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The Senegalese authorities have banned a demonstration planned in Dakar recently by the opposition, to denounce irregularities in the management of an anti-covid fund revealed in a report by the Court of Auditors
The Senegalese authorities have banned a demonstration planned in Dakar recently by the opposition, to denounce irregularities in the management of an anti-covid fund revealed in a report by the Court of Auditors.
A decree by the prefect of Dakar stated that the place chosen for holding the demonstration was the hub where major works linked to a project for buses for creating exclusive lanes for their plying. Also, the perfect stated that the preparation of the Independence Day scheduled for 4 April was underway, where there will be a continuous presence of machinery and workers which now makes it impossible to hold gatherings.
The Place de la Nation, near downtown Dakar, usually hosts demonstrations. The main opposition coalition, Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW, Libérons le peuple in Wolof, had called for a demonstration to contest the way the government was managing the public funds and against the democratic backsliding and impunity of the men in power.
An audit report by the Court of Auditors of Senegal, published in mid-December deals with the expenditure made in 2020 and 2021 to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund is worth about 1,000 billion CFA francs (1.5 billion euros). Of that, more than 740 billion CFA francs (more than 1.1 billion euros) have been officially spent. The document listed out shortcomings, over-billing, lack of justification for expenses, etc. Some of the expenditures incurred are not linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, which raised many questions.
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The government defended itself by stressing that the failures reported were related to less than one percent of the total amount of the fund. However, it promised to follow the recommendations of the Court of Auditors, which has requested the opening of judicial information against officials in the ministries.
