Senegal experienced a minor setback in 2025 concerning the implementation of community reforms, policies, programs, and projects within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). This occurred despite the authorities generally deeming the overall results satisfactory.

During the political phase of the 11th Annual Review of UEMOA community reforms, policies, programs, and projects, hosted in Senegal, it was officially confirmed that the average implementation rate for 2025 stood at 76.45%. This marks a decrease of 2.14 percentage points from the 78.59% recorded in 2024. This year’s assessment encompassed 145 reforms, an increase from 132 in the previous cycle.

These findings were presented at the conclusion of discussions involving Senegalese state officials and the UEMOA Commission. The proceedings were chaired by Minister of Finance and Budget Cheikh Diba, alongside Abdoulaye Diop, President of the UEMOA Commission.

According to Minister Diba, this decline primarily stems from observed downturns in economic governance and convergence reforms, which saw a 1.3 percentage point reduction, and sectoral reforms, experiencing a more significant drop of 6.03 points. However, progress in the common market, with an increase of 0.91 points, helped temper this overall underperformance.

The Minister further elaborated that the challenges identified in economic governance and convergence largely resulted from the belated submission of the 2024 report from the Single Window for Filing Financial Statements (GUDEF) to the UEMOA Commission during the technical review phase.

Despite this overall regression, several key sectors demonstrated positive advancements. Notable improvements were observed in the harmonization of public finance legal, accounting, and statistical frameworks, showing a 1.83 percentage point rise. The customs union advanced by 4.55 points, while the agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and environment sectors collectively increased by 2.12 points. Human and social development saw a significant gain of 6.58 points, and energy and mines progressed by 3.33 points.

Cheikh Diba highlighted that the most significant achievements among the structural reforms were particularly evident in culture, tourism, crafts, quality standards, and the overall business climate.

Commitments announced to improve the trajectory

For the Minister of Finance and Budget, these results necessitate focused attention and immediate corrective actions. The Senegalese government is therefore committed to implementing the necessary measures to consolidate existing achievements, enhance performance, and systematically address the identified shortcomings. This reflects a broader commitment to African economy news and effective African politics in English.

He indicated that substantial efforts are still required, particularly in finalizing document validation processes, providing essential supporting documentation, and ensuring the effective execution and monitoring of community programs and projects.

The political phase of this review successfully validated the outcomes from the technical phase and reinforced the commitment of the Senegalese administration and its highest authorities to the application of community reforms.

Cheikh Diba believes that, despite remaining areas for improvement, these results are part of a wider trend observed across UEMOA member states, where substantial progress has also been made in implementing reforms.

The Minister reaffirmed that, for Senegal, strengthening regional integration remains a paramount priority. In this context, the conclusions drawn from this political phase will be presented to Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko during an upcoming audience with the President of the UEMOA Commission.