The Senegalese were slowly returning to their activities on Monday, hit by the economic effects of the recent violence which left 16 dead and in fear of a new conflagration in an uncertain political context.
Many workers in the informal economy, which supports the vast majority of Senegalese on a daily basis, have resumed their work in Dakar, calculating their losses after the unrest of the past week.
Magaye Gaye, 19, a seller of toiletries at the Sandaga market in the center of the capital, closed his stall on Wednesday, the day before the verdict against opponent Ousmane Sonko who set fire to the powder. “I have spent all my savings since to live.” On Sunday, he “saw that things had calmed down a bit and (a) decided to return to work” on Monday but is “still not reassured”.
The sentencing of Mr. Sonko to two years in prison in a sex scandal sparked the most violent clashes the country has seen in years. This verdict makes in the current state the opponent, popular among those under twenty and in modest circles, ineligible for the presidential election of 2024.
Young men clashed with security forces, ransacked public facilities and set fire to businesses and gas stations. These disturbances caused considerable damage, which was not assessed, and paralyzed activities until the weekend.
Commissioner Ibrahima Diop, director of public security, assured Sunday that “the situation has returned to calm”.
The streets of the capital have again gradually filled up. The train linking Dakar and the new town of Diamniadio has resumed service.
But many bank branches remained closed. A huge queue stretched from the first hours in front of the headquarters of a large bank.
It’s the beginning of the month, the time when you come to collect your salary. Most payments are made in cash. Others can normally be done via mobile platforms, but the government on Sunday suspended mobile internet after blocking access to social networks such as WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter.
“The banks have been closed since Wednesday. You can’t get your salary or your pension. The day laborers aren’t paid. People can’t get treatment”, for lack of cash, Ady Thiam is indignant in the line. , 45-year-old revenue controller.
“With the little that people have, that’s what brings the revolt,” he says.
The director of public security reported 500 arrests. After the Minister of the Interior, he described the unrest as acts of subversion committed by partly foreign elements and aimed at “establishing a climate of terror”.
Mr. Sonko’s party denounces a “murderous repression” and speaks of 19 deaths. Rights defenders have strongly criticized excessive use of force, the flood of arrests and restrictions on internet access.
Karim Wade, himself prevented from competing in the 2019 presidential election against Macky Sall by problems with what he says is instrumentalized justice, dismissed the Head of State and Mr. Sonko back to back: “The oppression and violence can only lead to failures,” he wrote on Facebook.
Mr. Wade is a candidate for 2024.
After his conviction, Mr. Sonko is still presumed to be at his home in Dakar, blocked by the security forces and exposed to a possible arrest, which threatens to inflame tempers again.
Another vector of tension is the vagueness maintained by President Sall on his intention to run for a third term or not. Such a hypothesis meets with strong opposition backed by the terms of the Constitution.
At the Sandaga market, Modou Gueye, 46, a thrift store seller, notes that “customers do not come because they are afraid”. But “we live from day to day. Work to eat, no work, no food. There, we have nothing in our pockets”. The concern is all the more acute as Tabaski, the local name of the Muslim festival of Adha, is approaching and it is necessary to be able to buy the mutton.
Mansour Sambé, consultant economist, notes that the damage suffered is already considerable, with “billions of CFA francs lost in two days”. “The biggest danger for investors is the political risks. We have forecast growth of 9 to 10% (in 2023), we are halfway there”. But with the uncertainties between now and the 2024 presidential election, “it’s the whole second half that risks being lost”.
The president must speak, “he must reassure”, he says.
05/06/2023 19:46:13 – Dakar (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
