The Council of Ministers was held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FAYE, President of the Republic.

UNDER THE HEADING OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC'S COMMUNICATION

The Head of State made a statement covering the following points:

National Dialogue

At the start of his address, the President of the Republic addressed the National Dialogue Day celebrated on May 28. He decided to hold, this year, in view of the particular religious context, individual audiences, from May 21 to 31, 2026, with several personalities to discuss the national economic, social, security and political situation, in place of the large public meetings previously organized.

Reiterating his unwavering commitment to strengthening lasting consensus around operational solutions that improve people's lives and the country's international standing, the Head of State announced that he will begin receiving former prime ministers and former ministers tomorrow, particularly those who were in charge of finance and internal security. He indicated that other prominent figures, dignitaries, and representatives of key sectors of the nation will also be received at a later date.

Strengthening performance monitoring and evaluation in the public sector

The President of the Republic reiterates that the optimal implementation of the National Transformation Agenda requires systematic evaluation of public policies and close monitoring of government work. To this end, he has decided to hold government performance review sessions every fifteen (15) days. Therefore, the Council of Ministers will meet every other week for a period of time to strengthen the culture of evaluating the impact of government actions. In this spirit, he requests each member of the Government to conduct performance evaluations of the directors general and directors of the entities under their responsibility, supervision, or control.

He instructed the Minister of the Interior to ensure the evaluation of the performance of heads of administrative districts and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ensure the evaluation of heads of diplomatic and consular missions. The Head of State also asked the Minister for Territorial Communities to consider, with stakeholders in decentralization, an appropriate mechanism for evaluating mayors and presidents of departmental councils.

As part of the optimization of the State's real estate assets, the Head of State welcomes the completion of the works and the availability of the third ministerial complex in Diamniadio, which will contribute to improving the quality of public service and streamlining the State's rental costs.

Furthermore, it calls for the final validation phase of the Multiannual Budgetary and Economic Programming Document (DPBEP 2026-2028) to be initiated, in preparation for the next Budgetary Orientation Debate, for the optimization of time spent on public procurement and for the proper preparation of budget conferences by ensuring the inclusion of priority projects.

Civil registration management

Recognizing the shortcomings in civil registration governance and the need for urgent and relevant corrective measures, the Head of State has instructed the Minister of Territorial Communities to present, before the end of June 2026, an Emergency Plan for Strengthening Civil Registration Management. This plan must address all levels of responsibility and all aspects of the issue, and include appropriate and viable solutions. He emphasizes the importance of improving the functioning of the National Civil Registration Agency and civil registration centers. He further stresses the crucial need to accelerate the full digitization of civil registration, ensure the reliability of documents, and guarantee the proper and secure storage of civil registration records and archives. In this spirit, the President of the Republic has asked the Minister of Territorial Communities to organize national consultations before the end of August 2026 to strengthen the reliability and governance of civil registration.

Water supply for populations

Emphasizing the priority of access to drinking water in our economic and social development policy, the President of the Republic noted the difficulties in supplying drinking water observed in several localities across the country, particularly in Touba, Kaffrine, Louga, and Keur Massar. To this end, he instructed the Minister of Water and Sanitation to take all necessary urgent measures, in conjunction with SONES, OFOR, SEN'EAU, and other public water service providers in rural areas, to significantly improve access to water for the population.

Senegal's Lions' participation in the 2026 World Cup

The Head of State reminds everyone that the Senegalese national football team, African Nations Champions, will participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. On behalf of the nation, he sends a message of mobilization, encouragement, and support to the Lions and asks the Minister of Youth and Sports, in conjunction with the Senegalese Football Federation, to take all necessary additional measures to ensure Senegal's successful participation in the 2026 World Cup.

Agenda of the President of the Republic, monitoring of integration, cooperation and partnerships

The Head of State informs the Council that he participated in the "Africa Forward" Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 10 to 13, 2026. On the sidelines of this meeting, he held discussions with his counterparts, presidents of financial institutions, and several business leaders committed to strengthening their activities and investments in Senegal.

UNDER THE HEADING OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S COMMUNICATION

The Prime Minister presented his statement on the following points:

Market Management

The Prime Minister observed that the state of commercial infrastructure in Senegal, most of which was built starting in the 1970s, is characterized by advanced obsolescence and major safety risks. Between 2013 and 2024, fifty-three (53) markets experienced one or more fires, illustrating the sector's fragility. He conducted a diagnostic analysis that revealed challenges, in addition to governance issues, in technical, infrastructural, organizational, environmental, and health-related aspects.

He highlighted the efforts undertaken within the framework of the Market Modernization and Management Program (PROMOGEM), whose strategic development plan covers the period 2025-2029. This plan aims to restructure the 528 existing markets and construct 67 new, modern markets. The Prime Minister presented the main components of the pilot phase before outlining the challenges encountered. He advocated solutions to give the structure greater functional agility, increased budgetary efficiency, and a greater capacity to attract innovative financing, including institutional transformation into an entity with administrative and financial autonomy, a financial allocation of 57.5 billion FCFA over four years under the State's Public Investment Plan (PIP), and a revision of the legal framework.

In this context, he asked the Minister of Industry and Trade, in conjunction with the Minister of Finance and Budget and the Minister of Urban Planning, Local Authorities and Territorial Development, to design and implement a network of modern markets across the entire national territory and to ensure the rigorous management of these commercial facilities by the local authorities and the national private sector.

Preparation for the 2026-2027 agricultural season

The Prime Minister commended the work accomplished by the relevant agencies, such as ISRA and ICS, in the production of fertilizers and certified seeds. He also noted the progress made and the persistence of certain vulnerabilities that require immediate action. These include the still incomplete self-sufficiency in seed production, the quality deficiencies observed during the last growing season, shortcomings in targeting input beneficiaries, constraints in accessing agricultural credit, maintenance of agricultural equipment, and limitations in storage capacity. The Prime Minister also emphasized the need to accelerate the digitalization process underway in the pilot zones of Tivaouane and Nioro.

Pending the finalization of the subsidy reform and the New Agricultural Policy, the Prime Minister called for ensuring cost transparency, the actual availability of volumes, and the regularity of distribution across the country. He also emphasized the gradual implementation of digitalization, the mobilization of seasonal credit, emergency preventive maintenance of agricultural equipment, and the development of a priority plan to strengthen storage infrastructure.

Flood prevention and management

The Prime Minister encouraged the preparatory work undertaken by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation and other state services, particularly in the areas of cleaning networks, checking drainage structures, pre-positioning pumps and developing emergency plans.

Recalling the interministerial nature of flood prevention, the Prime Minister urged all state services to work in close collaboration, under the coordination of the Minister of Water and Sanitation, with support from the Ministry of the Interior, for aspects related to civil protection and crisis management. He gave specific instructions to the relevant ministers to take the appropriate measures. He requested the immediate implementation of certain measures, such as updating and validating all municipal emergency plans, verifying the operational readiness of early warning systems and communication channels with the public, pre-positioning intervention resources, and organizing an interministerial simulation exercise before June 15, 2026.

Senegal Connect Park

The Prime Minister noted that Senegal Connect Park is a strategic project for digital sovereignty, innovation, data hosting, the development of the digital economy, and Senegal's attractiveness. He indicated that its physical completion rate is estimated at approximately 95%, although financial and contractual obstacles threaten its timely completion. He therefore requested that a new, realistic closing date be submitted to the African Development Bank (AfDB) without delay, that discussions with the West African Development Bank (BOAD) be finalized, and that the concession negotiations be expedited.

UNDER THE HEADING OF COMMUNICATIONS FROM MINISTERS

The Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation made a communication on the Diaspora Investment and Amortization Fund (FIAD) to finance real estate and infrastructure projects of the National Transformation Agenda, Senegal 2050.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock gave a report on the situation regarding preparations for the Tabaski festival in 2026 and preparations for the 2026-2027 winter agricultural campaign.

UNDER LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY TEXTS

The Council examined and adopted:

– the bill amending law no. 65-61 of 21 June 1965 establishing the Code of Criminal Procedure;

– the draft framework law relating to the promotion and development of the Defence industrial and technological base;

– the bill authorising the sale of the State's stake in the Regional Market Bank.

UNDER INDIVIDUAL MEASURES

The President of the Republic has taken the following decisions:

• Lieutenant-Colonel Biram Simon NDIAYE, Public Health Specialist, payroll number 412 922/D, formerly Chief Medical Officer of the Popenguine Health District, is appointed Regional Director of Health of Ziguinchor, replacing Lieutenant-Colonel Youssouf TINE, who has been called to other duties;

• Mr. Ibou GUEYE, Public Health Specialist, payroll number 607 077/M, formerly Chief Medical Officer of the Saint-Louis Health District, is appointed Regional Director of Health of Kaffrine, vacant position.

Marie Rose Khady Fatou FAYE,

Secretary of State to the Prime Minister,

Head of Relations with Institutions,

Government Spokesperson