Fallout from Senegal unrest hits economy
Laurent LOZANO
Tue, June 6, 2023
Destruction: People walk past a burnt-out car in Dakar
As Senegalese struggle with the aftermath of deadly protests sparked by the conviction of an opposition leader, attention is shifting to the impact on the nation's economy.
Two days of violence last week have cost "billions of CFA francs" -- tens of millions of dollars -- and political risk is threatening this year's growth targets, said consultant economist Mansour Sambe.
The West African state has long surfed on its reputation for stability in a region plagued by coups.
But that cosy image has been dented by clashes between the security forces and supporters of firebrand presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko.
Sixteen people died and hundreds were injured or arrested after Sonko on Thursday was sentenced to two years on charges of "corrupting" a young woman.
That verdict was the outcome of a two-year case for rape charges that transfixed the country, triggering sporadic unrest that had already claimed a dozen lives.
In a country that has only a meagre social safety net, many Senegalese live in precarity and eye disruption with dread.
- 'If you work, you eat' -
Magaye Gaye, a 19-year-old toiletries seller at the Sandaga market in Dakar, said he had closed his stall on the eve of the trial's outcome.
Several days without business had left him with almost nothing.
"I have spent all my savings just to survive," he told AFP.
Clothing seller Modou Gueye, 46, was in a similar predicament.
"Clients have stayed away because they are afraid," he said Monday. "We live from one day to the next. If you have work, you eat, if you have no work, you go hungry."
For many poor Senegalese, the coming Muslim festival of Tabaski is a daunting moment, as it requires the purchase of lamb for the traditional family feast.
Some have been badly hit by the government move at the weekend to suspend mobile internet access after it blocked access to social media, since millions use mobile phones to transfer money.
"The banks have been closed since Wednesday," Ady Thiam, a 45-year-old accountant, said while waiting in line on Monday.
"You can't get your wages or your pension. Daily workers aren't being paid. People can't get medical treatment," he said.
"People have so little anyway -- this is what causes them to revolt."
Laurent LOZANO
Tue, June 6, 2023
Destruction: People walk past a burnt-out car in Dakar
As Senegalese struggle with the aftermath of deadly protests sparked by the conviction of an opposition leader, attention is shifting to the impact on the nation's economy.
Two days of violence last week have cost "billions of CFA francs" -- tens of millions of dollars -- and political risk is threatening this year's growth targets, said consultant economist Mansour Sambe.
The West African state has long surfed on its reputation for stability in a region plagued by coups.
But that cosy image has been dented by clashes between the security forces and supporters of firebrand presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko.
Sixteen people died and hundreds were injured or arrested after Sonko on Thursday was sentenced to two years on charges of "corrupting" a young woman.
That verdict was the outcome of a two-year case for rape charges that transfixed the country, triggering sporadic unrest that had already claimed a dozen lives.
In a country that has only a meagre social safety net, many Senegalese live in precarity and eye disruption with dread.
- 'If you work, you eat' -
Magaye Gaye, a 19-year-old toiletries seller at the Sandaga market in Dakar, said he had closed his stall on the eve of the trial's outcome.
Several days without business had left him with almost nothing.
"I have spent all my savings just to survive," he told AFP.
Clothing seller Modou Gueye, 46, was in a similar predicament.
"Clients have stayed away because they are afraid," he said Monday. "We live from one day to the next. If you have work, you eat, if you have no work, you go hungry."
For many poor Senegalese, the coming Muslim festival of Tabaski is a daunting moment, as it requires the purchase of lamb for the traditional family feast.
Some have been badly hit by the government move at the weekend to suspend mobile internet access after it blocked access to social media, since millions use mobile phones to transfer money.
"The banks have been closed since Wednesday," Ady Thiam, a 45-year-old accountant, said while waiting in line on Monday.
"You can't get your wages or your pension. Daily workers aren't being paid. People can't get medical treatment," he said.
"People have so little anyway -- this is what causes them to revolt."
- 'Political risks' -
Further tension seems almost inevitable.
The next flashpoint could be when Sonko -- believed to be at his home in Dakar, surrounded by police -- is taken into custody to serve his sentence.
Then there are the potentially stormy waters of next year's presidential elections, for which Sonko now appears to be ineligible.
"The biggest danger for investors are political risks," Sambe said.
Before the unrest, economists had been expecting growth of nine to 10 percent for 2023, he said.
But with uncertainty hanging over the 2024 election, "the entire second half (of 2023) could be lost", he said.
Sambe urged President Macky Sall to intervene, saying, "He has to reassure the public".
- Spotlight on Sall -
But Sall's own credibility is on the line.
Sonko's supporters say their champion, like other Sall rivals before him, is being persecuted by a manipulated judicial system -- a charge the president denies.
But Sall himself has stoked uncertainty, refusing to say clearly whether he will bid for a third presidential term, a move critics say would breach the constitution.
Of all the crises that modern Senegal has faced, the present one "is the easiest to resolve," three leading intellectuals said in an open letter on Monday.
"All it would need is for one man to say, 'I am not going to seek a third term, which would dishonour my word, my country and its constitution'."
The letter was penned by award-winning writers Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and Boubacar Boris Diop, and Felwine Sarr, who co-wrote a landmark report on the restitution of African cultural artefacts.
Sall on Monday paid a surprise late-night visit to Serigne Bassirou Mountakha Mbacke, the spiritual leader of an influential Muslim fraternity, the daily Soleil reported on Tuesday.
"The wisdom of his advice in some situations can help restore peace and stability," it said.
Meanwhile, Dakar announced it was closing several foreign consulates -- notably in Paris, Bordeaux, Milan and New York -- which have come under attack amid the unrest.
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Further tension seems almost inevitable.
The next flashpoint could be when Sonko -- believed to be at his home in Dakar, surrounded by police -- is taken into custody to serve his sentence.
Then there are the potentially stormy waters of next year's presidential elections, for which Sonko now appears to be ineligible.
"The biggest danger for investors are political risks," Sambe said.
Before the unrest, economists had been expecting growth of nine to 10 percent for 2023, he said.
But with uncertainty hanging over the 2024 election, "the entire second half (of 2023) could be lost", he said.
Sambe urged President Macky Sall to intervene, saying, "He has to reassure the public".
- Spotlight on Sall -
But Sall's own credibility is on the line.
Sonko's supporters say their champion, like other Sall rivals before him, is being persecuted by a manipulated judicial system -- a charge the president denies.
But Sall himself has stoked uncertainty, refusing to say clearly whether he will bid for a third presidential term, a move critics say would breach the constitution.
Of all the crises that modern Senegal has faced, the present one "is the easiest to resolve," three leading intellectuals said in an open letter on Monday.
"All it would need is for one man to say, 'I am not going to seek a third term, which would dishonour my word, my country and its constitution'."
The letter was penned by award-winning writers Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and Boubacar Boris Diop, and Felwine Sarr, who co-wrote a landmark report on the restitution of African cultural artefacts.
Sall on Monday paid a surprise late-night visit to Serigne Bassirou Mountakha Mbacke, the spiritual leader of an influential Muslim fraternity, the daily Soleil reported on Tuesday.
"The wisdom of his advice in some situations can help restore peace and stability," it said.
Meanwhile, Dakar announced it was closing several foreign consulates -- notably in Paris, Bordeaux, Milan and New York -- which have come under attack amid the unrest.
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mw/kb 06.06.2023,
Senegalese protest in New York City. June 5, 2023. Photo: @afrokingstyle
Senegal has temporarily closed its consulates abroad following attacks on diplomatic missions in Bordeaux, Milan, Paris, and New York among others, the foreign affairs ministry said on Tuesday.
The closures were announced in the wake of deadly unrest that broke out after a leading opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko, was handed a two-year jail sentence last week that is likely to prevent him from running for president in elections next year.
At least 16 people were killed and hundreds injured as protesters clashed with security forces on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, making it the worst unrest to hit the West African country in decades.
Private and public structures and businesses were looted and destroyed during the riots, including university buildings, petrol stations, banks, supermarkets, administrative buildings, and bus stops.
Senegalese gov’t cuts mobile internet access amid deadly rioting
Access to mobile internet services, which the government restricted over the weekend, was restored on Tuesday following three days of calm.
The foreign affairs ministry did not link the attacks that justified provisionally closing Senegal’s consulates to Sonko’s sentence or the ensuing violence.
“This precautionary measure was taken following a series of aggressions ... that caused serious damage,” it said in a statement.
The general consulate in Milan was hit particularly hard, with passport-making machines and identity cards destroyed, the ministry said.
Services will resume once working materials and security are restored, it added.
Italy’s public broadcaster Rai News reported an assault on Milan’s consulate on Monday during which it said around 40 Sonko supporters gathered outside the building with flags and anti-government signs.
They broke in and ransacked the premises, attacked the consul general, and started a fire before police intervened.
Videos on social media on Friday showed a small group of protesters in Paris throwing flour at a Senegal embassy car and its passengers. Reuters did not verify the footage.
However other footage has shown that throughout most of the protest, the crowd appeared to be peaceful.
Protesters appeared in front of the embassy again on Tuesday, this time spraypainting messages denouncing the ruling President of Senegal, Macky Sall.
Sonko’s Pastef party has repeatedly urged supporters to take to the streets in strongly worded statements that have also called on the diaspora to join the “resistance”.
Political unrest in Senegal
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The party of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on Tuesday rejected a court ruling that could preclude him from running in next year’s...see more
The legal issues embroiling Sonko first triggered protests in 2021, when he was briefly detained on rape charges he and his supporters denounce as a political ploy to prevent him from running. The government and justice system deny this.
Judges cleared him of rape last week but found him guilty of “corrupting youth” as the accusations involved a woman who was 20 at the time.
Sonko, who has become the face of growing frustration against President Macky Sall, is appealing the outcome of a separate libel case that could also hinder his political intentions.
Rights groups have accused security forces of using excessive force and firing live ammunition rounds at demonstrators, which they deny.
Professional league football matches were suspended until further notice on Tuesday due to the security situation, the national football federation said.
source:
REUTERS
Senegal has temporarily closed its consulates abroad following attacks on diplomatic missions in Bordeaux, Milan, Paris and New York among others, the foreign affairs ministry said on Tuesday.
Issued on: 06/06/2023 -
A woman walks past a burned out and ransacked supermarket in the popular Yoff Neighbourhood of Dakar, on June 5, 2023, as protest calmed down four days after a court in Senegal sentenced opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, to two years in prison on charges of "corrupting youth" but acquitted him of rape and issuing death threats. © John Wessels, AFPThe closures were announced in the wake of deadly unrest that broke out after a leading opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko, was handed a two-year jail sentence last week that is likely to prevent him from running for president in elections next year.
At least 16 people were killed and hundreds injured as protesters clashed with security forces on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, making it the worst unrest to hit the West African country in decades.
Private and public structures and businesses were looted and destroyed during the riots, including university buildings, petrol stations, banks, supermarkets, administrative buildings and bus stops.
The ministry did not link the attacks that justified provisionally closing Senegal's consulates to Sonko's sentence or the ensuing violence.
"This precautionary measure was taken following a series of aggressions... that caused serious damage," it said in a statement.
The general consulate in Milan was particularly hard-hit, with passport making machines and identity cards destroyed, the ministry said.
Services will resume once working materials and security are restored, it added.
Italy's public broadcaster Rai News reported an assault on Milan's consulate on Monday during which it said around 40 Sonko supporters gathered outside the building with flags and anti-government signs.
They broke in and ransacked the premises, attacked the consul general and started a fire before police intervened.
On Friday, videos on social media showed a small group of protesters in Paris throwing flour at a Senegal embassy car and its passengers. Reuters did not verify the footage.
Sonko's Pastef party has repeatedly urged supporters to take to the streets in strongly-worded statements that have also called on the diaspora to join the "resistance".
The legal issues embroiling Sonko first triggered protests in 2021, when he was briefly detained on rape charges he and his supporters denounce as a political ploy to prevent him from running. The government and justice system deny this.
Judges cleared him of rape last week but found him guilty of "corrupting youth" as the accusations involved a woman who was 20 at the time.
Sonko, who has become the face of growing frustration against President Macky Sall, is appealing the outcome of a separate libel case that could also hinder his political intentions.
Rights groups have accused security forces of using excessive force and firing live ammunition rounds at demonstrators, which they deny.
Meanwhile the Senegalese government has restored access to mobile internet across the country on Tuesday, two days after it was cut in certain areas due to deadly rioting, the Communications Ministry said in a statement.
Access to several social media and messaging platforms had been restricted since Thursday, when the sentencing of Sonko sparked unrest.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
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