In opening the strategic workshop on the evaluation of oil, gas and mining codes, the Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, put the cards on the table: the exploitation of Senegal’s natural resources must now be done in the exclusive interest of the Senegalese people. Surrounded by the Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy, Birame Soulèye Diop, and the President of the ITIE/Senegal, Thialy Faye, the Head of Government welcomed the work of the ad hoc committee of the Primature responsible for the review of the contracts already signed. According to him, “the interests of the country were not taken into account in the old codes”, denouncing a legislative heritage favourable to multinationals and unfavourable to the State. It is not a question of a single currency. Ousmane Sonko has drawn a picture of the extractive sector, revealing major violations in past contracts. It points in particular to the selection of uncredible operators, sometimes domiciled in tax havens, without real technical or financial capacity. “We have given to an operator one of our most promising blocks to make what is a fait après”, he regretted. The Prime Minister also denounced serious shortcomings in the legal framework during the phases of attribution and cession of rights.
Natural resources: Ousmane Sonko denounces the unbalanced contracts and calls for the reform of the extractive codes
