Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye came into office with a bold promise — to clean up government spending and make sure every kobo (or CFA franc) is accounted for. That mission got even more urgent after a shocking audit revealed billions in hidden debt left behind by his predecessor, Macky Sall.
Now, Faye’s government is pushing for a big change in the country’s asset declaration law. The plan? Expand it so more public officials — from judges and prosecutors to directors of state-owned companies — must publicly declare what they own, both when they start their job and when they leave. The threshold for those handling public funds would also drop from CFA1 billion to CFA500 million, making it harder for anyone to hide big assets in plain sight.
But here’s the twist — the President himself won’t have to follow the new rule. That’s because the bill exempts the head of state, sparking outrage from the opposition. Critics say it’s impossible to preach transparency while standing outside the rules. “The first step in real accountability is for the President to declare his assets,” opposition politician Doudou Wade argued.
Supporters of Faye insist he’s not dodging anything — they say the constitution already requires the president to declare assets once at the start of a term. Still, with Senegal battling a debt crisis that’s scared off the IMF and led to a credit downgrade, many worry this exemption could weaken Faye’s anti-corruption image.
Since taking office, he has gone after corruption aggressively, even arresting five former ministers. But for many Senegalese, the big question now is simple — if the President says everyone else should open their books, shouldn’t he lead by example?
