In a scathing assessment delivered during a televised debate, political commentator Badara Gadiaga has accused former Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko of mismanaging political funds during his tenure. Speaking on a popular news program, Gadiaga revealed that only 142 days after Sonko’s dismissal in late May 2026, just 70 million CFA francs remained from the 1.77 billion CFA francs allocated for political expenditures.
The commentator highlighted that this translated to an average daily expenditure of approximately 12 million CFA francs during Sonko’s time in office. Drawing a stark comparison, Gadiaga pointed to the tragic case of Abdoulaye Ba, a student who died while awaiting the disbursement of his 40,000 CFA franc scholarship—a situation that underscored the stark divide between public spending priorities and the hardships faced by ordinary citizens.
Gadiaga’s criticism extended further, emphasizing that Sonko’s alleged spending habits—totaling over 300,000 CFA francs per month from these funds—exemplified what he termed ‘vampirism’ in governance. The disparity between the government’s proclaimed Plan de redressement économique et social (PRES) and the actual use of allocated resources has fueled public skepticism, with many questioning the transparency and accountability of political spending in Senegal.
