IMF Wants Clarity on Distorted Senegal Data Before Program Talks

In Senegal, the International Monetary Fund claims that between 2019 and 2024 a debt of approximately $7 billion was "hidden" by the Macky Sall administration, thus confirming the conclusions of the Court of Auditors. In its report published in February 2025, the body pointed to an undervalued debt and shortcomings in the management of the country's finances.

IMF Wants Clarity on Distorted Senegal Data Before Program Talks

Senegal faces a potential delay in restoring support from the International Monetary Fund, which wants to understand how debt data was misstated for years before discussing a new funding facility for the West African nation.

Ndongo Samba Sylla and Peter Doyle* At the beginning of November 2024, we drew the alarm that the IMF's forecasts of inflation in Senegal were completely absurd. In its flagship global publication – World Economy Outlook – published in October 2024, the IMF predicted that inflation [...]

After the publication of the Court of Auditors' report, which revealed that the country's debt was well above what had been announced by the previous government, the IMF encouraged the authorities to pursue "the consolidation of public finances" and hoped to relaunch a programme of aid "as soon as possible".

In Senegal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suspended funding of €1.8 billion as part of an aid program agreement for the country. [...]

The Court of Auditors of Senegal, in a recently published report, draws up a catastrophic state of affairs in public finances between 2019 and 2024. It reveals "serious discrepancies and shortcomings" in the management of public funds under the regime of former President Macky Sall. The Minister of Justice Ousmane Diagne said that these acts would not remain unpunished. At the same time, the Government undertook a series of reforms "to ensure th…