Senegal urged to accelerate community reform implementation

The political phase of the 11th annual review of UEMOA community reforms took place this Tuesday in Dakar, following a brief one-day delay. The session was attended by the President of the UEMOA Commission, Abdoulaye Diop. While Senegal maintains a generally respectable performance across the 145 reforms assessed, a decline of 2.14 points compared to 2024 has prompted authorities to consider swift corrective actions.

Gathered in the capital for this review of community policies, programs, and projects, the Senegalese Minister of Finance and Budget and the Commission President validated the findings from the technical phase conducted in November 2025. Sénégal currently shows a provisional implementation rate of 76.45% for the 145 reforms under review, down from 78.59% for 132 reforms in 2024.

Identifying areas of weakness

This 2.14-point decrease is largely attributed to setbacks in two specific areas: economic governance and convergence, and structural reforms, which saw a 6.3-point drop. Key issues identified include the failure to submit the 2024 report from the single window for financial statements to the Commission. Additionally, sectors such as culture, tourism, crafts, quality standards, and the overall business climate have been highlighted as fragile areas requiring immediate attention.

Minister of Finance and Budget Cheikh Diba noted that the outcomes of this political phase will be formally presented to the Prime Minister during an upcoming audience with the Commission President.

Progress in key sectors

Despite the overall dip, several sectors demonstrated significant growth. Notable improvements were seen in:

• Agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and environment: An increase of 12 points.
• Human and social development: A rise of 6.5 points.
• Legal, accounting, and statistical frameworks: An improvement of 5.5 points.
• Energy sector: A gain of 3 points.

These results reflect a positive sectoral momentum that the government intends to build upon. Abdoulaye Diop emphasized that this exercise, established by the Conference of Heads of State in 2013, is designed to evaluate collective efforts toward UEMOA treaty goals, pinpoint gaps, and provide actionable recommendations.

Since 2014, ten such reviews have been conducted in Sénégal with largely positive outcomes. This current session marks the eleventh edition and the second under the biennial political structure established in July 2023. Senegalese authorities have signaled their commitment by scheduling a special briefing for the Prime Minister to ensure all administrative branches accelerate their alignment with community standards before the next assessment.