"Il était une fois, les programmes d’ajustement structurel du FMI et de la Banque Mondiale" (Seydi Gassama)
It is said that Léopold Sédar Senghor was an authoritarian president. Perhaps, I was very young and not very interested in political struggles when he left office. What I do know, however, is that he left behind a substantial industrial base in this country, spanning all sectors. He created the Dakar Free Trade Zone, which housed numerous factories and industrial parks in many regions. Bicycles and mopeds were manufactured in Kaolack for the country and the sub-region. The education system was of excellent quality, and primary healthcare was accessible to all. Above all, he launched the construction of the major dams on the Senegal River—infrastructure projects with largely untapped potential—and restored hope to the people of the valley. All these achievements were accomplished in the context of drought and a global energy crisis.
After his departure from power on December 31, 1980, the structural adjustment programs imposed on President Abdou Diouf by the IMF and the World Bank ruined all the country's industrialization and development efforts. The liberalization imposed by these two institutions transformed the country into a giant marketplace for European and Asian goods and led to the collapse of local industries, even though, historically, the United States and European nations had adopted protectionist policies to allow their nascent industries to develop and compete internationally. Despite the country's rapidly growing population, the state could no longer build new schools, and many private schools closed in rural areas after state subsidies ceased. This led to the rise of double-shift classes, multi-grade classrooms, temporary shelters, substandard teacher training, and so on. The destruction of the healthcare system reached such a point that a clinic serving some fifty villages in the Ziguinchor region was forced to close due to a lack of staff and medicine. Layoffs and voluntary departures of civil servants had taken their toll. The people endured this bitter pill for two decades. Upon coming to power in 2000, President Abdoulaye Wade inherited a stabilized financial situation. As a wise leader, he was able to undertake major infrastructure projects—bridges, roads, highways, the AIBD airport, etc.—without plunging the country back into debt that would jeopardize its economic and financial stability. The current level of debt, which risks putting the country back under the thumb of the IMF and the World Bank, is the result of the imprudence, not to say the incompetence, of Macky Sall's regime and its desire for a third term, which the Senegalese people, supported by democrats worldwide, forced him to abandon. Grandiose projects always impress people, even when their impact on the country's development and the daily lives of its citizens is minimal. It is indecent to portray those who inherited this catastrophic financial situation, and who want to manage it in the best interests of the country, as incompetent, while presenting those responsible as saviors who must be called upon for help. The country will not emerge from its current situation without sacrifices. These must be made by the State and by every citizen, regardless of their social standing. Together, we will overcome this crisis.
Seydi Gassama
Human rights defender
Dakar
Email: seydigassama@gmail.com
Commentaires (19)
Où se trouvait seydi Gassama?
Il est indécent de faire passer ceux et celles qui ont hérité de cette situation financière catastrophique, et qui veulent la gérer au mieux des intérêts du pays, pour des incompétents et présenter les auteurs pour des sauveurs qu’il faut appeler à la rescousse. Le pays ne sortira de la situation actuelle sans des sacrifices.
Les populations sont tres eduque maintenant et savent que Ousmane Sonko et Pastef sont la solution. Diomaye est trop preoccupe par 2029 pour faire focus a la situation du pays.... Mais ce sont ceux qui ont amene le pays dans cette situation qui sont derriere lui, essayant de faire croire au chat qu'il peut etre un lion.
Ne tronquez pas la vérité Monsieur GASSAMA, si ton leader que tu cherches à protéger, n'avait pas soulevé cette question de dettes cachées (dont les preuves sont toujours attendues) pour des raisons purement politicienne on en serait pas là.
Une modification de méthode de calcul de la dette de l'Etat central ne saurait engager les précédesseurs, ceux qui l'ont fait en assume pleinement la responsabilité surtout que si l'on sait que cela a été fait dans le but de charger un adversaire politique, il faut avoir l'honnêteté de le souligner
Alors que celui qui n' a pas hérité de dette n' a rien réalisé de significatifs et ceux qui ont laissé des dettes ont fait des réalisations concrètes.
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