Economic sabotage and incompetence: Lansana Gagny Sakho's scathing attack against Ousmane Sonko

Lansana Gagny Sakho, a former close associate of Ousmane Sonko, continues his criticism of the Speaker of the National Assembly. A guest on the RFM Matin program, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of APIX (the Agency for the Promotion of Investment and Major Projects) delivered a scathing indictment of Ousmane Sonko's leadership of the government, accusing him of incompetence and of deliberately seeking to undermine President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's mandate.

According to him, " in another country, Ousmane Sonko's government would have been dismissed long ago ." He believes that the first two years of the regime were marked by a paralysis of public action: " For two years, all state projects were blocked ," he declared, judging this situation particularly detrimental to the national economy.

Addressing the issue of public finances, Lansana Gagny Sakho believes that the controversy surrounding an alleged hidden debt has damaged Senegal's credibility. He also regrets the tensions that have arisen with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), believing that they have further weakened the country's image with international partners.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of APIX (the Senegalese Investment Promotion Agency) asserts that Senegal's performance in attracting investment has significantly deteriorated. He notes that, according to him, the country once held first place in West Africa thanks to the work of APIX, before falling to 15th place out of 16 countries in the sub-region. " No investors are showing interest ," he maintained, attributing this decline to the renegotiation of several contracts and a lack of economic visibility.

He paid tribute to the efforts made under the presidencies of Abdoulaye Wade and Macky Sall to build Senegal's reputation with investors. " A reputation is difficult to build but very quickly destroyed ," he stressed, believing that the confidence of the private sector has been deeply shaken.

For the remaining two years of the presidential term, Lansana Gagny Sakho calls for an economic recovery based on " truth ", a restoration of investor confidence and a normalization of relations with the IMF — a process which, according to him, is already underway.

But it was above all regarding the intentions he attributed to Ousmane Sonko that his remarks were most virulent: " Sonko is both incompetent and sought to sabotage Diomaye's rule ," he asserted. In his view, the former Prime Minister was pursuing an agenda aimed at ensuring that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's term would be a failure. He also believes that Sonko " doesn't listen ," unlike the Head of State.

Lansana Gagny Sakho finally denounced what he called a " scorched earth policy ," also accusing the National Assembly of trying to block certain initiatives. Reacting to the desire of some members of parliament to investigate an alleged "slush fund" belonging to Ousmane Sonko, he rebuked: " MPs who went and acquired vehicles worth 50 million CFA francs have no right to lecture anyone. "

Regarding officials appointed by presidential decree, he believes that ministers, directors general, and other senior executives must demonstrate total loyalty to the President of the Republic. " Those who benefit from a presidential decree must be completely with him or withdraw ," he concluded.