SENEGAL: Voices of Democracy, by Yassine Fall VP PASTEF in charge of International Affairs

 

Yassine Fall, the Vice President in charge of International Affairs of the  PASTEF opposition party in Senegal, gives an overview, in English,  of the state of affairs and the attack on democracy in Senegal today. Includes transalation  into English subtitles of the voices of major players in the Senegalese political scene

 

Voices of Democracy

Still silence on the Senegal COVID 19 Fund Scandal - the status quo prevails

 SENEPLUS 15/04/2023

While it continues to cause consternation among all Senegalese, the case of the mismanagement of Force Covid-19 funds does not seem to lead to any sanction or administrative measure so far. This is despite the fact that the public prosecutor's office has taken up the case and has initiated investigations at the level of the Criminal Investigation Division!

In his book entitled "On the Waves of Covid-19", published recently, the former director of the Centre for Emergency Health Operations (COUS), Dr Abdoulaye Bousso, has added a dark layer to the management of  Covid-19 funds. 

Dr Bousso,  who was at the heart of the COVID response, mentions in his book a purchase of non-medical pyjamas which, according to him, "are still stocked in storage unsued". Revealed by the Court of Auditors, the scandal linked to the management of Force Covid-19 funds had left the Senegalese speechless. 

In its report on expenditures made in 2020 and 2021 on the "Response Fund against the effects of Covid-19" amounting to more than CFAF 740 billion made public last December, (NOTE 1 billion cfa = $1,676,233)  the Court of Auditors denounced irregularities in the management of these funds. It said it had noted over-invoicing on the price of rice and hydro-alcoholic gels, a lack of "supporting documents" for expenses and the awarding of contracts, and expenses unrelated to the Covid, etc. The Court of Auditors therefore requested the opening of a judicial investigation against the incriminated officials.

 The controversy that swelled after the revelation of the scandal did not, in fact, leave the President of the Republic indifferent. Macky Sall reacted in Cabinet by "asking the Prime Minister to carefully examine the information published, the recommendations made and to take without delay the appropriate measures to enlighten the public on the elements contained in the said report with a view to follow-up".

On this, the Minister of Finance and Budget, Mamadou Moustapha Ba faced the press and assured that the government will follow up on the recommendations of the Court of Auditors while specifying that the "total amount of failures by the report amounts to 6 billion 686 million, 784 thousand 410 CFA francs, or 0.7 percent of the 1,000 billion injected into the Program of Economic and Social Resilience (PRESS), executed in disbursable expenses by the Treasury (628 billion) and non-disbursable (372 billion).

Despite these assurances from the government, civil society, the political class and the population are maintaining pressure to prevent this umpteenth report from being placed "under the elbow" of the President of the Republic (note: Macky Sall famously said in the past, when asked about the many internal audit reports exposing corruption, that hed had "put his elbow" on them, and in fact these never saw any further action). This time the Senegalese people want to ensure that justice is done in this matter. 

The Civil society organisations held a protest at the Place de la Nation. Two deputies, Guy Marius Sagna and the former Prime Minister Aminata Touré (who was later stripped of her position as a deputy), tabled a motion in parliament  for a resolution to impeach ten ministers. The collective "Sunu milliards dou ress" (trans: "Our billions will not be digested"), which was formed after the scandal was revealed, filed a complaint with the attorney general.

 After the mobilisation, the judiciary announced that it had ordered the opening of investigations into alleged cases of "corruption and abuse of office" in the management of the Covid-19 response fund. The case  was referred to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Judicial Police, said the public prosecutor Amady Diouf, in a statement. Speaking to the press on 23 March, the Attorney General Ibrahima Bakhoum said that the investigation is "ongoing" and that hearings have been held with a view to "shedding light" on the use of the funds.

However, today, the Senegalese are still hungry for the truth about the scandal in the management of Force Covid-19 funds. They are still waiting for the justice system, which seems to be much more prompt in political or private matters. (NOTE: i.e. when the Leader of the opposition is concerned the judicial system is fast tracked, but  when the President's brother -in-law, who is one of the most high profile people responsible for the funds, is concerned it is a different matter) .

So far, the case does not seem to lead to any sanctions or administrative measures. Could the report of the Court of Audit suffer the same fate as reports from other audit bodies? We are waiting to see.

 NOTE: It has been argued by some jurists that referral of the matter to the Criminal Investigation Department is a "backwards step" as the Court of Aditors has the power to, in their report, to go direct to the Attourney General for prosecution, having already carried our an investigation and interviewed all the people concerned. The Police can bring a case to the Court of Auditors for investigation. Therefore this can be an attempt to kick the case into the long grass"

All (NOTES) are by Senegal Concern Editors