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Ousmane Sonko demands absolute transparency on Senegal’s new IMF agreement

01/09/2026

Former Prime Minister and current President of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, has weighed in on the recent agreement between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government of Senegal. Taking to his official Facebook page, the parliamentary leader announced that a comprehensive debate would be initiated to scrutinize the full implications of this renewed collaboration.

Following the announcement of a new IMF-Senegal accord, which outlines a loan program exceeding $2 billion—approximately 1,245 billion CFA francs—to bolster Dakar’s economic efforts, Ousmane Sonko has re-emerged with strong critiques. Sonko, who previously brought to light a concealed debt that led to the suspension of Senegal’s IMF program in 2024, is now pressing for greater accountability.

Ousmane Sonko stated: “We have observed the sequential announcements from the IMF and the Senegalese government regarding a technical agreement. This accord will only gain final approval once it is ratified by the Fund’s Executive Board at a later date.”

However, the diplomatic language employed by both parties provides no substantive details concerning this proposed agreement, nor does it specify Senegal’s commitments as outlined in the IMF’s communiqué:

What are Senegal’s obligations regarding its ‘debt treatment’?
What principal reforms are envisioned (public finance sustainability, protection for vulnerable households, domestic resource mobilization, expenditure rationalization, social safety nets, oversight of public enterprises, business environment)?
What is the status of the international debt audits that were previously mandated?

These are crucial commitments that concern all Senegalese citizens, in whose name they are undertaken, and who alone will bear their present and future consequences.

Having been involved in these discussions for many months and being aware of certain directions that risk perpetuating past errors, I call for absolute transparency.

Given that such negotiations typically culminate in a draft document, known as the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, validated by both sides, I formally request that the Senegalese government:

Publish this memorandum to ensure accurate information and facilitate a healthy public debate on Senegal’s commitments;
Alternatively, transmit it directly to the National Assembly, as the representative body of the people.

In any event, the fundamental tenets of these commitments will be incorporated into a potential supplementary finance law (LFR) or the draft finance bill for the year 2027, which is scheduled for submission to the National Assembly in October 2026.

And the debate, he assures, will certainly take place!

Ousmane Sonko demands absolute transparency on Senegal’s new IMF agreement

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