Adjustment of super and diesel prices: AFP dismantles the government's economic policy

Less than nine months after a decrease in fuel prices, the Senegalese government has raised them again. Effective August 15, 2026, the price of a liter of premium gasoline will increase from 920 to 990 CFA francs (a rise of 70 CFA francs), while diesel will increase from 680 to 755 CFA francs (a rise of 75 CFA francs). This decision has been strongly criticized by the National Alliance of Progressive Executives (ANCP), the executive branch of the Alliance of Progressive Forces (AFP).

Meeting this Saturday, August 15 in Dakar under the chairmanship of Mbaye Dione, Secretary General of the party, the progressive executives described these tariff back-and-forths as inconsistent and risky for public finances.

For the ANCP, this adjustment highlights the instability of current economic management and its contradictions with the Economic and Social Recovery Plan (PRES). The organization questions the viability of recent budgetary choices.

"For a serious state, good decisions must first meet the conditions linked to the constraints of evolving global prices, combined with the need to preserve budgetary balance."

AFP executives are also targeting former Prime Minister and current President of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, whom they accuse of a 180-degree turn in front of the deputies to prepare citizens for the increase.

"It would be simplistic to present the current adjustment as a consequence of a simple change in government team. It mainly reflects the limitations of a price support policy which must imperatively be assessed in light of the State's actual financial capacity and the sustainability of public finances," they argue.

Rejecting ad hoc, demagogic measures, progressives remind us that the State must speak truthfully to citizens in the face of external shocks.

"Protecting purchasing power cannot be based in the long term on price reduction measures that are insufficiently supported by resources and a sustainable economic strategy."

To break free from this cycle, the ANCP puts forward five major proposals focused on sovereignty and economic discipline:

Budgetary control: Streamlining public spending and reforming subsidy mechanisms.

Direct aid: Implementing "targeted protection for the most vulnerable households against the rising cost of living".

Energy transition and sovereignty: Develop a policy reducing the country's dependence and accelerate "the development of our national resources in hydrocarbons and renewable energies".

Reviving the productive apparatus: Orienting the economy towards "production, investment, employment and the competitiveness of national companies".

AFP concludes its appeal by asking the authorities to place "economic stability and the preservation of the purchasing power of Senegalese people at the heart of public action".