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Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has positioned himself as a reformer committed to restoring transparency in public finances after inheriting billions of dollars in undisclosed debt from his predecessor. However, a newly proposed amendment to the country’s asset declaration law has stirred political debate, largely because it does not apply to the president himself.
The government’s proposal seeks to expand Senegal’s 2014 asset declaration law, which currently covers senior officials such as the Prime Minister, ministers, the President of the National Assembly, and public accountants managing over 1 billion CFA francs (€1.5 million). Under the amendment, the law would extend to public prosecutors, investigative judges, local government leaders, auditors, and directors of state-owned enterprises.
The bill also lowers the financial threshold for asset reporting from 1 billion to 500 million CFA francs (about €760,000) for public budget managers. If approved by the National Assembly on August 18, 2025, these new requirements would mark a significant tightening of financial disclosure rules.
Critics argue that the reform loses credibility by exempting the head of state. Opposition figure Doudou Wade of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) said requiring the president to declare assets is “the first condition of transparency.”
Members of the ruling party have defended the exemption, citing constitutional provisions. Ruling party MP Amadou Ba argued that the country’s Constitution only obliges the president to declare assets at the start of their term and that this requirement cannot be overridden by ordinary legislation. “This goes beyond the hierarchy of norms and constitutes a special law of exception,” Ba wrote on Facebook.
Senegal’s renewed focus on financial accountability follows a major fiscal scandal earlier this year. A February 2024 audit revealed that the administration of former President Macky Sall had understated national deficits, pushing the actual debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of 2023 to about 100%, far higher than the previously reported 74%.
The discovery prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to suspend loan disbursements under its program to Senegal and led to a downgrade of the country’s credit rating to B minus.
Since taking office, President Faye has pursued aggressive anti-corruption measures. Several former ministers have been detained, including Amadou Mansour Faye, the former Minister of Community Development and Sall’s brother-in-law, who faces charges of embezzling more than $4.6 million in public funds.
While the proposed amendment could tighten scrutiny on many high-ranking officials, the president’s exclusion has raised questions about whether Senegal’s anti-corruption drive will be applied evenly. The outcome of the August 18 parliamentary vote will determine whether these new measures take effect, and whether the political pressure for presidential inclusion will grow stronger.