A capacity-building workshop for state representatives to local authorities was held this week in Dakar. Chaired by William Manel, Director of Territorial Administration, this session aimed to better equip prefects and sub-prefects responsible for ensuring the legal and administrative compliance of local decisions, whether they originate from departmental councils or municipalities.

“As you know, the Constitution of our country and the General Code of Local Authorities have enshrined the free administration of local authorities. But alongside this principle, the State has put in place this legality control which allows prefects and sub-prefects to verify the legality of the acts taken by the local authorities,” William Manel reminded.

According to the Director of Territorial Administration, this institutional framework is essential to ensure that local decisions comply with the Constitution and the guidelines of the State.

"This is a very important part of their duties which they carry out very successfully. During this session, we realized that, overall, legality control is exercised under good conditions and successfully," he added, while acknowledging that some dysfunctions persist.

Indeed, the workshop's work identified around forty irregularities in the implementation of the control, particularly regarding deliberations and the transmission of administrative acts.

"The most remarkable thing is the problem of deliberations. Sometimes, these are not prerogatives of the communities or certain decisions are taken without being transmitted to the administrative authorities," explained Mr. Manel.

In light of these findings, corrective measures have been proposed to ensure more rigorous and harmonized control across the entire national territory.