Political funds: Thierno Bocoum questions the 14.16 billion CFA francs allocated to the Prime Minister's office under Sonko

The president of AGIR-Les leaders, Thierno Bocoum, is questioning the use of 14.16 billion CFA francs, which, according to the figures provided, corresponds to the Prime Minister's office's political funds over a two-year period. This questioning brings the issue of transparency and accountability in the management of public resources back to the forefront of the debate.

Thierno Bocoum is raising questions about the Prime Minister's office's political funds, citing statements by Minister Abdourahmane Diouf regarding an allocation of 1.77 billion CFA francs per quarter. The political figure is putting the volume of public resources mobilized into perspective.

"Minister Abdourahmane Diouf stated that Ousmane Sonko was receiving 1.77 billion CFA francs per quarter from the Prime Minister's political funds and that he was also requesting additional resources. This amount represents 14.16 billion CFA francs. This is equivalent to nearly 19.4 million CFA francs per day. Beyond the figure, an essential question deserves to be asked: what is the concrete benefit of this expenditure for the Senegalese people?", asks Mr. Bocoum.

As an illustration, he said, an envelope of this magnitude could correspond to the financing of 944 classrooms over two years, 141.6 million university restaurant tickets, 28.32 million consultations in health posts or 141,600 social scholarships of 100,000 CFA francs.

Or, he continues, "the equivalent of 240,400 monthly minimum wage salaries, or more than ten thousand salaries each month for two years."

These comparisons do not imply that political funds could have been automatically allocated to these sectors. However, according to this approach, they allow us to measure the financial burden of these expenditures in relation to the country's social needs.

The question is all the more relevant in a context where schools are still facing infrastructure difficulties, where students are encountering problems related to university catering, and where some families are struggling to access healthcare due to a lack of resources.

"Meanwhile, students are continuing their schooling under temporary shelters. Students sometimes forgo a meal due to a lack of meal tickets. Families are delaying medical consultations because they do not have a few thousand CFA francs. When a leader asks his population for sacrifices, every franc from public resources that he uses must be justifiable, at least in terms of its objective and impact," insists Mr. Bocoum.

For the president of AGIR, the issue goes beyond the announced amount alone. The main question is how these public resources were used and what impact they actually had on the population.

"The controversy more broadly reflects the need for stronger oversight and control of political funds. When billions of CFA francs from public resources are involved, transparency, traceability, and accountability become central requirements. Beyond political divisions, the question raised is therefore that of accountability in the management of public funds: how much has been spent, for what purposes, and with what results for the Senegalese people?" insists Thierno Bocoum.