Audit shows Senegal’s previous government distorted economic data

Dakar — Senegal’s Court of Auditors released a long-awaited review of the country’s finances on Wednesday that confirmed the previous government misreported crucial economic data including debt and deficit figures.

Senegal’s sovereign eurobonds tumbled after the report was released. The 2033 dollar-denominated maturity led the losses, shedding more than 2c to bid at 79.95c on the dollar by 2.13pm GMT.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who came to power in April 2024, ordered an audit that revealed that its debt and budget deficit were much wider than former President Macky Sall’s administration had reported.

As a consequence of the audit, Faye’s government decided in June not to table a request for further disbursement under its three-year $1.8bn credit facility with the IMF.

The Washing-based institution suspended the programme pending the review of the court. A spokesperson for the IMF said last week it was working closely with Senegalese authorities to identify their capacity development needs and to implement corrective measures.

“The work carried out by the court shows that outstanding debt is higher than that shown in the reporting documents,” the court’s report states.

At the end of 2023, the total outstanding debt represented 99.67% of GDP, it added. That compares with a previously recording figure of 74.41%.

The document, which covers public finances from 2019 to March 2024, said it also detected other anomalies and data discrepancies between the reported and the actual numbers.

“The deficit calculated and reported to the IMF for the period under review is very far from its real value, if the exact volume of project loan disbursements is taken into account,” the court said in the report.

The reviewed budget deficit for 2023 stood at 12.3% of GDP compared with 4.9% reported by the previous administration, it said.

Reuters