Dakar, Senegal – March 26, 2025
An IMF team, led by Edward Gemayel, concluded a visit to Senegal from March 18–26, 2025, to review a Court of Auditors report from February 12. The audit found fiscal deficits for 2019–2023 underreported by 5.6% of GDP and central government debt revised from 74.4% to 99.7% of GDP by end-2023, due to hidden loans worth 25.3% of GDP.
The authorities have expressed their intention to request a new IMF-supported program. The IMF stands ready to support Senegal in designing a reform-oriented arrangement that builds on the audit findings and aligns with the government’s development strategy. Discussions on a potential new program will start once corrective actions to address the misreporting have been initiated and soon after the IMF Executive Board’s consideration of the misreporting case.
The mission assessed the misreporting’s scope and causes, identifying weak budget controls and reporting systems. Gemayel called for urgent reforms, including tax exemption cuts and energy subsidy phaseouts, to meet WAEMU deficit targets and lower debt, estimated at 105.7% of GDP in 2024. Despite this, 2024 GDP grew 6.0%, driven by hydrocarbons, with inflation at 0.8%.
Meetings with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ministers Ousmane Diagne, Abdourahmane Sarr, and Cheikh Diba, plus other stakeholders, focused on corrective actions. Senegal plans to seek a new IMF program once reforms begin and the IMF Board reviews the case. Gemayel praised the authorities’ transparency commitment and affirmed IMF support.
