A citizen's plea from a grandson of Mame Maodo: "Tivaouane forgotten, the Gamou behind us"

Doesn't the religious city of Tivaouane, a future development hub and a space for regulation, stability, and social cohesion, deserve more attention, especially from public authorities, regardless of the regime in power? This question comes from Moulay Abdou Aziz Diop, a grandson of El Hadji Malick Sy (RTA) and a prominent figure in religious civil society. He highlights the persistent issue of the deteriorating health situation in the capital of the Tijaniyya order.

“Since the commissioning of the new level 3 national hospital center Mame El Hadji Malick Sy on August 10, 2026, two weeks before Gamou, it is operating with a minimum service limited to outpatient consultations and conventional radiology. A large part of the medical and paramedical staff is almost involuntarily “unemployed” due to the lack of delivery and effective provision of certain infrastructures and equipment necessary for proper specialized medical and surgical care for thousands of patients,” denounces the grandson of Mame Maodo.

According to him, the residents of Tivaouane and the surrounding areas, along with the thousands of patients who had placed great hope in the gradual opening of the hospital in the presence of the Ministers of Health and Infrastructure, are now forced to return to the Mame Abdou Sy Dabakh Hospital, a level 2 facility that serves more than three health centers and 40 health posts and is beginning to reach its operational limits. He stated that the hospital currently receives only a level 1 subsidy of approximately 200 million CFA francs, out of a total budget of over 2 billion CFA francs, and its medical equipment is quite outdated.

He points out that while the Prime Minister is announcing the construction of five new hospitals in several locations, at a cost of hundreds of billions of CFA francs, the Mame El Hadji Malick Sy Hospital is struggling to be completed due to a dispute of less than 2 billion CFA francs between the State of Senegal and Ellipse, the company responsible for the construction and equipping of the facility. According to him, logic and consistency would dictate that the State settle the outstanding invoices and payments owed to the company before all hospital activities can effectively begin, to the great benefit of the population.

Moulay Abdou Aziz Diop recalls that the laying of the foundation stone for the Mame El Hadji Malick Sy Hospital took place on June 25, 2022, coinciding with the centenary of the holy man of Tivaouane, under the effective chairmanship of former President Macky Sall and Serigne Mansour Sy Dabakh, representing the Caliph General of the Tijaniyya order, Serigne Babacar Sy Mansour, and the entire family of Seydi El Hadji Malick Sy (RTA). He believes that, in the spirit of continuity of the state, it is highly likely that the official inauguration will take place under the chairmanship of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The expectations of the people of Tivaouane are to disconnect the political agenda of the official inauguration with the settlement of arrears owed to the company, the final acceptance of all equipment and infrastructure to guarantee the quality and availability of care to the medical, paramedical, administrative and technical teams already mobilized and committed to the service of the hospital and the people.