Senegal: the president promises "new answers" to the demands of young people

Senegalese President Macky Sall on Saturday evening promised dialogue with the opposition and "

new responses

" to the demands of the youth, a month after the serious unrest that shook his country.

Read also: Senegal's warning to President Macky Sall

In a televised address on the eve of the national holiday, Macky Sall, in power since 2012, also assured to remain "

in tune with the deep impulses of the country

", while the opposition accuses the government of being deaf to the demands primordial, starting with those of youth.

"

I will continue to meet the needs of access to infrastructure, water, electricity, education, health care, housing, employment and income-generating activities

," said Mr. Sall.

Senegal, considered an island of stability in West Africa, was the scene from March 3 to 8 of scenes of clashes and looting never seen since at least 2012. The unrest has left several dead.

The arrest of the main opponent of the president, Ousmane Sonko, is considered to have brought to its height the accumulated exasperation in the face of the harsh living conditions made even worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the face of an exercise deemed too authoritarian by the power.

The pandemic has severely affected the economy and large sections of the population, 40% of whom live below the poverty line.

The protest strongly mobilized young people in a population of which the under 20s represent more than half.

The president and the government have since worked on appeasement.

"

I will always remain open to dialogue and consultation,

" Sall said on Saturday evening.

He preached "

peaceful coexistence

" and called for respect for institutions, whose symbols such as public buildings were attacked in early March.

Like several voices recently, he also warned against the emergence of "

particularisms

" in a country which is proud of its cohesion.

He dedicated the 61st anniversary of independence on Sunday to the youth, in addition to the security forces.

“

I want it to be the starting point for new responses to your needs in education, training, jobs, project funding and support for entrepreneurship,

” he said.

He recalled having decided to redirect budgets of 450 billion CFA francs (675 million euros) towards youth employment over three years, including 150 billion in 2021.

As of May, it will allocate 80 billion FCFA to recruit 65,000 young people in education, reforestation, public hygiene or road maintenance activities, he said.

Elected in 2012, re-elected in 2019, Macky Sall, 59, has said nothing about his intentions for the 2024 presidential election, a subject on which he maintains the vagueness and which cramps the opposition.