Quand les chantiers s'arrêtent et la crise s'installe, les jeunes se tournent vers les plateformes VTC
One September evening, the two wide lanes of Dakar's Corniche are, as often happens, clogged with endless lines of taxis, where hurried motorcyclists weave through the traffic. Mouhamadou Bamba, 43, tries to remain calm behind the wheel of his car while glancing at the Yango on-demand transport app displayed on his phone.
For the past two months, this civil engineer by training has joined, like thousands of other Senegalese, this digital platform similar to Uber in Europe, and launched at the end of 2021 in Senegal in the cities of Dakar, Thiès and Mbour.
For many, this is a temporary career change, while waiting for the major construction projects to resume.
Since the arrival in power of the tandem Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko in 2024, the executive branch has stopped a number of construction projects, both public and private.
On Dakar's Corniche, piles of rubble spoil the ocean view, remnants of an urban development project that was intended to stretch for some ten kilometers. Officially, the government claims it wants to "review land allocation procedures and combat coastal land grabbing."
In Diamniadio, a new city located about thirty kilometers from Dakar and considered by the former regime as the cornerstone of its policy to decongest the capital, public works projects are also at a standstill.
Thousands of workers found themselves unemployed.
The union of the Consortium of Building and Public Works Companies of Senegal (CDE) held a press conference in September to warn about the crisis in the sector.
"Salary arrears"
"As early as 2023, we started to accumulate salary delays and, since 2024, it is now 4 to 5 months of arrears," denounces Souleymane Abdoulaye Demba, union member and stock manager at CDE.
"In 2023, the Consortium still employed 2,500 workers (...) Today, we are only 1,000 left," laments Amath Diop, another union member.
Revenue in the construction sector fell by 13.4% in 2025, according to official data.
It is in this context that platforms like Yango are experiencing spectacular growth. "Since our launch, the number of partner drivers has increased approximately fourfold," estimates Sabine Djokoto-Ayité, head of public relations for Francophone Africa at the platform.
She specifies that these drivers "number in the tens of thousands". "A large proportion of the partner drivers and couriers are in the 20 to 40 age bracket", she says.
Mouhamadou Bamba is very bitter about the sector's slump. He had to change careers after the construction of a building in the upscale Almadies district of Dakar was halted.
"I was the project manager," confides this father of two, nostalgic for the seven-figure salary he used to earn. Today, he says he earns between 30,000 and 50,000 FCFA (between 45 and 76 euros) per working day - a high sum in a country where the average monthly salary of an employee is 96,206 FCFA (146 EUR).
His brother, a former worker at the subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), joined him in this activity.
Anger of the yellow taxis
But Mr. Bamba is not satisfied with his lot and remains on the lookout for new projects or the resumption of his own.
"The switch to ride-hailing platforms is not a solution to unemployment, but rather a simple change of activity for already experienced workers," explains Tamba Danfakha, president of the "Priority Employment" coalition in Senegal.
Malick (name changed for security reasons), 39, refuses to stay in the ride-hailing business with Yango for long, even though "it pays quite well," he told AFP. This father of two acquired his skills in the construction industry while working alongside his European boss.
Out of loyalty, he refuses to leave despite the slowdown in his activities. While waiting for better days, he drives for Yango at night and not during the day, to remain discreet.
Unemployment and government intervention are not the only obstacles faced by Malick, Mouhamadou Bamba, and others who have turned to on-demand transportation. Since January, traditional yellow taxi drivers have been regularly demonstrating to denounce "unfair competition" from ride-hailing services (Yango, Yassir, Heetch, Yanati).
"Most of these drivers operate without the required paperwork for urban transport," fumes Modou Seck, spokesperson for the taxi drivers, in an interview with AFP. He says he has observed that they operate without mandatory documents such as an operating permit, insurance, a vehicle inspection certificate, or a professional license.
Ignoring the anger of the taxi drivers and the cumbersome nature of the State, Mouhamadou Bamba and the others continue their journeys to provide for their families.
Commentaires (6)
Metina torope
Le changement positif va certainement passer par une période de crise temporaire. Mougne rék le temps que ça passe, après la pluie le beau temps.
En moins d'1 an le client detruit notre econmie et veut s'en allé gratuitement ; dafay yomb torop
Je comprends pas , il disent que l'activité paie trés bien mais il ya même quand même une honte pour le pratiquer? c'est quoi le " travailler la nuit pour rester discrêt" Thiey mes compatriotes
Un article rédigé juste pour critiquer le pouvoir. Sans doute payé par les kulunas milliardaires blanchisseur de capitaux dans l'immobilier
Mdr réflexion niveau mouton
Pendant ce temps, Binga qui n'a jamais dirigé un kiosque à café de sa vie veut organiser un tera machin au foraille. C'est une honte. Même les ingénieurs en génie civil sont au chômage dans un pays qui se dit en construction. Quel paradoxe. Je suis même tenté de dire que c'est bien fait pour notre gueu...
quand on recule, ce doit etre extrement difficile de s'avancer, sans s'arreter ne serait-ce qu'un court instant.
Dommage que les démoniaques pastechiens nous aient enlevé notre Macky bien-aimé. Ça commencé vraiment à marcher pour notre cher Sénégal. Des chantiers en pagaille, des emplois au TER,au BRT sur les autoroutes, les ponts, les universités et lycées. Et ces démons sont venus tout détruire. Dieu nous en débarrasse.
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