In a press release published this Friday, January 30, the Council of Press Broadcasters and Publishers of Senegal (CDEPS) reported shortcomings which it attributes to the Ministry of Communication in the management of the Press Support and Development Fund (FADP).

According to the document signed by the president of the CDEPS, Mamadou Ibra Kane, "the Minister of Communication is currently proceeding, in a manifest lack of transparency, with the distribution of public aid to the press for the 2025 financial year, without having previously taken and published the allocation order setting the amounts allocated to the beneficiary media companies."

The press release also refers to a recent court decision, issued on December 11, 2025. On that date, the Supreme Court annulled "decrees no. 017412 and no. 024462 relating to the establishment of a digital platform for identifying press companies, as well as the creation of the Commission for the Examination and Validation of Declarations of Press Companies in Senegal." According to the CDEPS, this decision was final.

Despite this cancellation, the Ministry of Communication published a press release on December 24, 2025, announcing the opening of the application period for subsidies for unregistered press companies on the invalidated platform. The CDEPS (Council for Economic Development and Social Progress) notes that this period was limited to Wednesday, December 24, through Saturday, December 27, 2025. The press release cites an unsuitable schedule, as December 24 was already early, the 25th was a public holiday, Friday had reduced hours due to prayer, and Saturday was not a working day. According to the employers' organization, this arrangement reflected "a clear intention to exclude press companies that had refused to comply with a platform declared illegal by the Supreme Court."

Faced with this situation, the two press employers' organizations, APPEL and CDEPS, contacted the Minister to request a postponement of the Management Board meeting scheduled for December 29, 2025. They also requested the opening of a filing period in accordance with the applicable rules for all companies concerned, including those previously classified as non-compliant. The press release indicates that these efforts have not resulted in a change of position.

The CDEPS also reports other irregularities. It asserts that the minister allocated funds to the Council for the Observation of Ethical and Professional Standards (CORED) and the National Press Card Commission without a prior meeting of the FADP Management Board, the only body with jurisdiction in this matter. The report also mentions the allocation of resources to the Babacar Touré Press House, even though this organization is not among the fund's statutory beneficiaries. In this regard, the statement reiterates that these are "public funds subject to the strict and mandatory rules of public accounting."

Furthermore, the document notes that some public sector media companies have benefited from this aid, even though they already receive funding from the general state budget. The CDEPS reiterates that, since the establishment of the public aid mechanism for the press, this system had been intended exclusively for private companies.

In its conclusion, the CDEPS considers that these events are part of a trend affecting the private press since the beginning of the third political transition. Member companies state that they are awaiting the decree regarding the allocation of FADP funds for 2025.