![TOUBA UNDER WATER, TOUBA WITHOUT WATER: HOW LONG WILL THE STATE CONTINUE TO MAKE JUST PROMISES? [By Cheikh AL MBACKE]](https://image.seneweb.com/content/news/2026-32-09//thumb_1260x800_6a78951dbebdd_mY7ebyocYA.jpeg)
TOUBA SOUS LES EAUX, TOUBA SANS EAU : JUSQU’À QUAND L’ÉTAT VA-T-IL SE CONTENTER DE PROMETTRE ? [Par Cheikh A. L. MBACKE]
After the solemn commitments made before the General Khalif of the Mourides, the time for speeches is over: President Diomaye Faye must now deliver results.
Sometimes you have to have the courage to say what many prefer to keep silent about.
What happened in Touba during the Magal 2026 is a serious warning to the State of Senegal.
A city that welcomes millions of pilgrims.
A city that constitutes one of the largest demographic, economic and spiritual centers in the country.
A city whose national and international importance is undeniable.
And yet, at a time when millions of Senegalese and visitors are converging on Touba, we still see the same images: difficulties in accessing drinking water, populations forced to search for water, tanker trucks mobilized in the emergency and, at the same time, neighborhoods facing rainwater and flooding.
Touba lacks water when it rains elsewhere.
Touba is underwater when it receives too much water.
We need to have the courage to admit that something isn't working.
And above all, we must stop viewing this situation as inevitable.
*THE SCANDAL IS NOT THE RAIN. THE SCANDAL IS THE ABSENCE OF A DEFINITIVE SOLUTION.*
No one can stop the sky from raining.
But a modern state must be able to anticipate the consequences of rain.
No one is asking the government to command the heavens.
He is simply asked to build the infrastructure capable of receiving, channeling, evacuating and utilizing rainwater.
Similarly, no one asks the state to magically create water.
He is asked to build a hydraulic system capable of meeting the current and future needs of a metropolis like Touba.
That is what governing is.
Anticipate rather than react.
Plan rather than improvise.
Build rather than communicate.
*50 TANK TRUCKS: THIS IS NOT A WATER POLICY*!
As the Magal approaches, the State has mobilized dozens of tanker trucks to reinforce the water supply.
Alright.
It was certainly necessary to respond to the emergency.
But let's ask the question that every public official should have the courage to ask:
How many more Magals will it take to supply water by tanker trucks before Touba finally has a hydraulic system that meets its needs?
A tanker truck is an emergency solution.
This is not an infrastructure.
He can help a family out.
It cannot form the backbone of a public policy.
Senegal cannot want to build an emerging economy while continuing to manage a city of several million people like a temporary camp.
Touba deserves a network.
Touba deserves some reservations.
Touba deserves drainage systems.
Touba deserves a regular distribution.
Touba deserves genuine water security.
*AND MEANWHILE, THE RAINWATER REMINDS US OF THE FLAW OF URBANIZATION*
The other problem is just as serious: flooding.
We have known about the vulnerable areas for years.
We know which areas are at risk.
We know the low points.
We are aware of the shortcomings of the drainage system.
We know the consequences.
So why do we keep waiting for the first heavy rains to start reacting?
Why does the state agree to turn every winter into a rescue operation?
Why wait until the houses are invaded?
Why wait until the roads become impassable?
Why wait until families are displaced?
Why wait until businesses are paralyzed?
Why wait for images of flooding to circulate on social media before the administrative machinery starts moving?
A forward-thinking state doesn't discover a flood when it starts. It prepares for it before it happens.
*MR. PRESIDENT, YOU SPOKE IN FRONT OF THE KHALIFA*
It is precisely for this reason that the issue is becoming political today.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye visited Touba.
He met with the Caliph General of the Mourides.
He made commitments.
The government has announced significant investments in water, sanitation and infrastructure.
The problem is therefore no longer the lack of recognition of the problem.
The problem now lies in the execution.
Mr. President,
You have a historic opportunity before you.
You can make Touba one of the great infrastructural successes of your term.
You can be the President who will have definitively solved the water problem in Touba.
You can be the President under whom recurring floods will have been transformed into a problem of the past.
But to achieve this, we need to change our approach.
*WE MUST STOP MANAGING TOUBA THROUGH MAGAL*
This may be the main strategic error.
At each Magal, we increase the number of trucks.
The measures are being strengthened.
Temporary measures are being put in place.
We're holding more and more meetings.
Construction work has been announced.
Then the Magal passes.
And a few months later, the same problems reappear.
No !
Touba should not be managed like a city that is only prepared when a religious event is approaching.
Touba is a permanent metropolis.
She lives 365 days a year.
Its inhabitants need water 365 days a year.
His businesses need water 365 days a year.
Its schools need water 365 days a year.
Its hospitals need water 365 days a year.
Its mosques need water 365 days a year.
And its populations need an effective sanitation system throughout the rainy season.
*I PROPOSE TO THE PRESIDENT A “TOUBA 2029 PACT* ”
If the government truly wants to make history, let it make a simple decision now:
To definitively resolve the water and flooding issues in Touba before the end of the presidential term.
Not a vague promise.
Not a political statement.
A true Touba 2029 Pact, with objectives, budgets, deadlines and public results.
FIRST COMMITMENT: 24/7 WATER
Touba must have sufficient hydraulic capacity to guarantee the normal supply of water to the population, including during periods of very high demand.
It's necessary :
- increase strategic drilling;
- secure power sources;
- increase storage capacity;
- to build reservoirs in strategic areas;
- modernize the networks;
- reduce losses;
- to secure the power supply to the infrastructure;
- develop solar energy for hydraulic installations;
- install digital network monitoring systems.
Objective: never again a structural water shortage in Touba.
*SECOND COMMITMENT: ZERO NEIGHBORHOODS ABANDONED BY FLOODS*
We need to build a true metropolitan drainage system.
Not just a few gutters here and there.
Not just motor pumps.
Not just pumping operations.
But :
main collectors, secondary networks, retention basins, outlets, gravity drainage and pumping stations where they are essential.
We must think about Touba in terms of the 2035-2040 horizon, and not just until the next rainy season.
*THIRD COMMITMENT: TRANSFORM RAINWATER INTO A RESOURCE*
Here is another mistake we need to correct.
Why consider all rainwater solely as a threat?
Some of this water can be captured.
Stored.
Reused.
Valued.
Touba could develop retention basins that would not only reduce the risk of flooding, but also create reserves that could be used for certain non-domestic needs.
Water that destroys today can become a resource tomorrow.
That's what it means to think differently.
*FOURTH COMMITMENT: A SINGLE AUTHORITY FOR TOUBA*
We must also put an end to the dispersion of responsibilities.
When water is the responsibility of one structure, sanitation of another, roads of another, drainage of another, and emergencies of another, the final responsibility becomes difficult to identify.
I therefore propose the creation of a:
*NATIONAL AUTHORITY FOR WATER, SANITATION AND RESILIENCE OF TOUBA*
This authority should have:
- a multi-year budget;
- a precise timetable;
- performance indicators;
- an obligation to achieve results;
- a digital site monitoring system;
- an independent annual audit.
And most importantly:
Every franc invested must be traceable.
Citizens should be able to know how much has been budgeted, how much has been spent, which company is working, where it is working, and when the work is due to be completed.
*FIFTH COMMITMENT: A CALENDAR UNTIL 2029*
We need to move away from vague administrative language.
I propose a simple schedule.
2026: EMERGENCY AND FINAL DIAGNOSIS
Complete mapping of flood zones.
Identification of actual hydraulic needs.
Securing the water supply.
Accelerated launch of priority projects.
*2027: MAJOR WORKS*
Massive deployment of water networks.
Construction of the main drainage works.
Retention basins.
Structuring collectors.
Strengthening storage capacities.
*2028: MAINTENANCE AND EXTENSION*
Extension to outlying districts.
Network modernization.
Strengthening distribution capacity.
Full-scale tests during winter storage.
*2029: THE TRUTH TEST*
Independent audit.
Public evaluation.
Hydraulic capacity check.
Drainage system check.
And most importantly:
*THE POPULATIONS MUST BE THE JUDGES OF THE OUTCOME*.
*MR. PRESIDENT, DON'T LET TOUBA REMIND YOU OF YOUR PROMISES*
This is not a personal attack against the President of the Republic.
This is a call for responsibility.
Because the promises made in Touba are not just election promises.
They commit the State.
They commit the Republic.
They pledge your word before the General Caliph of the Mourides.
And they put your record on the line of history.
You still have time.
You can still take action.
You can still raise the funds.
You can still speed up the work.
You can still coordinate the ministries.
You can still turn this crisis into a historic opportunity.
But it needs to be done now.
*SENEGAL MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN TANK TRUCK POLICY AND INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY*
That's the real choice.
Should we continue sending tanker trucks to every Magal?
Or finally, build a hydraulic system capable of meeting the needs of Touba?
Should we continue sending out water pumps after every heavy rain?
Or build a drainage network capable of sustainably removing rainwater?
Continue to launch projects?
Or how to measure their real impact?
The choice is before us.
*TOUBA DOES NOT ASK FOR STATE CHARITY*
It is also important to remember this.
Touba is not asking for a privilege.
Touba is not asking for preferential treatment.
Touba is simply asking that the State fully assume its responsibilities.
A city of this importance deserves infrastructure commensurate with its demographic, economic, and spiritual weight.
*TOUBA NO LONGER WANTS TO BE RESCUED* .
*TOUBA WANTS TO BE EQUIPPED.*
*TOUBA NO LONGER WANTS TEMPORARY SOLUTIONS* .
*TOUBA WANTS DEFINITIVE SOLUTIONS.*
*TOUBA DOESN'T WANT ANY MORE PROMISES* .
*TOUBA WANTS RESULTS* .
And these results must be visible before the end of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's term.
*THE HISTORY DEADLINE IS SET: 2029*
In 2029, when Senegal looks back on the record of this governance, a simple question will have to be asked:
Have we definitively solved the problem of water and flooding in Touba?
If the answer is yes, then President Diomaye Faye can legitimately include this achievement among the great successes of his term.
If the answer is no, the same images will reappear:
tanker trucks,
motor pumps,
the houses underwater,
angry populations
emergency meetings,
renewed promises.
And Senegal can no longer afford this cycle.
The time has come to move from communication to action.
From emergency response to planning.
From promise to performance contract.
From a policy of temporary solutions to a policy of infrastructure.
Mr. President, you made a promise.
Now, build.
Touba is watching you.
The Caliph is watching you.
The Senegalese people are watching you.
And history will judge you on what you have actually built.
Sheikh Abdou Lahad MBACKE
Doctor of Public Policy and Applied Macroeconomics, Specialist in Negotiation and Conflict Management, [email protected]
Commentaires (25)
Ou passe tout l'argent verse par les croyants et le gouvernement. Je pense que nous pouvons mieux faire si on prend les responsabilites avec courage.
Touba n'est pas la seule responsabilite de Diomaye, il est president de tout le senegal et il ya des urgences partout avec un budget limite.
Ceci devait passer par une participation mensuelle symbolique pour chaque maison, la modique somme de 3000 F je crois.
Il s’est fait insulter violemment par les habitants de, jusqu’à lui rappeler sa caste. D’autre lui disait qu’il voulait s’enrichir en vendant l’au en provenance des forage que les différent Khalifes qui se sont succédés ont creusé.
Pour éteindre le feu qui couvait, le khalife lui avait demandé d’arrêter le projet et de retourner s’installer à Dakar.
C’est pour vous dire que les habitant de Touba aiment trop la gratuité, ils veulent vivre des Adiyas.
Si c’était Baye Lakhat qui était encore là, tout ce bordel cesserait. Le slogan JUBB_JUBAL_JUBANTI lui allait à merveille.
Pr Diomaye risque de perdre les élections de 2029 à coup sûr à cause de l eau partout au Sénégal.
Wait and see.
👍
1 LE PROBLEME DE L EAU COURANTE DE CELLE TOUBA PASSE OBLIGATOIRERMENT PAR LE TRANSFERET DE L EAU DEPUIS LE LAC DXE GUERRE
IL EST VRAI QUE TOUBA SE SITUE EN HAUTEUR PAR RAPPORT A TOUBA MAIS C EST PAS UNE RAISON POUR NE PAS FAIRE CE TRANSFERT DEPUIS DES ANNEES
QUAND ON VEUT ON PEUT CE GOUVERNEMENT ET LES GOUVERNEMENTS PASSES NE VOULAIENT PAS LE FAIRE
CHAQUE ANNEE AVEC LE MAGAL UN OU DES FORAGES SONT FAIT ET MEME CETTE EAU N EST PLUS POSSIBLE POUR VOTRE SANTE
2 POUR CE QUI EST DES INONDATIONS AVEC TOUS LES MOYENS QUE LES GOUVERNEMENTS ONT INVESTI A TOUBA IL Y AURA TOUJOURS DES INONDATIONS LE GOUVERNEMENT NE VOUS DISE PAS LA VERITE CAR IL Y AURA TOUJOURS DES INONDATIOS
J AI TRAVAILLE DANS CE MINISTERE DEPUIS DES ANNEES PLUS DE 30 ANS DEPUIS DANSOKO
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