalization of the Bank, President Sall claims to have personally supported it with President Donald Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel. He also advocated for more private windows.

President Sall said he supported President Adesina's candidacy "because we are very satisfied with the work accomplished and we think that it deserves a second mandate". He took this opportunity to announce Senegal's candidacy to host the Bank's Annual Meetings in 2023, the year "when all the infrastructure will be ready to welcome the guests of Senegal".

The spokesperson for the delegation, Saïd Maherzi, then introduced the various Bank administrators present in Senegal and delivered a comprehensive account of the mission's activities. “We met a lot of partners, project agencies, representatives of civil society and the private sector. We were impressed by the dynamism and the results obtained on the ground. The cooperation between Senegal and the Bank is welcomed everywhere, ”he explained.

He also mentioned certain challenges to be met, in particular “the large share of the informal sector, the mobilization of internal resources, the efficiency in public spending. "

President Sall assured being aware of these challenges, by including the security question which “generates heavy expenses reaching more than 20% of the budget of certain countries. It is untenable! ", He concluded.