Senegalese National Assembly Speaker Ousmane Sonko challenged the government's proposed use of a G20 debt framework on Oct. 19, raising concerns about household costs before lawmakers review the 2027 budget, AFP reported.
The draft budget projects 4,552 billion CFA francs in debt principal repayments next year. It puts the deficit at 1,351.7 billion CFA francs, or 4.7% of gross domestic product, compared with 7.6% in the adjusted 2026 budget.
At a news conference, Sonko, who leads Pastef, said Senegal could reprofile its debt without entering the G20 Common Framework. He argued that the budget would reduce social spending and investment and impose costs on households, AFP reported.
The finance ministry announced its Senegal Debt Treatment Plan on Sept. 1, linking it to a public-finance audit and reduced access to international capital markets. The proposal would bring external debt into an enhanced G20 process while excluding obligations denominated in CFA francs. The framework coordinates talks among creditors; it does not guarantee debt cancellation.
The ministry says easing payment and refinancing pressure would give the state more room to fund priority investments and settle overdue bills owed to businesses. The terms of any debt treatment have yet to be agreed.
The proposed budget calls for energy subsidies to decline gradually to no more than 1% of GDP annually by 2029. It says better-off households receive a significant share of current subsidies and presents the change as a way to direct support toward vulnerable households. The draft also raises the proposed Bourses de Sécurité familiale allocation to 140 billion CFA francs in 2027 from 70 billion in 2026, with a goal of reaching 1,000,649 vulnerable households.
Senegal's Cour des Comptes found that debt in the central budget administration at Dec. 31, 2023, was higher than earlier accounts showed. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) separately estimated debt across the broader public sector at 132% of GDP at the end of 2024.
IMF staff and Senegalese authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on a proposed 36-month Extended Credit Facility arrangement worth approximately $2.2 billion. It requires IMF management and Executive Board approval, corrective action over past debt misreporting and financing assurances. Parliament has yet to approve the 2027 budget.
