In a special session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Prime Minister Ahmadou Alhaminou Mohamed Lo delivered his General Policy Statement (DPG), as required by Article 55 of the Constitution. This came just over three months after his appointment by President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye on May 25, 2026, and the formation of his government on June 1.
Lo, a former Secretary-General of the Government and Minister of State for the Senegal 2050 Agenda, immediately emphasized continuity with his predecessor, Ousmane Sonko, who has since become President of the National Assembly. “Nothing changes; the course will be maintained,” he asserted, reaffirming the seven key reforms from the previous DPG and the “Senegal 2050” framework as the guiding compass. He clarified that only the methodology would evolve, structured around six principles: prioritizing, financing differently, executing, measuring, dialoguing, and reporting.
The Prime Minister presented a no-holds-barred assessment of public finances. Consolidated public sector debt stood at around 132% of GDP by the end of 2024, equating to more than 23,500 billion CFA francs, with a revised deficit of 13.7% of GDP. In 2025, non-hydrocarbon growth was limited to 2.2%, and the budget deficit was 6.4%. This situation was aggravated, he noted, by the outbreak of a war between Iran, the United States, and Israel in February 2026, leading to five successive sovereign rating downgrades by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
Lo confirmed that a technical agreement was reached on September 1, 2026, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new program focused on investment and transparency. He stressed that no conditionality exceeded commitments already made under the presidential program “Diomaye Président.” He also outlined a Debt Treatment Plan for Senegal (PTDS), announced on September 1 and “almost finalized,” aimed at extending maturities and reducing the average cost of debt, with support from the IMF, the World Bank, and official creditors. Clearing payment arrears to the private sector, estimated at 1,956 billion FCFA by the end of March 2025, is among the immediate priorities.
The Prime Minister also announced a reform of energy subsidies, with their cost to be reduced to less than 1% of GDP by 2029, focusing on the most vulnerable households and targeting a 30% reduction in the price of electricity per kilowatt-hour by 2030. He set a goal of covering one million poor and vulnerable households with a social safety net by 2027, with the budget envelope doubled to 140 billion FCFA. In housing, the ambition is to deliver at least 30,000 units per year to address an estimated deficit of 500,000 homes.
Lo also touched on 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 on state property, and the Yakaar-Teranga gas field, whose contract expires in July 2026, with the state expecting $55 million in compensation. On the diplomatic and security front, he highlighted that since July 2025, all foreign military presence on Senegalese soil has ended.
A series of “catalytic” projects were presented as transformative for the decade: the Yakaar-Teranga gas development, a national gas network, modernization 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 FCFA urban project in Ouakam.
In conclusion, Ahmadou Alhaminou Lo placed institutional, macroeconomic, and social stability as the “compass needle” of his action, while calling for shared efforts 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 execution reviews that he will personally chair.
