In a special session of the National Assembly held on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, Prime Minister Ahmadou Alhaminou Mohamed Lo delivered his General Policy Statement (DPG), as required under Article 55 of the Constitution. This came just over three months after his appointment on 25 May 2026 by President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye and the formation of his government on 1 June.
A former Secretary-General of the Government and later Minister of State for the Senegal 2050 Agenda, the Prime Minister immediately asserted continuity with his predecessor, Ousmane Sonko, who has since become President of the National Assembly. “Nothing changes, therefore; the course will be maintained,” he stressed, reaffirming the seven reforms outlined in the previous DPG and the “Senegal 2050” framework as the sole guiding compass. Only the methodology will evolve, he clarified, structured around six principles: prioritise, finance differently, execute, measure, engage in dialogue, and be accountable.
The Prime Minister provided a candid assessment of public finances. The consolidated public sector debt stood at approximately 132% of GDP at the end of 2024, amounting to over 23,500 billion CFA francs, with a revised deficit of 13.7% of GDP. In 2025, growth excluding hydrocarbons was limited to 2.2%, and the budget deficit reached 6.4%. This situation, exacerbated by the outbreak of war between Iran, the United States, and Israel in February 2026, led to five successive downgrades of Senegal’s sovereign rating by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
Ahmadou Alhaminou Lo confirmed that a technical agreement was reached on 1 September 2026 with the International Monetary Fund’s services on a new program focused on investment and transparency. He emphasised that no conditionality exceeds the commitments already made under the presidential program “Diomaye President.” He also detailed a Senegal Debt Treatment Plan (PTDS), announced on 1 September and “nearly finalised,” aiming to extend maturities and reduce the average cost of debt with support from the IMF, the World Bank, and official creditors. Clearing arrears owed to the private sector, estimated at 1,956 billion CFA francs by the end of March 2025, is also among immediate priorities.
The Prime Minister also announced a reform of energy subsidies, reducing their cost to less than 1% of GDP by 2029, with a renewed focus on the most vulnerable households and a target of lowering the price per kilowatt-hour of electricity by 30% by 2030. He set an objective to cover one million poor and vulnerable households with a social safety net by 2027, with a doubled budget allocation of 140 billion CFA francs. In housing, the stated ambition is to deliver at least 30,000 units annually to address an estimated deficit of 500,000 homes.
The government leader also raised several sensitive issues: ongoing investigations into events between February 2021 and February 2024, the review of mining and oil contracts, land audits along the coast and state domains, and the Yakaar-Teranga gas field case, whose contract expires in July 2026 with USD 55 million in compensation expected by the state. On the diplomatic and security front, he recalled that since July 2025, no foreign military presence remains on Senegalese soil.
A series of so-called “catalytic” projects were presented as key to the decade: the development of the Yakaar-Teranga gas field, a national gas network, modernisation of the refinery (SAR 2), the Kédougou mining hub, the Grand Water Transfer, a new Dakar-Tambacounda-Kidira railway line, four new regional hospitals, and the Dakar Millenium Center, a 500 billion CFA francs urban project in Ouakam.
Ahmadou Alhaminou Lo concluded by placing institutional, macroeconomic, and social stability as “the compass needle” of his action, while calling for a shared effort from Senegalese citizens, based on tax compliance, local consumption, and volunteerism. “This Government does not ask to be judged on its intentions, but on its efficiency and results,” he declared, promising quarterly performance reviews that he will personally chair.
