Senegal Abolishes Senate To Save Money
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Senegalese politicians have voted to scrap the nation’s Senate, or upper house, in order to save an estimated $15 million from the nation’s annual budget – that will go into a fund to help victims of recent deadly floods, reported the Associated Press on Thursday.
Senegalese politicians have voted to scrap the nation’s Senate, or upper house, in order to save an estimated $15 million from the nation’s annual budget – that will go into a fund to help victims of recent deadly floods, reported the Associated Press on Thursday.
Since July this year, at least thirteen Senegalese have died from severe floods caused by exceptionally high rainfall; while thousands of people have been left homeless, particularly those living in low-lying suburbs in the capital of Dakar.
Consequently, Senegalese President Macky Sall cut short a visit to South Africa last month to deal with the flood, calling for an emergency bill to abolish the Senate, which is responsible $15 million of the nation’s annual budget.
[quote]”Closing the Senate comes as a result of the urgent and crucial need to find substantial funds to deal with all the issues generated by the flooding,” the president’s spokesman, El Hadj Kasse, explained, as cited by the BBC.[/quote]Unlike the nation’s 150-seat national assembly, the 100-member senate is a relatively recent institution, and is considered as a symbol of government waste. Before President Sall announced his intention last month to abolish the Senate, residents had taken to the streets of the capital to denounce both the government and the Senate, where nearly half of the senators are directly appointed by the president.
According to a BBC correspondent in Dakar, the president’s decision is also likely to give him a boost in popularity, after facing criticism for concentrating on an investigation into alleged corrupt officials in the previous government, rather than on rising food prices and ending power cuts, since coming into power in March.
The 100 senators had reportedly fought to be retained, but lost the vote in the joint session of parliament.
[quote]”The relief of the suffering of the people is more important than the Senate, for us to stop the floods that cyclically affect our country,” said President Sall last month.[/quote]Related: Island in Senegal Kept “Afloat” by Wages from Spain
Related: Senegal Embarks On Anti-Corruption Drive To Attract Investors
Related: Senegal Economic Statistics and Indicators
According to a separate BBC report, Senegalese politicians have also now voted to abolish the post of vice-president – which was created in 2009 by then-President Abdoulaye Wade, but remains unfilled till today.
The World Bank has also pledged to provide $55.6 million to help Senegal improve its flood management systems, particularly in Dakar’s suburbs, with more floods expected in the future.
