In a special session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, Prime Minister Ahmadou Alhaminou Mohamed Lo delivered his general policy statement under Article 55 of the Constitution, just over three months after his appointment by President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye on 25 May 2026, and his government’s formation on 1 June.
Having served as Secretary-General of the Government and then Minister of State for the Sénégal 2050 Agenda, the head of government immediately embraced the legacy of 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 breaks of the previous policy statement and the ‘Sénégal 2050’ framework as the sole guide. He added that only the approach would evolve, structured around six principles: prioritise, finance differently, execute, measure, dialogue, and account for actions.
The Prime Minister provided an unflinching assessment of public finances. The consolidated public sector debt stood at roughly 132% of GDP by the end of 2024, exceeding 23,500 billion CFA francs, with a deficit revised to 13.7% of GDP. In 2025, non-hydrocarbon growth slowed to 2.2%, and the budget deficit reached 6.4%. He attributed further strain to the outbreak in February 2026 of a war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, which contributed to five successive sovereign rating downgrades by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
Ahmadou Alhaminou Lo confirmed that on 1 September 2026, a technical agreement was reached with the International Monetary Fund on a new programme focused on investment and transparency. He stressed that no conditionality exceeds commitments already made under the presidential initiative ‘Diomaye Président’. He also detailed a Sénégal Debt Treatment Plan (PTDS), announced on 1 September and ‘almost finalised’, which aims to extend maturities and reduce the average cost of debt, with support from the IMF, the World Bank, and official creditors. Clearing arrears 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 unveiled a reform of energy subsidies, with costs to be cut to less than 1% of GDP by 2029, targeting the most vulnerable households, and a goal to reduce electricity prices by 30% per kilowatt-hour by 2030. He set an objective to cover one million poor and vulnerable households with a social safety net by 2027, with the budget envelope doubled to 140 billion CFA francs. In housing, the stated ambition is to deliver at least 30,000 units annually against an estimated deficit of 500,000 homes.
The head of government also touched on several sensitive matters: ongoing investigations into events between February 2021 and February 2024, a review of mining and oil contracts, land audits along the coast and on state domains, and the Yakaar-Teranga gas field, whose contract expires in July 2026, with 55 million dollars in compensation expected by the state. On diplomacy and security, he recalled that since July 2025, no foreign military presence remains on Senegalese soil.
A series of ‘catalytic’ projects were presented as key to the decade: the Yakaar-Teranga gas development, a national gas network, modernisation of refining (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 franc urban project in Ouakam.
In conclusion, Ahmadou Alhaminou Lo positioned institutional, macroeconomic, and social stability as ‘the compass needle’ for his actions, while calling for a shared effort from all Senegalese, grounded in fiscal citizenship, 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 chair himself.
