Territorial hubs and Act IV of decentralization: Moussa Balla Fofana explains the main points of the reform

The reforms surrounding the territorial hubs and the fourth phase of decentralization aim to align with the agenda, not only for economic development but also for local and territorial development. This was stated by the Minister of Urban Planning, Local Authorities, and Territorial Development, Moussa Balla Fofana. He was speaking on the sidelines of the national meeting with territorial executives, which opened on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center (CICAD) in Diamniadio, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

"Today, we can speak of a consensus among the territories regarding development."

In his presentation of these two major reforms, which he said aimed to highlight the key points of convergence he had been able to establish during consultations with local authorities, the minister explained that these points now allow them to speak of a consensus among the territories regarding development. He maintained that "decentralization and territorialization are indeed instruments for localizing and implementing the national transformation agenda."

For him, the challenges of identifying the limitations of Act III and the innovations of Act IV, the challenges of making territorial hubs drivers of growth and development, and the challenges of co-construction have been met. "This is what has given us these points of convergence today, which constitute the consensus of the territories. And today, after your speech, we will be able to finalize, and always in a spirit of collaboration, propose final texts for our reform," explained Moussa Balla Fofana.

Fifteen areas of reform discussed with stakeholders

For the fourth phase of decentralization, the minister revealed that there are 15 areas of reform. These have been discussed and have led to the identification of four major points for this reform. These are: the need to modernize local governance and propose a territorial structure aligned with their objectives; the need to improve the financing of local authorities and, above all, to implement a local tax system that is well integrated into our fiscal policy; the need to strengthen territorial engineering; and finally, the need to promote local and territorial development and the enhancement of resources.

The supervisory authority argued that these 15 axes that were discussed and these four major points that were identified allowed them to highlight eight major innovations that will now allow them to launch development from our territories.